Am Dram Star of the Week Andy Alsop in Forgotten Voices in Wolverhampton
Tales of the First World War, whether they be of survivors, the bereaved or those left behind, will always and forever be the subject of dramatic performance and so they should be; to coin a phrase, lest we forget.
With this in mind, Studio 61 has chosen to present Forgotten Voices, a play by Malcolm MacKay, from March 22-25 at Victory Hall, Lower Penn, Wolverhampton.
Our Am Dram Star of the Week is Andy Alsop, who plays the role of Lawrence Todd, a sergeant from London.
“I saw the play in 2008 at the Edinburgh Fringe, along with Maggie, our director. We vowed then to perform it as our tribute to the men who fought in the Great War,” says Andy.
“It’s a story of heroism without hype or glamour. It shows how the war felt to those engaged in it and narrates the course of the war using the actual words of men and women who lived through it.
“Lawrence Todd is a bit shy to begin with, then loosens up recounting stories of his early experience in the BEF. He’s a bit of a tippler, emotionally fragile and damaged by his experiences in the trenches. He’s a pragmatist, wants the best for his men and is frosty towards the officer class because they are callous and literally over-burden the men.
“The role is a both an emotional and technical challenge. Lawrence’s generation were celebrated as heroes by all, including the government, at least for a time. They were valued and praised for their contribution and housed in homes fit for heroes. Nowadays men like Lawrence, ex-army, suffering PTSD and unable to cope in civil society are despised for being homeless,” he says.
I asks Andy what research he had done for the role.
“I have listened to recorded testimony from the Imperial War Museum and read the accounts within Max Arthur’s original book on which the play is based. I’ve watched the 1916 government’s film The Battle of the Somme, shown to the country in cinemas during the war and I’ve done extensive research for my own writing on the period, including autobiographical accounts and fiction by soldiers of the Great War,” he says.
There must have been some emotional moments in rehearsal.
“We all have some highly-charged speeches in which we relive the terrors of battle. But there is also laughter and frustration; anger even,” he says.
l For tickets priced at £8 each, which includes refreshments, call 01902 651828 or visit www.facebook.com/studio61drama. Performances are at 7.30pm.
