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The seemingly mundane conversations between the officers worked perfectly to convey the monotony on the front. There’s one scene where several characters are waiting until they must go over the dugout and into no man’s land, and each minute is excruciatingly counted down. They try to fill the space with small talk, but they can’t; they’re about to go on a suicide mission. It’s one of the tensest scenes I’ve read. Gore-Langton, Robert (2013). Journey's End: the classic war play explored. London: Oberon. ISBN 9781849433952. But it’s doubtful whether Sherriff aimed to create a fully fledged pacifist drama. He originally planned to write a novel focusing on the relationship between Stanhope and a new young recruit, James Raleigh (played by Asa Butterfield) – a school friend who loves him. It’s an intense relationship which made it onto the stage and is symptomatic of how, throughout the play, it’s the interactions between the soldiers that primarily interest Sherriff. As with many films of this oeuvre, there are brave young officers and there are good-humoured working-class soldiers – but it is left to a heavy-drinking army captain, Dennis Stanhope (played by Sam Claflin), a former captain of “rugger” at his private school, to reflect on the horror before leading his men out to die.
Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff receives 4/5⭐️ from me! This was the first play I read & I surprisingly really liked it! I loved how this book didn’t over-exaggerate the reality of life in the trenches. I loved how incredibly emotional & realistic this book was. I’m not usually a fan of war books, but this book made me want to start venturing out to read more books with this genre! There were so many themes of death, grief & romance throughout this book! I loved how the author portrayed different people’s responses to war, it was truly an eye-opening book. Reading Journey’s End made me dive into deep reflection about war and life. As much as I loved this book, I’m left with a bittersweet feeling after reading this as I simply can’t imagine how the author could have handled such harsh conditions & depressing incidents in the midst of fighting a war for 4 long years. This play has ultimately made me appreciate the sacrifice & dedication of soldiers, and realise how blessed I am right now to not be living during a war time. Edinburgh Gateway Company (1965), The Twelve Seasons of the Edinburgh Gateway Company, 1953 - 1965, St. Giles Press, Edinburgh, p. 55 Osborne's death, however, i was not expecting (i probably should've). and what made it even worse was remembering the things he'd said about his wife and his life with her, and giving Stanhope his stuff. AND THEN STANHOPE'S BREAKDOWN WHEN HE ARGUES WITH RALEIGH. i was in tears. Olivier played the part again in 1934 at a special performance for a post-war charity, with Horne and Zucco from the original cast. See "Special Performance of 'Journey's End'", The Times, 3 November 1934, p. 10At no point do we leave the dugout, not even to enter the war's notorious trenches per se, yet sounds of the war are heard throughout every scene. It's a claustrophobic, intense situation and story. Apparently Sherriff originally wanted to title it Suspense or Waiting, which are actually better titles in some ways. Instead of writing a play that is about the combat, Sherriff chose to focus on the men and their feelings. The most striking part was that he could have chosen any group of soldiers on either side of No Man’s Land and still had the same play, the same feelings and the same message. IWM holds a vast archive of unique documents dating from 1914 to the present day. Among the archives that we hold is the original manuscripts of the play, Journey's End by R.C. Sheriff. Journey's End was based on Sheriff's own experiences as an army officer in the First World War. The story plays out over four days, the 18th to the 21st of March 1918, the start of the German Spring Offensive. During the Second World War, productions were staged by members of the Royal Natal Carbineers at El Khatatba, Egypt (January 1944); and by British prisoners in Changi Prison, Singapore (February 1943); at Tamarkan, Thailand, a Japanese labour camp on the Burma Railway (July 1943); in Stalag 344, near Lamsdorf, Germany (July 1944); and in Campo P.G. 75, near Bari, Italy. [14]
At the end of the First World War and during the years that followed, many authors, artists and playwrights responded to the conflict through their work. One such example is the play Journey’s End by R C Sherriff. i would just like to know what happens afterwards. does Stanhope quit drinking and go home? do they all just die? The play was adapted for television in 1988, starring Jeremy Northam as Stanhope, Edward Petherbridge as Osborne, and Timothy Spall as Trotter. [20] It held close to the original script although there were changes, the most obvious being the depiction on camera of the raid, which happens off-stage in the theatre production.March marks the 100th anniversary of Germany’s final offensive of World War I, which sent 74 divisions of German troops against the Allied lines over a 60-mile front, preceded by a five-hour artillery barrage of a million shells. More than half a million men died on both sides. The conceit is simple. In 1918 a group of British officers wait in an underground shelter for the German army to begin what was then the largest military offensive in human history. Two men who knew each other as friends before the war find their relationship, and their selves, radically altered. An older man tries to support both of them as they struggle with the war and each other. The original manuscript for the play is part of IWM’s collection and the First World War galleries at IWM London contain many objects connected with the events and themes explored in the play.
The resulting play ran for 594 performances in the West End, 485 on Broadway and was a worldwide hit, including in Berlin. Sherriff had apparently found the “perfect pitch” at which to represent the “tragedy” of 1914–18 for 1920s audiences who were more used to drawing-room comedies than plays set in a grimy dugout. Second Lieutenant Trotter is a rotund officer commissioned from the ranks who likes his food; he cannot stand the war and counts down each hour that he serves in the front line by drawing circles onto a piece of paper and then colouring them in. It is decided that Osborne and Raleigh will be the officers to go on the raid, despite the fact that Raleigh has only recently entered the war. In 2015 the Shute Theatre and Arts Guild (STAG) staged a production of the play in St Michael's Church, Shute, Devon, directed by Elisabeth Miller. [15] Vahimagi, Tise (1994). British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.8. ISBN 978-0-19-818336-5.
A gentleman’s game?
Sherriff had trouble getting Journey's End produced in the West End, writing that "Every management in London had turned the play down. They said people didn't want war plays [...] 'How can I put on a play with no leading lady?' one [theatre manager] had asked complainingly." [1] Sherriff used No Leading Lady as the title of his autobiography, published in 1968. Walters, Emily Curtis (2016). "Between entertainment and elegy: the unexpected success of R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End (1928)". Journal of British Studies. 55 (2): 344–73. doi: 10.1017/jbr.2016.3. Stanhope asks if Osborne will monitor Raleigh’s letters for any bad words said about him. Osborne, who everyone calls “Uncle,” refuses. When Stanhope responds by getting very drunk, Osborne helps him get into bed and sleep it off. Everyone knows that Stanhope should take the vacation time (like Captain Hardy) and recover a bit, but Stanhope insists it’s his duty to remain near the front line. Purkis, Charlotte (2016). "The mediation of constructions of pacifism in Journey's End and The Searcher, two contrasting dramatic memorials from the late 1920s". Journalism Studies. 17 (4): 502–16. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2015.1135753. A second eponymous English film adaptation was released in 2017, with a wider theatrical release in spring 2018.
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