Review: Fire Embers Ash

It continues to amaze me how consistently we under represent and under value the contributions of women to our global history, especially where war is concerned. And so it’s a breath of fresh air, though cold to the lungs, to watch Fire Embers Ash, a one hour play which imaginatively regales the incredible true story of the first all female aviation team in World War Two.

The Barons Court Theatre felt the perfect venue for this tale; a small, awkward cellar hidden under The Curtains Up pub becoming a resounding metaphor for this band of women hidden out of view doing remarkably important work and finally having the lid lifted on their story.

What struck me most was how it was a story of sacrifice, a story of women bravely and unsentimentally laying their lives on the line for a bigger victory that would not find space to adequately honour them for their role. This play felt like a crucial moment of redress. When photographs of the real five women (five of many who flew with the Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Force) are projected onto the stage at the end, it is genuinely and deeply moving.

This was an ensemble piece, with the 5 actors (Henriette Laursen, Maria Masonou, Yvonne Maxwell, Stephanie Van Driesen and Maya Waghorn) working efficiently and confidently as a team. Waghorn stood out for her dashing, strident bravado as Lydia Litvyak, as did Van Driesen as Nadezhda Popova, for the sensitivity with which she portrayed a dignified leader propelled into new authority too soon.

However for me the star of the show was the staging. Fuss was kept to a military minimum, clarity was key. And onto this prosaic foundation, ingenious details like the dangling model plane brought a delightful touch of magic. The use of torches to project the plane’s shadow and effectively turn the space into a shadow puppet theatre was spell binding. Despite the intimacy of the cellar, the planes and their flight paths came joyful life… and grim descent.

Overall, a mighty and important story, subtly told. **** (4 stars)

Fire Embers Ash is presented by Threedumb Theatre as one half of a double bill of all female 5 handers celebrating untold stories of women in history. You can read the review of the other, Paved with Gold and Ashes, here.

You can catch both plays until 27th January with great deals for those 'doing the double'. Tickets available from Barons Court Theatre here.

Photography courtesy of Stephen Smith