CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
Jingo - A Farce of War



All the rubber in Maslaya comes from Kew Gardens.— Bernard
Jingo
Anthony Howell as Ian and Susannah Harker as Gwendoline
(Photo: Robert Workman)
Charles Wood's 1975 play Jingo about the fall of Singapore in the Second World War gets a revival at the Finborough Theatre in West London. The play falls into two distinct halves. The first act is a richly veined satire as to how badly the British behave abroad to others and how unprepared they are for the impending Japanese invasion. Susannah Harker plays a woman who takes advantage of the woman shortage in the colonies to find herself a husband who can take care of her. Using sex and seduction, she is a femme fatale and has married the unlikely, incompetent boy-like, "nice but dim" George (Peter Sandys-Clarke), after finding herself stranded in Bombay with no means of paying her hotel bill. When her ex-husband Ian (Anthony Howell), a major in the Royal Engineers appears in Singapore, she is ripe for an affair with her idea of a real man of the strong silent ilk. She is also pursued by Brigadier Percy (Paul Mooney) whose finds himself wifeless after Mrs Percy has been evacuated.

The first act is strewn with appalling racist expressions as the jingoistic British refer to the Japanese as "little yellow men" and the Chinese as "Chinks" and a chastening thought is that this isn't fantasy, but the way people spoke and behaved in the 1940s. Arrogance doesn't start to describe them. Gwendoline lords it over the servant while Ian talks in a peculiar language to the Chinese servant ending every word with a double "ee", like this, "Wong Swee, you go-ee talk-ee to the cook-ee. . ."

The Second Act sees the British up against it, having realised that they are taking a drubbing and the only recourse for most is to get on a ship and get out of Singapore. A rubber planter who has lost an ear A rubber planter who has lost an ear (Paul Mooney) persuades George to rescue his Chinese girl, Shirley (Vera Chok) by taking her back to Singapore. Later in the play we see Shirley crossing the stage and each time looking more distressed and more dishevelled from the happy, pretty girl we first saw. Gwendoline is staying in a hotel room with Percy (Roger Braban) and getting increasingly desperate, "one's chit has been refused". The British have destroyed the supplies of whisky and spirits so that it shouldn't fall into Japanese hands but have forgotten to keep stocks for themselves. They are incapable of dealing with this crisis without alcohol. The soldiers, George and Ian arrive, bloodied and dirty, desperate for some water to wash in and visibly shocked by the Japanese onslaught.

Despite the odds, like scum, Gwendoline seems to rise to the surface and makes it to Australia. I had rather wanted her to become one of the Japanese so-called comfort women but she escapes this fate. Susannah Harker is very fruity and I loved her confiding asides to the audience. Anthony Howell plays her lover with a quiet passion. The whole cast pull their weight and Jingo is interestingly revived for the first time since 1975.

Jingo
Written by Charles Wood
Directed by Tom Littler

Starring: Susannah Harker, Anthony Howell
With: Roger Braban, Vera Chok, Paul Mooney, Peter Sandys-Clarke, Jeremy Tiang
Design and Lighting: Will Reynolds
Sound: Juliet Stevens
Costume Design: Saka Matsushita
Running time: Two hours with one interval
Box Office: 0844 847 16422 www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Booking to 19th April 2008
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 28th March 2008 performance at The Finborough Theatre, Finborough Road, London SW10 (Tube: Earls Court)

London Theatre Tickets
Lion King Tickets
Billy Elliot Tickets
Mighty Boosh Tickets
Mamma Mia Tickets
We Will Rock You Tickets
Theatre Tickets
Google
 
Web    
www.curtainup.com
London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2008,

GUCCI

|

Aluminium Chronograph

|

PEAK new fashion ladies venting air spring heighten casual sport shoes P8004E

|

Tiffany & Co Hook and Eye Ring

|

mbt shoes

|

MBT Shoes

|

Tiffany&Co Daisy 925 sterling silver rings

|

Rolex

|

Louis Vuitton

|

Affliction Boots

|

Nike Shoes

|

Nike Dunk

|

MP5 Wholesale

|

Atlanta Falcons

|

Abercrombie Pants Wholesale 002

|

Louis Vuitton

|

UGG Boots Mulberry Genuine Australia classic Tall Ugg Boots

|

GUCCI Handbags

|

UGG Boots Classic Argyle Knit Chocolate 5879

|

Louis Vuitton Business Card Holder Ebony

|

MBT Men's Kisumu Tan Sandals

|

MBT Chapa

|

ugg boots

|

MBT Kisumu 2 White Men's Sandals

|

Nike Shoes

|

Louis Vuitton Monogram Denim Messenger Bag PM m95865

|

Bailey Button Uggs

|

Sexy Costume QS0169

|

Phone Wholesale

|

Bikinis Sets

|

Wholesale

|

Car DVD Player

|

LV

|

Tourbillon

|

Tiffany tiffany replica ring

|

Superleggera J12 White

|

Tiffany

|

rolex

|

Mouse Wholesale

|

Nike Air Max 2003

|

Monogram Groom

|

GUCCI

|

Wholesale

|

Nike Air Max LTD (dark blue/white) No.372340

Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com