She doesn't know that if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I'd go mad with fright.” Raleigh, an 18-year-old officer, reports for the first time to Osborne. Raleigh reveals that he wanted to join the company because his sister is engaged to Stanhope. Osborne detects Raleigh's idolization of Stanhope and gently cautions him that life on the front lines has a habit of changing men. The play is the basis for the film Aces High (1976), although the action was switched from the infantry to the Royal Flying Corps. There's tension here, sights and sounds of a terrible war, mixed with moments of friendship, camaraderie and the routines of normal English life. Still, everyone is on edge - some more than others - as they await the inevitable. The resulting play ran for 594 performances in the West End, 485 on Broadway and was a worldwide hit, including in Berlin. Sherriff had apparently found the “perfect pitch” at which to represent the “tragedy” of 1914–18 for 1920s audiences who were more used to drawing-room comedies than plays set in a grimy dugout.

But it’s doubtful whether Sherriff aimed to create a fully fledged pacifist drama. He originally planned to write a novel focusing on the relationship between Stanhope and a new young recruit, James Raleigh (played by Asa Butterfield) – a school friend who loves him. It’s an intense relationship which made it onto the stage and is symptomatic of how, throughout the play, it’s the interactions between the soldiers that primarily interest Sherriff. Other plays of the period dealing with the war tended to be judged by the standard of Journey's End. [21] The play and its characters also influenced other writers. In 1930, Noël Coward briefly played the role of Stanhope while on tour in the Far East. He did not consider his performance successful, writing afterwards that his audience "politely watched me take a fine part in a fine play and throw it into the alley." [22] However, he was "strongly affected by the poignancy of the play itself", and was inspired to write Post-Mortem, his own "angry little vilification of war", shortly afterwards. [23] Raleigh admits that he requested to be sent to Stanhope's company. Osborne hints to Raleigh that Stanhope will not be the same person he knew from school, as the experiences of war have changed him; however, Raleigh does not seem to understand. But I love the theatre and I’ve wanted to read Journey’s End for a while now because I’ve heard it was beautiful and tragic. And they are my favourite adjectives when it comes to literature.Gore-Langton, Robert (2013). Journey's End: the classic war play explored. London: Oberon. ISBN 9781849433952.

Over the years there have been numerous amateur productions, the all-male cast making the play a particularly attractive choice for boys' schools, scout troops and other all-male environments. The British Scout Association owns a share of the rights to the play. [13] Written by R C Sherriff in 1927, Journey’s End draws on the playwright’s experience of combat in the First World War. Set in an officers’ dugout over a period of four days in 1918, it is a story of comradeship, fear and heroism. In the British trenches facing Saint-Quentin, Captain Hardy converses with Lieutenant Osborne, an older man and public school master, who has come to relieve him. Hardy jokes about the behaviour of Captain Stanhope, who has turned to alcohol to cope with the stress that the war has caused him. While Hardy jokes, Osborne defends Stanhope and describes him as "the best company commander we've got". Stanhope is angry that Raleigh has been allowed to join him and describes the boy as a hero-worshipper. As Stanhope is in a relationship with Raleigh's sister Madge, he is concerned that Raleigh will write home and inform his sister of Stanhope's drinking. Stanhope tells Osborne that he will censor Raleigh's letters so this will not happen; Osborne does not approve. The three-act play has themes of courage, innocence, human vanity, and mortality. The captain of this company and the protagonist of the play is named Dennis Stanhope.I remember studying this play at secondary school, and it did not leave much of an impression. Simply another script to read until we could play football at break. Upon returning to it a little older, I have found a deep level of appreciation for the play. This is a WWI classic play that was not going anywhere, simply because it had no female part. Finally when actor Laurence Olivier took the lead, the play became popular. maybe i'm just sensitive today, cause i'm not an easy crier. or maybe this play is just like that. i don't know.

And a lot of people may dismiss the scenes and the conversations as slow but I think that is the whole point and what makes the. In the films set around WW1 there is always something happening, shells exploding, machine guns hammering but in reality there was a lot of time where the men were just waiting. i would just like to know what happens afterwards. does Stanhope quit drinking and go home? do they all just die?Second Lieutenant Trotter is a rotund officer commissioned from the ranks who likes his food; he cannot stand the war and counts down each hour that he serves in the front line by drawing circles onto a piece of paper and then colouring them in. The play was adapted for television in 1988, starring Jeremy Northam as Stanhope, Edward Petherbridge as Osborne, and Timothy Spall as Trotter. [20] It held close to the original script although there were changes, the most obvious being the depiction on camera of the raid, which happens off-stage in the theatre production. Stanhope has a keen sense of duty and feels that he must continue to serve rather than take leave to which he is entitled. He criticises another soldier, Second Lieutenant Hibbert, whom he thinks is faking neuralgia in the eye so that he can be sent home instead of continuing fighting. The play is part of the British GCSE English literature qualification that is studied and tested in secondary schools, specifically the Cambridge IGCSE and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE specifications for English. [24] Awards and nominations [ edit ] Awards Osborne puts a tired and somewhat drunk Stanhope to bed. Stanhope, as well as the other officers, refers to Osborne as "Uncle".

Journey's End @ the Greenwich Theatre - A Review - Londoneer". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013 . Retrieved 19 February 2013. The original manuscript for the play is part of IWM’s collection and the First World War galleries at IWM London contain many objects connected with the events and themes explored in the play.Geoffrey Dearmer of the Incorporated Stage Society suggested that Sherriff send the script to George Bernard Shaw, because a good word from him would convince the ISS committee to stage it. [1] Shaw replied that, like other sketches of trench life, it was a "useful [corrective] to the romantic conception of war", and that "As a 'slice of life' – horribly abnormal life – I should say let it be performed by all means". [1] Colin Clive as Stanhope in the 1929 production of Journey's End, directed by James Whale This play reminded me of the preface that Wilfred Owen wrote: “This book is not about heroes. English poetry is not yet fit to speak of them.” Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff receives 4/5⭐️ from me! This was the first play I read & I surprisingly really liked it! I loved how this book didn’t over-exaggerate the reality of life in the trenches. I loved how incredibly emotional & realistic this book was. I’m not usually a fan of war books, but this book made me want to start venturing out to read more books with this genre! There were so many themes of death, grief & romance throughout this book! I loved how the author portrayed different people’s responses to war, it was truly an eye-opening book. Reading Journey’s End made me dive into deep reflection about war and life. As much as I loved this book, I’m left with a bittersweet feeling after reading this as I simply can’t imagine how the author could have handled such harsh conditions & depressing incidents in the midst of fighting a war for 4 long years. This play has ultimately made me appreciate the sacrifice & dedication of soldiers, and realise how blessed I am right now to not be living during a war time. One of my favourite play writes, I tend to stay away from WW1 fictional content as I don't believe that something so horrific can be explained through fiction. WW1 fiction is always either one of two things: extremely unrealistic but fun to read or extremely unrealistic to the point where you are debating wether the Great War actually taught people anything.