Oh, What a Lovely War!
| Oh, What a Lovely War! | |
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| Birmingham Theatre School- 2014 |
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963.[1] It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the "somewhat satirical"[2] music hall song "Oh! It's a Lovely War!", which is one of the major numbers in the production.
Development
The idea for the production started on
Raffles proposed the idea of using it as the basis of a production to his partner, Joan Littlewood, but she detested the idea, hating World War I, military uniforms, and everything they stood for.[7] Gerry though, brought Chilton along to the theatre and they played through the songs. Eventually Littlewood considered it might work, but refused any military uniforms, deciding on pierrot costumes from Commedia dell'arte very early on as a "soft, fluffy entertainment mode"[7] providing an ironic contrast to the tin hats which they also wore. Littlewood said, in 1995, that "Nobody died on my stage, they died in the film – that they ruined". She wanted audiences to leave the theatre laughing at the "vulgarity of war".[12] The idea was to portray how groups of people could lose their sense of individuality by conforming to those of a higher authority, which Littlewood despised.
The
Some scenes in the production, notably one on the first time the trenches were gassed, were worked on for many days only for Littlewood to conclude they were too horrific for an audience,[7] and delete them. This was another reason why uniforms were not worn in the production.
Productions
The musical premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on 19 March 1963 to rave audience reaction. Kenneth Tynan's review in The Observer was titled "Littlewood returns in triumph".[13]
The official censor did not grant permission for a transfer to the West End until
The musical premiered in the United States on
From September 2023 until May 2024, a 60th Anniversary production by Blackeyed Theatre toured the UK.[14] [15]
Description
The original production was performed with the cast in pierrot costumes and metal helmets due to Littlewood's abhorrence of the colour khaki[7] and anti-war feelings. Behind them projected slides (operated by projectionist Tom Carr) showed images from the war and a moving display (what Littlewood called her "electronic newspaper" from having seen one in East Berlin on a railway bridge[7]) across the full stage width with statistics, such as "Sept 25 . . . Loos . . . British loss 8,236 men in 3 hours . . . German loss nil" and "Average life of a machine gunner under attack on the Western Front: 4 minutes".
Separating the performers from the actual events in this way would stop the audience collapsing in tears,
The first act was designed to draw the audience in with the sentimentality of the songs, and the first explosion does not take place until the end of Act 1 during Goodbye...ee. Act 2 then brings the horror of war to the production.
Title song
The song "Oh! It's a Lovely War" was written by J. P. Long and Maurice Scott in 1917 and was part of the repertoire of music hall star and male impersonator Ella Shields.[16] The lyrics of the first verse and the chorus are as follows:
Up to your waist in water,
Up to your eyes in slush –
Using the kind of language,
That makes the sergeant blush;
Who wouldn't join the army?
That's what we all inquire,
Don't we pity the poor civilians sitting beside the fire.
Chorus:
Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war,
Who wouldn't be a soldier eh?
Oh! It's a shame to take the pay.
As soon as reveille is gone
We feel just as heavy as lead,
But we never get up till the sergeant brings
Our breakfast up to bed
Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war,
What do we want with eggs and ham
When we've got plum and apple jam?
Form fours! Right turn!
How shall we spend the money we earn?
Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war.
Musical numbers
- Sequence and casting based on the 1964 Broadway production
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Song performances
Two renditions of the song, one from 1918, can be heard at firstworldwar.com. Almost all of the songs featured in the musical also appear on the CD41 album series Oh! It's A Lovely War (four volumes).[18]
Adaptation and in culture
Richard Attenborough's film adaptation was released in 1969, also as a musical, and won numerous awards. It was Attenborough's debut as a film director.
Several Australian World War I movies and miniseries (e.g.
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Tony Award
|
Best Musical | Nominated | |
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
|
Victor Spinetti | Won | ||
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
|
Barbara Windsor | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Joan Littlewood | Nominated | ||
2002 London revival
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Laurence Olivier Award
|
Best Musical Revival | Nominated | |
2010 UK tour
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | TMA Awards
|
Best Performance in a Musical: Ensemble | Nominated | |
2014 Stratford revival
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Laurence Olivier Award
|
Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre | Nominated | |
See also
References
- ^ Banham (1998, 645), Brockett and Hildy (2003, 493), and Eyre and Wright (2000, 266-69).
- ^ First World War http://firstworldwar.com "Oh! It's a Lovely War!" Accessed 2018 November 11.
- BBC News Magazine. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-521-82077-6.
- ^ Vincent Dowd (11 November 2011). "Witness: Oh what a lovely war". Witness. London. BBC World Service.
- ^ Archive on 4: The Long, Long Trail - BBC Radio 4 - 4 January 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Show to End All Wars, Simon Russell Beale, BBC Radio 4 2013-09-12 [1]
- ^ ISBN 0-521-65132-8accessed 19 October 2007
- ^ The Long, Long Trail: Charles Chilton, Tommy’s Tunes and Oh! What a Lovely War - The London Library Blog - 30 December 2013
- ^ There's a long, long trail a winding 1913, by Stoddart King (1889-1933) and Alonzo Elliot (1891-1964)
- ^ Tommy's Tunes New and Revised Edition
- ^ Keith (4 August 2014). "Oh, What a Lovely War". Teleport City. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ The Observer, 24 March 1963, p24
- ^ Davies, Paul T. "Oh What A Lovely War". British Theatre. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Oh What A Lovely War". Blackeyed Theatre. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ Arthur 2001, p. 47.
- ^ The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, edited by Robert Kimball, Knopf, 1983
- ^ "Automatic Redirect".
Sources
- Arthur, Max. 2001. When This Bloody War Is Over: Soldiers' Songs from the First World War. London: Piatkus. ISBN 0-7499-2252-4.
- Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: ISBN 0-521-43437-8.
- Brockett, Oscar G. and Franklin J. Hildy. 2003. History of the Theatre. Ninth edition, International edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0-205-41050-2.
- ISBN 0-7475-4789-0.
- Milling, Jane and Peter Thomson, eds. 2004. The Cambridge History of British Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 397–401. ISBN 0-521-82790-6.
