Terrance Rattigan’s Flare Path; A Review by Sam

Hitting the west end stage is Trevor Nunn’s new revival of Terrance Rattigan’s Flare Path, taking place at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Set in 1941, on the Lincolnshire coast, the show tells the story of a group of RAF pilots and their wives, over the events of one weekend in autumn. This spectacular show is part of the Terrance Rattigan Centenary celebrations. With outstanding performances from the cast this show contains lots of heart and makes one think how it must have been like to live during the second world war, and in the principle female’s words, “There is a war on, and things have got to be a bit different, and we’ve just got to get used to it- that’s all.”

 

With a spectacular cast, including Sienna Miller, James Purefoy and Olivier award winning Sheridan Smith (Best actress in a musical, Legally Blonde, 2011.) Taking the part of the lead female was Miller, who played Patricia Warren (Mrs Graham.) Although at times an interesting character, Sienna’s performance did lack some of the three dimensional aspects which is needed for a theatrical show. But this was shadowed by her brilliant stage presence, her character’s torture and torments were believable and the audience was made to feel empathy for her. Alongside her, taking the part of the principle male character was James Purefoy, who played Peter Kyle. His performance was outstanding and his interaction with all those on stage, gave him a subtle, but effective presence. Supporting these two leads, was a fantastic ensemble, including the sensational Sheridan Smith, who is personally my favourite actress from this show. Her character’s outward strength, but inward pain was clear and Smith’s onstage grace and presence lightened the sometimes slow pace. One of my favourite scenes was the scene where Smith opens a letter from her husband, who is polish. Unable to speak or write English, he writes the letter in French so that it can be easily translated for her. Smith’s actions and reactions during this scene, where Purefoy reads the letter, are fantastic. She acts as a strong willed woman, but inside it is clear to see that she is heartbroken at the death of her husband. “I shan’t forget the way you read that. You made it sound… lovely.”

A fantastic show, this show is for old and young alike. Although set in the second world war the themes can be placed into our modern society. The themes of loss, duty and how we should treat one another is something we should all consider from time to time. The show’s excitement and pace was generally good, and kept the audience’s attention, however at points the show lacked the pace to keep the attention, causing the audience to become distracted and to lose focus. In my personal opinion this is because of the incorrect chemistry built up between Miller and Purefoy’s characters, which was one of the main narratives in the play. However, the pace and drive generally came back when another character was introduced to the scene. 

The writing, which was one of the things I tend to listen to when seeing a play, was another part which made this play one of the most fascinating I have ever seen. The common slang and the general diction of the characters was woven carefully into the story and allowed the audience, who may not have understood parts, understand exactly what was being said. The play was also never short of action and interesting stories. The interesting feature of the play was all the smaller stories continuing, and the major story could develop at a realistic pace, rather than over a shorter period of time than would otherwise be possible.

If I was to direct the show myself I should like to explore the idea of seeing it in the round, rather than the traditional on stage version. I feel that sometimes the emotions could have been lost by having a four wall convention present. However the idea to stick to realism was effective and it did make the play interesting to watch; I felt as if I was in the war watching the play and the events unfold.

Overall this show is one of my personal favourites, and even though I am generally a musical fan, this play is in my top ten of all shows and films. It is simple the heart and the themes behind this play which make it a play to last forever. The show’s main theme can be summed up by Miller’s wonderfully delivered line, “What I say is this, there’s a war on, and things have got to be a bit different, and we’ve just got to get used to it- that’s all.”