by Markus Boyd

’For the Fallen’, an especially-commissioned play to commemorate the island’s involvement in the First World war, written and directed by John Young and starring a wholly-local cast, was performed over five nights at the Studio Theatre at Ballakermeen High School.

Commissioned by the Isle of Man Arts Council, For the Fallen is an emotionally charged tribute to the Manx soldiers who lost their lives in World War One, and to the communities that were affected.

The production was performed on a novel set that was an elevated walkway, spanning the theatre length with a circular centre stage, plastered with period street maps of the Isle of Man.

Powerfully communicated was the conflict between national duty and pain felt across Manx families separated by this calling.

Further, the choice to focus on such young men in battle is potent for their innocence, compounded by the tragic credulity of patriotism and the chilling lack of regard for their lives by the military power structure.

When we are in need of a repose, it is love that provides it - in the passionate loyalty, albeit challenged, between young Harry and Joyce, played by Christian Cooper and Helen McKenna, and in the letters written by the boys on the front line to their mothers that we hear; it is the pending satisfaction of reunion that keeps us spellbound.

The street maps, we later learned, were purposed to illuminate in red the homes at where the Manx fallen once lived, shown during the final moments - a clever ominous addition.

The acting, in my view, was decisive enough to captivate our attention and influence our mood.

Particularly of note was the performance by Harry and Joyce, which was not without a passionate flair.

I particularly liked the set for its immersive qualities for the audience, as opposed to the usual proscenium arrangement.

In all, this was a fruitful theatrical performance that skilfully conveyed how this tragedy deeply impacted the Manx people, and, too, reminding us how our remembrance will always remain pertinent.