The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

It Is Easy to Be Dead at the Finborough Theatre

It Is Easy to Be Dead at the Finborough Theatre | Theatre review
21 June 2016
Luisa Kapp
Avatar
Luisa Kapp
21 June 2016

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Somme, the Finborough Theatre in west London debuts Neil McPherson’s It Is Easy to Be Dead, a heartbreaking portrayal of the young life of a soldier and poet during WWI.

The story follows the real life of poet Charles Hamilton Sorley, who, according to John Masefield, was “potentially the greatest poet lost to us in that war…had Sorley lived, he might have become our greatest dramatist since Shakespeare”. The play is cleverly divided into two simultaneous strands of action: while it begins with the death of the young man, his life is retold through his poetry and in letters read by his parents. His studies in Germany, his adventures with his host family and his fear at the start of the war are all touchingly portrayed. Alexander Knox, who plays Charles Sorley, is simply marvellous at capturing the range of emotions his character goes through — his enthusiasm over a new life and his desperation when he has to watch his friends die for a cause he does not believe in.

Sorely’s unique poetry is accompanied by music of the time, young tenor Hugh Benson embodying the turn of the century in his voice and beautifully underlaying the action. Though the set is simple and the cast small, the play is extremely powerful, a tribute not only to the poet himself but to all the others who lost their lives and the ones they left behind. Knox’s performance and emotion are so genuine, one prop combined with projections behind him suffices to transport the viewer to the battlefield and feel the desolation for themselves. Throughout the play, writer Neil McPherson’s words always hit the right note; humorous as well as earnest lines feel authentic and moving.

It Is Easy to Be Dead is a rare and unexpected find that nobody should miss!

Luisa Kapp
Photo: Scott Rylander

It Is Easy to Be Dead is on at the Finborough Theatre from 15th June until 9th July 2016, for further information or to book visit here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More

Redemption Room at Secret Theatre Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rice! at Omnibus Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

24, 23, 22 at Chronic Insanity Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at Southwark Playhouse Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Typical at Soho Theatre

★★★★★
Ella Satin
Read More

Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

Gatsby at Cadogan Hall: An interview with Jodie Steele and Ross William Wild

Michael Higgs
Read More

Living Record Festival: Ain’t No Female Romeo

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Luisa Kapp

It Is Easy to Be Dead

★★★★★

Dates

15th June - 9th July 2016

Price

£14-£18

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Limbo
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Delectible drinks that would make the perfect Mother’s Day gift
    Food & Drinks
  • Killing Escobar
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • “There really hasn’t been a film that deals with a platonic male-female relationship in this way”: Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass discuss Language Lessons
    Berlinale
  • A Brixton Tale
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Surge
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • The Old Ways
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Berlinale 2021 winners: The full list
    Berlinale
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Dissident
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Natasha Langridge: An interview with the writer of In Memory of Leaves
Ladyhawke – Wild Things | Album review