A rushcart of magical drama

AN AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY LARK

(Oldham Coliseum, to Saturday)

SOMETIMES a show just works, and beautifully. Argue that some of the performances here are a little weak, that the subject is full of sentiment and an easy choice, that the set is basic and the story likewise if you must.

But Northern Broadsides’ latest production draws the whole lot together and overcomes quibbles without pausing for breath in a rush of touching drama, enjoyable comedy, morris dancing and rushcart building. Writer Deborah McAndrew’s best script yet is full of energy, great characters and pace; and Barrie Rutter’s central performance and direction are just as strong, the latter driving the story on and provided a mix of stillness and (usually) comic incident.

The subject is certainly a big one — and I don’t mean the 10ft high cart of rushes but no less than the loss of Britain’s naivety and relative rural simplicity, the cost of sending a nation of young men off to war and seeing what shakes out for future generations.

When Rutter commissioned the show he wanted the small-scale stuff; not warring soldiers but the lives they left behind; lives crushed when the telegrams started arriving home.

While the subject is epic, the story is simple: rural village morris/rushcart families interact, have trivial arguments and Frank (Darren Kuppan) and Mary (Emily Butterfield) fall in love, much to the chagrin of Mary’s father (Rutter).

The families rally round and there’s a wedding — and the men go off to basic training. Mary’s brothers Bill and Ted don’t come home; Frank loses a leg, and life cannot be the way it was.

The script’s simplicity belies some depth, fully brought out by Rutter’s direction — work that peaks with scenes in particular. In one morris dancing gradually morphs from joy into the three new soldiers sloping arms and marching away; in the other, Rutter gets the bad news about his sons and for what seems an age he falters and sits in a chair on the now empty stage, utterly devastated.

Performances overall are rich in character, as much as is permitted by the pace. The women — Butterfield, Lauryn Redding as friend Susie and Sophia Hatfield as local teacher Edie are warmly sympathetic — especially the wry Susie; while Oldham’s Andrew Whitehead and the other male cast members are warmly patriarchal.

A fine, funny and poignant commemoration of World War One.