The Wykehamist Life According to Saki
“ You will die.”
Life According to Saki was an engaging, hilarious, and touching play that delicately portrayed the hardships of trench life with a subtle and sometimes disturbing wit. Written by the renowned children’ s author Katherine Rundell, it was a tribute to the work of the beloved writer Hector Hugh Munro( better known as Saki), who was killed during the Battle of the Somme. It contained a series of lively sketches( though markedly of a different sort from those in the Staff & Pupil Revue) effectively conveyed through chorus movement, song, and speech – all tied together through Saki’ s narration( Rishi Bhardwaj( E, 2020-)) and the work of Dr Krishnan( NGK), who directed the play.
The play opened with a chilling tune, beautifully sung by George Freeman( G, 2023-), James Haidar( A, 2024-), and Orlando Shivji( G, 2024-). Rather than seeking to shock or harrow the audience( as a typical war play may), it distinguished itself by drawing the audience in with its eerie undertones, keeping us on the edge of our seats. I felt connected to the characters from the very start, living‘ normal’ lives in the trenches during the First World War. The chorus successfully helped to create an impact bigger than just words alone, by excellently conveying the more childlike nature of the boys in the trenches, compared to Saki’ s more fatherlike figure. Rishi effortlessly portrayed Saki with an air of wisdom, making the script his own with a measured profundity and charm, carefully timed pauses and lively gestures.
As well as the actors, the design elements of the performance helped to set the scene. The set, built by Mr Cunio, was relatively minimal with an intricately modelled trench wall made of sandbags and barbed wire, dirtied and bloodied for realistic effect. Similarly, Mrs Kight’ s costumes were simple, neutral wartime attire, but accessories such as shawls were added to demonstrate various characters. The WW1 trench backdrop to the light-hearted sketches emphasised the contrast between the stories Saki wrote and the reality he was forced to inhabit, both helping us to suspend our disbelief and also to remember that the stories are being acted out by the soldiers in the world of the story. Saki wore a proper military uniform which helped him to stand
25 out and express his superiority over the boys both in rank and age.
Charlie Perks’( G, 2022-) and Anna Matthews’( G, 2024-) lighting brought the stage to life; the dark orange-yellow wash was successful in portraying a dingy, dirty trench environment. The excellent use of spotlighting at key moments helped to build emotion throughout, working in harmony with the ensemble’ s movement. The greatest effect came when the chorus were reading headlines from a newspaper. Dynamically arranged in different levels, the ensemble spoke gravely. Nervous energy washed around the theatre as intensity grew stronger and stronger while the spotlights grew smaller and smaller, lighting fewer and fewer of them until the reading stopped, the lights went back to the general wash state and the chorus dispersed quickly and uniformly. I focused on the words and emotions of the characters and felt connected to them, which made the ending even more tragic.
Among the highlights was the sinister tale of Sredni Vashtar, where a sickly child – Conradin( George Freeman) – worships a ferret in his shed, much to the distaste of Mrs De Ropp( Abir Bordia( I, 2023-)), his guardian. The story gripped the audience with a sense of nervous excitement. Both George and Abir created believable characters to be feared. Abir maintained a stern demeanour and portrayed Mrs De Ropp as threatening by looming over Conradin’ s bed – the audience shifted in their seats – and a menacing tone of voice. George also very efficaciously portrayed a sickly child turning to Sredni Vashtar for help after growing mad from being locked away his whole life. He spoke with a higher pitched voice, darting about the stage while using manic facial expressions. Despite this gloomy atmosphere, Saki’ s dark humour successfully elicited a few nervous laughs from the audience, disturbed though they were by Conradin’ s redwashed monologues. Engaging though it was, I felt Max Lee’ s( Coll:, 2023-) otherwise entrancing dance sequence was too long and consequently took away from the otherwise tense and effective piece.
Throughout the performance, Rishi kept a lively pace, engaging the audience during his monologues( none of which was about lumberjacks, for a change). His