When Winston Went to War with the Wireless (NHB Modern Plays)

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If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. Directed by Katy Rudd (Ocean at the End of the Lane, Eureka Day) and based on a true story, the play is a gripping and timely examination of the BBC’s independence during the 1926 General Strike. Unfortunately there are so many interesting things to talk about that Thorne seems to get distracted and never talks about any of them for long enough. Thorne really goes hard on exploring Reith’s tortured sexuality, and the stunningly messy love triangle between him, his former male lover Charlie (Luke Newberry) and Reith's wife Muriel (Mariam Haque), who Charlie had wanted to marry. But even if the endlessly watchable Campbell Moore is undoubtedly the main character, it’s not really a play about Reith, but rather the historical events he was caught up in –the raking over of his love life feels like it probably belongs in a different drama. The acting is fabulous across the board, but what really elevates the production is the complex writing of the character of the BBC's John Reith, and the concomitant contrary complexity of Stephen Campbell Moore's astonishing portrait of him: grandiose, tortured, idealistic, compromised, repressed, barely concealing an ever exploding fountain of emotions!

Lloyd Evans An unreliable history: When Winston Went to War with the Wireless, at the Donmar, reviewed Plus: at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, a provocative tale of an unlikely friendship It should be noted that half way through the interval, a quartet of actors, led by a mischievous Kevin McMonagle, rousingly perform such a variety skit, for those not queuing for the bathroom, in it's entirety. Thorne adds: “I hope this whole play is a love letter to the BBC. I hope this whole play is a love letter to people in authority and how they find their way through these crises. Because I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.” It started with impact, I loved the live foley on stage throughout and the performances were strong, but at multiple points I found my mind wandering and the play dragging. The first half stronger than the second, where all excitement seemed to be gone. It was ok. After seeing patriots last week, during which I was engrossed throughout, I was hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately I found my mind wandering during a lot of this. It felt quite amateurish especially the people wandering on and off stage screaming in the first act. There is also only so much fast walking around a stage I could take.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard's Ligeti recital was exhilarating in the extreme

The confrontational energy from both sides is matched with plenty of humour. Short scenes recreate some of the output of the time, from singers to musicians and comedians. Remarkably, much of it sounds like something you would still hear being broadcast on Radio 4 Extra in the present day. The year is 1926 and the General Strike is on, with every union in the country striking in solidarity with the nation’s 1.2 million coal miners, who are having wage reductions forced upon them. That includes the print unions: all papers in the country have ceased publication, leaving a huge information gap to be filled – and exploited. Jun 13, 2023 7:27:03 GMT justinj said:It was ok. After seeing patriots last week, during which I was engrossed throughout, I was hoping for more of the same. Unfortunately I found my mind wandering during a lot of this. But the strength of Thorne’s play is its balance. His Reith, mesmerically played by Stephen Campbell-Moore, is no hero of the people; he’s a tortured man, consumed by his desire to do good, yet he concedes ground to Hayden Gwynne’s bullish Baldwin at every turn, refusing to let Labour leaders broadcast, and ultimately turning down the opportunity to air the Archbishop of Canterbury’s plea for compromise.

Fascinating as this roiling moment of history is, Thorne thumps home the modern-day parallels in rather too heavy-handed a fashion. We really do understand all the echoes and compromises of our contemporary media landscape (in a fascinating programme essay, Andrew Marr compares the current situation between the government and the BBC to an “abusive relationship”) and would be happy to let 1926 sit undisturbed in its own time period. There’s also an interesting if incongruous sub-plot about Reith’s conflicted personal life that is begging to be allowed the breathing space of an entire drama of its own. Thorne’s play is an unabashed celebration of the BBC and the haunted, brittle man who built it. Undoubtedly, the 1926 general strike was the making of the nascent corporation – but was it also its finest hour? It’s a question that doesn’t trouble When Winston... – but perhaps it should trouble us.For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Sound is married to visuals in arresting ways too on Laura Hopkins’ clever set and flashes of light (design by Howard Hudson with video projection by Andrzej Goulding) reveal the strike itself. It is this delight in and celebration of sound, so apt for a play about the power of radio, that makes the play worth seeing. In 1920s Britain, there were two popular news sources: The British Gazette, edited by Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, and the British Broadcasting Company, led by John Reith. As the pair demand control, they must decide what counts as “truth.” Akbar, Arifa (2023-06-14). "When Winston Went to War With the Wireless review – radio is the star of BBC crisis drama". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-15.