The Accrington Pals

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The Accrington Pals is a poignant and harrowing play set in the early years of the First World War, as the country's jingoistic optimism starts to wane and the true terror of warfare gradually becomes clear. The play looks at both the terrifying experiences of the men at the front and the women who were left behind to face social changes, deprivation and the lies of propaganda. While often comic vignettes portray the everyday life of a town denuded of men, the men face the terror that is the Battle of the Somme. This compassionate play portrays the devastating effects of war on a typical Lancashire mill town and the suffering of everyday people. This Modern Classic edition includes a new preface by the author, plus a full introduction exploring the themes, social/historical context and characters. The edition also includes a chronology and classroom activities.

Reviews

One of the best plays ever about the first world war ... The strength of Whelan's play is that it captures ... the contradictions of the time ... Whelan also has the natural dramatist's knack of expressing his ideas through purely theatrical means ... For all the great poems, novels and movies produced by the first world war, nothing quite matches theatre for pulverising your emotions. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *
Funny, touching and real ... We know the end, and the late scenes are terrifying; yet within the horror is a saving evocation of rebellion. -- Libby Purves * The Times *
This is a drama full of warmth between both women and men, yet full, too, of asperity and political scepticism ... The Accrington Pals is a revelation. It chronicles in the round a vital piece of 20th-century history, showing the battlefield but concentrating on civilian life. It goes beyond documentary, drawing on a visionary stage vocabulary and creating individual stories that are both desolating and stirring ... It's a wonderful play for anywhere. -- Susannah Clapp * Observer *
Whelan writes with a poet's ear for colloquial turns of phrase and characterfully expressed thoughts but there's nothing sentimental about this communal portrait ... To say that it leaves you emotionally shattered almost feels like an insult to those bygone souls and the horrors they faced but quietly shattering it is, all the same. -- Dominic Cavendish * Telegraph *

Author Bio

Peter Whelan is an award-winning playwright who has been producing modern classic plays since 1970s. He began his career in advertising and short film scripting before starting to write for the stage. In 1996 he was appointed an Honorary Artistic Associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His numerous plays include A Revolutionary Marriage, The Earthly Paradise, A Russian in the Woods, Overture, Divine Right, The Herbal Bed, Shakespeare Country and The School of Night.