Words by Genevieve Gunn
I canÔÇÖt say IÔÇÖve always been the biggest fan of army/war-themed media. ÔÇÿRamboÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿSaving Private RyanÔÇÖ were never really my thing. But I have to say that Act OneÔÇÖs production of ÔÇÿA Few Good MenÔÇÖ blew it out of the water for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it definitely proved to me that not all shows of the military genre are always going to be bad or intolerable.
The play is based on the original production by Aaron Sorkin (in 1989) of the same title, which, rather famously was turned into a film in 1992 starring Tom Cruise. As written in the programme: it ÔÇ£follows the trial of two Marines for complicity in the death of a fellow Marine in Guantanamo BayÔÇØ. Having never seen the movie before I had no idea what to expect, or how it would even end! Nonetheless, I was nary confused at any point, I thought the pacing of the show was perfect, and the actors bounced off of one another in a rhythm that ensured it flowed seamlessly. The flashback and letter-reading scenes were the most memorable part of the play; I thought the way in which these were acted out was very clever.
I have to commend the casting ÔÇô that was one of my first thoughts after the show had finished. Everyone was just so good, especially the two who played the lead roles of Daniel A. Kaffee and Jo Galloway. The chemistry between the two was undeniable ÔÇô he was charismatic, and funny when he needed to be; she was hardworking, with a clear sense of justice. They balanced one another out. Other notable characters include Nathan Jessep, the main antagonist, and Jack Ross the prosecutor. Their characters were so frustrating (and played very well)!
As a group though, they all set the serious mood commendably. No one broke character, and it all felt very regimented like they were really in the army. I also liked the fact that many of them had shaved their heads for the role ÔÇô it added to the immersion (and, itÔÇÖs an iconic look). Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of shouting, with commanders ordering their platoons and explosive scenes that ended in fiery arguments, which, at times came across really well and at others felt a bit excessive. Unfortunately, due to the sheer size of the venue, I couldnÔÇÖt always hear what was being said, especially when people were talking at the same time ÔÇô however, that is not a fault of the acting but merely the location choice.
The Temple of Peace was the right choice visually for the production, it was a grand, intimidating, and very sleek building on the inside, with much of it covered in tile. As one could expect as a result of this, it made the building really echoey, meaning that if you werenÔÇÖt sat at the front, you might not be able to hear everything that was being said. Moreover, I was quite surprised by the fact that, despite it being set in the US no one spoke with an American accent.
I was thoroughly surprised by how good this performance was, and I really do look forward to watching the societyÔÇÖs future performances this academic year.
