Film Analysis Of Joan Littlewood's Oh What A Lovely War

In our exploration of Oh What A Lovely War, devised by Theatre Workshop and directed by Joan Littlewood. I, as well as my group, came across many challenges and opportunities throughout the extract. It was produced in 1963 and is an anti-war piece which was based on World War I. We wanted to remain true to the political message/gest of the play by mocking the senior command, represented by Haig. We wanted to show their incompetence when they needlessly sacrificed the soldiers’ lives. The genre is political theatre with elements of documentary and musical theatre; however, it doesn’t have a particular style so therefor utilises a mixture of styles including musical elements, Brechtian techniques such as the MC breaking the fourth wall, naturalistic

He overlooks the general and doesn't show any signs of sympathy towards the men on the front line. I want the audience to dislike Haig due to his lack of compassion and egotism, especially when he says, ‘Capture the German line without delay' which I will do by having an emotionless tone with a low pitch when I spoke and a forceful delivery of speech. I stood up with a straight back and my hands clasped behind my back with my chin in the air and one foot slightly in front to show authority. I was overlooking everyone and not sustaining eye contact with anyone. I showed this through my face by having a stern facial expression and slightly squinting my eyes so I didn’t look bothered. There is a huge contrast between the British General and Haig which is especially evident in the first extract when the general says, 'We are rather short of men sir' because it shows the contrast between their power and view about the war; the General empathises with the men on the front line whereas Haig has no care for them and is an emotionless, heartless stern field marshal. The proxemics between them were large to show Haig’s social status and power. Furthermore, on page 68 Haig says, ‘I am the predestined instrument of providence for the achievement of victory for the British army’. I said this with a deep, elderly upper-class tone with received pronunciation and portrayed utter arrogance with my head up and a straight posture with a proud facial