It was great to see so many people packing out the Connaught Theatre on Thursday evening, 24th March, to see a solo performance of Private Peaceful. It just proves how many local people and schools support and love Worthing’s theatres.
When Mum and I found our seats and looked through the programme, we were a bit shocked to see that there was only one performer. I kept flicking back and forth through the pages to see if I had missed anyone, but there was only one name, Mark Quartley. The curtain was raised 15 minutes before the performance was due to begin to reveal a very simple and dimly-lit set; a bed and what seemed to be a statue sitting with his back to the audience. Mum and I kept looking to see if he was alive. It was like watching one of those street performers in Covent Garden; every now and again the actor on the stage slowly changed his position.
Suddenly a loud ticking clock could be heard and the audience fell silent. Mark Quartley came to life announcing the time. From that moment on, it was as if everyone in the audience was under a spell as we were captivated by the utterly phenomenal performance. Mark gave snippets of his childhood as Tommo Peaceful; his love of his family and his close friendship with a girl called Molly. His body language and characterisation of the different voices were believable and brilliant and I felt like a 2 year old being told a fairy tale for the first time, loving the story and never wanting it to end.
Although the First World War is studied in schools, learning about it from text books and the internet is very different from actually watching and listening to the experience and viewpoint of so many different characters. Mark did this brilliantly. It was so sad to realise the way young men were encouraged to join such a hideous war, where the soldiers lived in horrific conditions and were forced to live in trenches and be injured or die in such pain. It was also horrible to realise how England treated our own brave men for being a ‘coward’ – well that is if you consider a ‘coward’ to be a young man who will do anything to protect his family, country and brother.
The lighting and sound effects were carefully crafted and helped to build the atmosphere of the story. However, at times the background explosions were a little too loud as it was hard to pick up the words from the actor who wasn’t using a head mic. The single gunshot that filled the theatre to mark the end of the performance made the entire audience gasp and jump in their seats. Many stood to applaud and I left the theatre thinking how brave for an actor to take on a solo performance, as if anything goes wrong there is no one to pick you up on your lines or improvise as if nothing has happened.
Mark is currently touring the country with this performance and I thoroughly recommend it, especially for schools. Don’t forget your tissues though!
