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Three Shows Telling War Stories

By Caro Moses | Published on Wednesday 3 August 2022

Three shows telling war stories at Edinburgh Festival 2022…

Dots And Dashes: A Bletchley Park Musical | Army @ The Fringe – Drill Hall | 16-28 Aug
Okay, let’s delve into some war stories, which may have the capacity to make us sad, but may also have the capacity to make us smile. I can’t help thinking that a brand new musical show like this one might manage the latter. It tells the story of six women working at Bletchley Park during World War Two, detailing their stories of love, loss, secrets and the sacrifices they made as they attempted to protect millions of lives. Delivered by an all-female cast, it promises to be an ode to unsung heroes – as so many in wartime are – and we are expecting good things from it. Click here for info and tickets.

Johnny Got His Gun | Zoo Southside | 5-28 Aug (pictured)
“A grenade hits Joe Bonham in WW1. He wakes up in the hospital to discover his arms, legs, eyes, ears and mouth are gone. Left is but a torso – the living dead alone with his thoughts. Now he breaks through to be heard”. This has got to be a sad one, I am not sure I can see any way round that; it’s absolutely an emotionally charged show that will offer an examination of the impact of the First World War on the soldiers who fought it. Based on the 1938 anti-war novel by American writer Dalton Trumbo – and created by Essi Rossi, Johannes Holopainen and Pauli Riikonen – it sees the once-fiercely patriotic soldier questioning the belief that fighting for liberty and democracy was the right thing to do. Click here for info and tickets.

Tempus Fugit: Troy And Us | Army @ The Fringe – Drill Hall | 16-28 Aug
Back over to Army @ The Fringe now. Well, the chances of two shows at that venue appearing in a section of war stories were always going to be fairly high. We are returning for a critically acclaimed piece inspired by Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and interviews with contemporary military personnel and their partners, and which presents a really interesting angle on how war affects those involved. “The doorbell rings, a radio crackles – ancient and modern conflicts collide as the wife of a soldier fighting in Afghanistan is plunged into her own memories and into visions of the Trojan War. Tales from antiquity speak to her present and hold the keys to her future”. Click here for info and tickets.