
Heroes
Production Date: March 2009
Directed by: Alice Burns
Heroes (The Wind in the Poplars) is the work of Gerald Sibleyras who was born in Paris in 1961. The play received four Moliére nominations in 2003. The translation by Tom Stoppard was premiered at Wyndham's Theatre, London, in 2005, and has also been performed at the Edinburgh Festival and in Los Angeles.
Three old soldiers, living ina hame for veterans of the First World War, plot their escape during the late summer of 1959. If they cannot quite make it to Indochina then perhaps they will settle for getting as far as the poplar trees on the hill! Whatever they decide to do needs planning and organisation....and agreement between three very different characters. The essence of the play is the relationship sustaining the three men, plus their ability to continue planning for a different, more hopeful future.
This is a rather different production for the Wychwood Players, very small scale and using a thrust stage on the floor of the hall for the first time. Another first is a performance at Tiddy Hall in Ascott-under-Wychwood. For actors a small cast play presents great challenges and the three actors performing tonight have worked with huge enthusiasm and dedication to evoke an atmosphere of friendship, spiced with disagreement, confusion and gentle humour. I hope you will enjoy this more intimate approach and an insight into the joys and frustrations of our three heroes as they ‘Strive a little for the epic, old boy’.