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

Paved With Gold and Ashes @ORL

Running for two nights at Angel Islington's Old Red Lion Theatre, Paved With Gold and Ashes is a touching five hander about young factory workers of 1911 New York. Although the black box stage is relatively sparse, littered with simple white cotton and lace and a precarious stack of wooden chairs, Julia Thurston's script works hard to quickly place us in our context. 

The show opens with music, an accompanied tune sung by all five characters who gently weave a gorgeous harmony together. It was a beautifully metaphorical opening, the stitching together of their vocal lines creating a tapestry of sound that reflected their daily work. It also subtly hinted at the way this tight one hour show will explore the women’s differences as well as their similarities.

Although all the women are trapped in 12 hour working days and confined by familial expectations, the play managed to establish individuality very quickly. Everleigh Brenner is strident as velvet hatted Rose (the lesser workers wear straw hats), while Olivia Gaidry is smiling and perky as Annie. Ida, played by Serena Lehman, is filled with tender hope at the promise of motherhood. But for me the stand out pair were Caroline Letelier as bubbly and energetic aspiring actress Rosaria, the baby of an Italian immigrant family adjusting to a new life. Fidgeting constantly and unable to sit still, she gave an essential injection of zest and playfulness. Julia Thurston as her frustrated older sister Lucia sensitively blends matronly irritation with wistful memories of the boyfriend she left behind in the old country. 

Although I was initially concerned by a lack of narrative thrust in the meandering ‘day in the life of’ structure, worrying clues to the impending disaster quickly build to create a chilling sense of dread. And I greatly enjoyed the use of song throughout, especially how it created contrasting atmospheres. I was moved by the irony of these charming female voices trapped in a patriarchal world where women were rendered voiceless.

Produced by Threedumb Theatre, this is a departure from the gothic fare I’m used to in plays such as One Man Poe and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s a refreshing shift and marks the company as capable not only of versatility but also of touching, and socially relevant commentary, in this case the limited power of unions, the necessity of strikes and the human cost of unacceptable work conditions. 

They perform in Edinburgh's Greenside Infirmary Street Olive Studio from Monday 14th to Saturday 26th August.

(Photo credit: Stephanie Van Driesen)