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Flare Path
Birmingham Rep
**** JUSTIN Audibert’s production of Terence
Rattigan’s 1941 play is a picture of history. Rattigan’s script and Audibert’s vision bring the
sentiment of relationships and war together. Flare Path was first
written and performed during World War II where audiences would only be
too used to the setting and era. Today as an audience in a new century, we are
able to learn about the essence of war, amongst Rattigan’s consuming
imagery and interesting characters. The play is set in the reception room of a hotel
near an RAF bomber base and its residents are pilots and their wives.
Hayley Grindle’s set is immensely detailed, transporting us instantly to
the war time era. The male characters give an overall sense of the
hardships of working directly with war and through the ladies; we see a
wonderful emotional approach to the stoic, yet uncertain attitude of
everyone. Of course, Rattigan includes a dash of 1940’s glamour which
adds to a nostalgic feeling of looking back in time. Flight Lieutenant Graham, or Teddy, and actress
Patricia Warren are a married couple, residing in the hotel near base
where Teddy must be on call at all times. With a strong and steady
marriage for a year, Teddy could not be happier. When actor Peter Kyle
shows up unexpectedly, Patricia feels that circumstances could not be
worse. Patricia has worked with Peter Kyle before and their elusive past
is still very much present - the only people to know about their secret
love affair are the audience. Love and war is certainly a delectable theme for
the audience, but Rattigan uses dramatic irony in an exceedingly
tasteful way that instantly draws the audience into the story. His
themes are universal in that we love to see the conflict of emotion and
the consequences are there to see in the precarious love triangle. The excellent cast capture the 1940’s essence on
stage. The loveable Teddy is possibly the highlight of the show and is
played beautifully by Daniel Fraser. At first we see a bumbling and
perhaps naïve pilot, but after surviving a raid he was commanded to
fulfil, Fraser captures the raw and very human emotions of a Flight
Lieutenant.
Fraser shows and says the things that go unsaid
and allows the audience to see the fragility of war through his open
portrayal in a tender moment of explaining to his wife his frightened
state while flying. Patricia, dressed in a beautiful costume, is
played by the outstanding Hedydd Dylan. Through her performance we see
the universal emotion found in any era. It was a wonderful portrayed of
the struggle of keeping her secret leaving the audience desperate to
see the outcome of her past and present actions. The husband and wife duo are terrific on stage
and their interaction makes for engaging viewing with Lynden Edwards’
performance as the Hollywood actor Peter Kyle helping the audience to
hang on to each scene. Edwards is brilliant in the role of the
glamourous actor and has a persona to fit each character that he
interacts with. He beautifully fills the role of the outsider arriving
at the hotel and the audience cannot help but feel sorry for his
character at the end of the play. Rattigan’s text shows the effects of war in a
tale of love and commitment. Doris and Maudie are also the wives of
pilot’s with all women connected by their husbands going to war. Their
strong universal hope is uplifting, but when Doris’ husband, Count
Skriczevinsky, played by the comical William Reay, does not come back,
we see the reality strike, which perhaps leads us to think of those
fighting today. Maudie is played by Pollie Hughes while Claire
Andreadis approaches Doris with a playful charm and brightness that only
hits harder when her husband does not arrive with the rest of the men. Rattigan’s play is thick with human emotion
against the backdrop of an event that changed the world. His glimpse
into the small setting of the RAF base hotel shows too well the
realities that people face every day. Rattigan shines a light on the
sacrifices that are made as the cost of war in a beautifully relatable
story. To 30-04-16. Elizabeth Halpin 25-04-16
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