David Porter » Reviews » Somewhere in England
Somewhere in England
Somewhere In England
Somewhere in England by Eastern Angles Theatre at the Hungate Church, Beccles
Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 14 March 2016
Eastern Angles Theatre Company have a unique style making drama from history of our region. Their latest is a study of American GIs ‘somewhere in England’ during the war, when they brought Coca Cola, chewing gum and their culture.
It’s about their relationship with locals, particularly through a black man from Alabama, grippingly played by Nathanael Campbell with a woman (the excellent Georgia Brown) and a teenager (lively Grace Osborn).
Through a doomed love story Polly Wiseman sensitively explores the forgotten battle of the races during the struggle against Nazi tyranny and how the Americans fought for freedom yet enforced legal segregation.
Mixed-race Walter White of the organisation to advance ‘coloured people’ had white features but was classified black. Doubling him with the white airman who made tentative friends with the black guy before falling out over the woman, Joshua Hayes carries us to the heart of the dilemma.
This unforgettable play will leave you thinking about the war and its continuing fallout and how the colour of our skin still determines so much.
NOTE: Somewhere in England is on tour throughout Suffolk and Norfolk up till 1st June.
SOME OTHER Eastern Angles’ reviews include:
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