Review: Another Country

Pithy public school production


The curtains of the Oxford Playhouse rose to Another Country’s superbly slick set. From the clutter of the library to cricket pitch, identical metal bedsteads and retro trunks and tuck-boxes submerged the audience into the world of the single-sex 1930s boarding school.

The boys banter together from the opening scene, allowing the audience to sit back and watch amused as they bounce off each other in the claustrophobic dormitory atmosphere.

Bennett (Peter Huhne) and Judd (Jo Allan) were the play’s driving forces. Judd’s unswervingly pessimistic attitude was humorously undermined by the jovial Bennett, who provided a welcome anecdote to the more sinister undertones of the plot.

In fact, the latter’s ability to completely aggravate the rigid and authoritarian Fowler (David Shields) offered an almost constant source of laughter.

Through these two marginalised characters (the former by his homosexuality and the latter by his politics) Mitchell paints a moving picture of the oppressive society of inter-war Britain.

From the corrupt totalitarian elite of the ‘Twenty-Two’ to the fearful working class represented by first year Wharton, this insight into a public boarding school effectively mirrored the reigning injustices of contemporary British society.

The cast deserve high praise in the effective portrayal of the nuances and differences of characters drawn from a tiny homogenous elite of upper class schoolboys.

However, the play lacks drive and pace. If, after the interval, you’re expecting the climax of the plot in the not-so-distant future, you’ll be bitterly disappointed. If you try and explain what actually happens in the plot you’re left perplexed.

Whilst the social and political themes of the play appear to be brought under the limelight and overtly criticised, very little is actually ever developed and analysed.

The death of a schoolmate, Martineau, initially appears to provide a point of departure for the play, however the consequences of this are never truly or effectively drawn upon – Another Country’s forte certainly lies more in its production and cast.

Although consistently funny, those weary after a week of essay writing and late nights beware: up your caffeine levels before entering the auditorium as Jessica Lazar’s interpretation of Another Country is of oppression, sinister undertones and strained relationships.