War is devastating. Sometimes it can define a whole generation to the extent that it becomes the only reference point. Sometimes we consign it to the past, leaving it there, hoping that it remains unearthed so that we do not question the impact such conflicts can have on us. In Lola Arias’ Minefield, The Falklands War is chillingly put on stage and the effects it had on its combatants laid bare.
It’s that time of year again. The clocks have gone backwards. The nights are drawing in and most people are wearing red poppies as Armistice Day approaches. So it is apt that Manchester Opera House is currently showing the Wipers Times, which tells the true story of a satirical newspaper created in the trenches of the First World War.
Why does the barbarism of war inspire so many to seek comfort in song?
Writer Lizzie Nunnery explores this in her tale of the ravages of war, seen through the eyes of a little girl. Part of the British Council’s World Stages project, Nunnery has teamed up with Ukrainian director Tamara Trunova and it premiered at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.
Why does the barbarism of war inspire so many to seek comfort in song?
This is the central thread that writer Lizzie Nunnery uses to weave her tale of the ravages of war, seen through the eyes of a little girl. Based on the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, it is part fantasy, part reality.