The other West End piece on World War One which I have seen this year was the tragically awful Versailles by David Gill. So, this Globe production had to be better.
Doctor Scroggy's War is a million times better than that piece about coal distribution yet still felt incomplete. The plot is about a young boy who joins the war, is injured and left in the care of Major Giles Gillies. I found the play itself somewhat too blatant with obvious reverential remarks on the British class system. Brenton's use of asides also seemed slightly out of place. However, the cast more than make up for shoddy script work. Full of Globe veterans, James Garnon steals the show as the plastic surgeon and establishing himself, in my mind at least, as one of the greatest British actors on the stage. His comedy in this and as Caliban in The Tempest as well as his darker side as the cardinal in th Duchess of Malfi. Catherine Bailey also puts in a blinding performance as the live interest of Twigg. However, the pinnacle is Bill Lyons music which was just beautiful from start to finish. So all in all, despite poor script work, the cast and musicians turn what could be a clunky period piece in the style of Versailles, into a relatively pleasent evening.
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