We have been impressed several times by the performances of the students of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and this latest show joins that list!
Days of Significance, written by Roy Williams and loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, focuses on young British men who join the army to fight in the Iraq War. The three-act play charts the impact their participation in the conflict has on the lives of the soldiers, their friends and family.
Act one begins with a night out in a British urban town which descends into drunken chaos for a group of young men and women, ahead of two of them, Jamie and Ben, heading off to Iraq. The action perfectly captures the atmosphere of the early 2000s with its music and fashion. The students also do drunk acting very well!
From the booze-fueled violence and sexual tension of the youngsters’ partying, act two is set in Basra where we witness the brutal reality of war and a very different kind of violence. The impressive sound and set design help to create a hard hitting atmosphere of danger as the soldiers go from brawling on the streets of Britain to facing a deadly attack from the enemy.
We’re back home for the final part and it’s a wedding celebration. There are drunken antics again but this time, the impact of Ben and Jamie’s experiences and actions in Iraq cast a dark shadow over the party.
The cast of Days of Significance are superb. They perform both the hilarious and highly poignant moments with aplomb. As already mentioned the sound and set are impressive and the lack of an interval means the tension is maintained with great effect.
Given the current war in the Middle East, the play is a very timely one. It poses thought provoking questions about war and the morality of sending young people to fight many miles away from home.
Days of Significance demonstrates that Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has once again trained an outstanding cohort of young acting talent. We look forward to seeing what they do next!
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See upcoming performances by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School here.
Images by Craig Fuller
