“Heroes”

The cast of “Heroes”, Alan Ormerod plays Henri, Bill Christie plays Gustave, and Thomas Holder plays Philippe.

An upcoming stage production looks to give Victorians a skewed and hilarious look at the lives of World War One veterans.

The production, called “Heroes”, is a translation of a play by French playwright Gérald Sibleyras. Originally opening in London in 2005, Langham Court’s production is a first for Victoria and director Don Keith, who says he couldn’t be happier to bring it to the community.

“It’s such an intelligent, witty play,” he says. “The cast is just delightful and they really bring a huge amount of talent to the production.”

The show will run from Nov. 14 to Nov. 30 at the Langham Court Theatre and focuses on the lives of three World War One veterans who are living out their remaining days in hospice. While the subject matter is emotionally heavy, Keith says the play itself is a comedy, and it shows in the cast.

“The characters are hilarious, they spend so much time together, they’re like three uncles who do nothing but bicker,” he says. “We did our best to do the characters and the source material justice, so it was important for us to get the relationships right.”

While the original London production featured English heavy hitters Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, and Ken Stott, Victoria’s production features three new local talents. Bill Cristie, Alan Omerod, and Thomas Holder will take the stage as veterans Gustave, Henri, and Phillippe.

“We’ve got an Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scot, so you can imagine the conversations they have,” says Keith. “It has been such a pleasure working with them and the experience they present is incredible.”

While the last of the World War One veterans has died, Keith says the importance of this play is bringing attention to lives of veterans following active service.

“It’s important to remember combat and war change lives forever,” he says. “Hopefully with this play we can bring attention to the hardships of our veterans, and maybe entertain people along the way.”

Ticket information can be found at www.langham
theatre.com.

Shawn O’Hara, Staff Writer