Touched by Stephen Lowe premiered at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1977, and returned this February forty years later. Considering this time lapse it was interesting to see that the play still resonated hugely with the audience. The fact that it was set at the end of World War Two in Nottingham meant there were passing references to well known places within Nottingham, which created a deeper connection with the audience.
The writer Stephen Lowe initially named it 100 Days in the Land of Hope and Glory, but then changed it to Touched, which he felt better related to the play’s meaning. Touched has two meanings, the physical act of being touched and also the colloquial meaning of being slightly crazy. This title effectively presented the themes of the play, which incorporated these two meanings at its core.
“The play explored their new found freedom”
This poignant play focused on the lives of three sisters living on the Home Front, and their struggles, celebrations and shock coming to terms with the end of the war, and its implications on their lives. The play explored their new found freedom, but also the struggle and anticlimactic experience of the end of six years of war. A topic not often considered, but extremely enlightening is creatively chosen by Lowe, to allow an audience to empathise with the women’s side of the war.
“McClure is an extremely captivating actress”
The opening scene introduces us to the protagonist Sandra (Vicky McClure), who is taking down the washing when the end of the war is announced on the radio. This mundane scene exacerbated the fact that war took place in the everyday, not just in the fighting away from home.
McClure is an extremely captivating actress, and the focus of the play is her demise into madness. This is also coupled with the loneliness of an ever-absent husband, and the human need for intimacy and contact. McClure acts this unstable state superbly, allowing the audience to grasp her inner mental battle.
The very well-written monologues are imperative to the audience’s understanding with their repetitive nature, and questioning of reality. There was a dramatic scene, extremely well executed by director Matt Aston, where Sandra is looked after by her sister Joan (Aisling Loftus) after being sent home from work .
The set by Jamie Vartan was impressive, whose design of the terraced houses enabled the audience to grasp the sense of community inherent in 1940s Nottingham. The scene where the protagonist is out by herself in the imminent twilight, with the windows lit up behind from the houses was particularly effective. As well as the set, the music also transported the audience back to the ’40s.
“Some of the references were aimed at an older generation”
The only downside was that some of the references were aimed at an older generation, and not everyone could appreciate them. Despite this the script was extremely witty, and had the audience laughing at many points, particularly through the character of Joan (Aisling Loftus), who has great stage presence and carried her comedic lines with such ease and charisma that all could enjoy her performance.
The historical context was constantly being brought to the fore throughout the performance, with radio extracts of speeches from Winston Churchill, and general news on the fate of Japan, and the rise of the Labour Party repeatedly played. These snippets worked extremely well to enhance the feeling of reality and historical accuracy, and a sense that the audience was moving with the characters through to the resolution of the war.
Overall, Touched was an extremely successful and thought provoking play, with a witty script extremely well acted. A historical masterpiece.
8/10 – Excellent, highly enjoyable.
Antonia Stearn
Image courtesy of the Nottingham Playhouse
‘Touched’ is running at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 4th March. For more information, and to book tickets, see here.
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