2 – 24 August 2013 18.05pm theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall (Venue 53)
Alex Gwyther in association with Theatre Bench & Robin Rayner present Our Friends, The Enemy, Written & Performed by Alex Gwyther, Directed by Tom O’Brien
Our Friends, The Enemy is a brand new solo show combining theatre and spoken word to capture the events surrounding the infamous Christmas truce from the First World War. Private James Boyce of the 1st Queen’s Regiment takes the audience through the magical and haunting experiences of that Christmas in 1914 on the Western Front.
Writer and performer Alex Gwyther initially wrote the piece through a fascination with the subject matter and how undocumented it was in the media and history books. He has been invited to perform excerpts at remembrance services over the past two years in aid of Help for Heroes and St. Dunstan’s Charity. The writing has been developed with Apples and Snakes and more recently with the assistance of director Tom O’Brien.
In preparation for his role, Alex Gwyther spent the night as a First World War soldier in military historian Andrew Robertshaw’s replica trench in Surrey. Following the run at Edinburgh, Our Friends, The Enemy is preparing for a national tour with the view of taking it internationally to coincide with the 2014 First World War Centenary. The Truce remains a very relevant topic in today’s society with Colonel Tootal OBE describing the play as having ‘real impact’.
Alex Gwyther has performed his spoken word poetry at venues, festivals and events around the UK such as The Royal Festival Hall, Latitude Festival, The Roundhouse Camden and The Mayor of London’s Week of Peace in Trafalgar Square. The production is designed by James Hirst with lighting design by Derek Anderson. The play features brand new music created by Darren Clark and the sound will be designed by David Gregory.
Our Friends, The Enemy was first performed as part of the Fresh Ideas Season at the New Wimbledon Studio. Prior to the Edinburgh Festival, the play will preview at Theatre 503 on the 21st & 22nd July. www.ourfriendstheenemy.com
Ticket Price £8.00/£7.00
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
