Photo: David McKibbon Chesil Theatre Winchester opens a new season with For Services Remembered by W Somerset Maugham, a particular apt and poignant choice as we approach the centenary of the end of the Great War.
Set in 1932, the drama asks whatever happened to ‘a land fit for heroes’ promised by David Lloyd George in 1918? The post-war effects are keenly felt by the Ardsley family whose children face uncertain futures. Ethel is married to a former officer who is not quite the man she’d hoped for, Eva has martyred herself to the cause of her brother Sydney, blinded in the war. Lois, the youngest, can only see one desperate way of escape into a new life and one which horrifies her parents but England is changing, falling apart and must begin again.
The major question, posed then and as relevant now, is how do we care not only for the damaged veterans who survive the wars to which we send them but also help their families cope with the devastation wrought?
Director Alec Walters comments: “Maugham pulls no punches in his exploration of these major issues and we hope the more intimate thrust staging of the play will add extra atmosphere for our audience.”
For Services Rendered runs at the Chesil Theatre, Chesil Street, Winchester from Saturday 15th to Saturday 22nd September nightly, with a matinee on the final Saturday. Everyone is welcome to join in a post-show discussion with the director and cast on Tuesday 18th September 2018. Booking is now available here.
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