Private Peaceful

In all the tickets I booked for the theatre festival, I made an effort to see a diversity of performances. Part of this effort included attending one of the family shows. Private Peaceful is an adaptation of a book about a young man who joins the English Army to fight in World War I. The story moves between him keeping track of time passing as an adult and moments from his youth or adolescence. It is a one-man show of approximately 80 minutes.

The performer, Alexander Campbell, was impressive in his range, in his precision, and in his intensity. He moved smoothly through the character transitions, embodying a stern community elder or the just-school-age Tommo with equal aplomb. Despite the audience's vigorous applause, he declined to return to the stage a third time which, to me, showed a combination of exhaustion and humility that were both reinforced during the talk-back discussion.

There were lots of adults asking questions, but he answered each question with respect (for himself, for the work, and for the speaker). I was particularly struck by two of his answers. To a question about how he keeps his energy up during the show with no one else on stage, he responded that there is fear but there is also the accountability to the material, to those who served and died in World War I, and to the audience. To a question about whether or not he feels Tommo's feelings during the show, he responded about how it varies by space, by audience, and by night because all these factors affect his feeling of safety.

Tonight was the first time in quite a long time that I really wanted to just sit with an actor and have a chat. Each actor I know who has worked on educational and family theatre has told me about how difficult it can be to maintain energy and focus during a tour. Alexander Campbell exuded a passion and respect for his work that was both charming and inspirational. And the queue of audience members who went to talk with him personally makes me think I wasn't the only one who was grateful for his efforts.