This Was the World and I Was King[author-post-rating] (3/5 Stars)

Many a bad production has tried to hammer its show into shape by beating it with acoustic instruments. All it generally achieves is a saccharine sweet headache and splinters in your actor’s wigs. This Was the World… avoids this fate by a fret’s breadth.

The rural accompaniment strikes an emotionally resonant chord but in doing so strays inevitably into the realms of folky sentiment. Speed it up, remove the dialogue and you’ll get something approaching a Mumford and Son’s music video via an advert for wholemeal bread.

This Was the World… tells the wartime story of a soldier’s children finding solace in their verdant imaginations while they anxiously awaiting the return of their father from the front. Despite the distressingly hearty harmonies there some stand-out performances that manage to tread water amongst the sea of nostalgic notes. The three children, played by Laura Trundle, Laura Hannawin and Nathan Foad, give the piece a youthful momentum. Their make-believe montages are the highlight of the play and provide the only ideal stimulus for the frothy melodies.

Aside from this sprightly rabble are the grim faced grown-ups. Oaky voiced uncle Edward (David Thackeray) seems constantly on the verge of barking remonstrations to whoever might be in earshot. His moustache demands the utmost respect. He continually asserts his hairy-lipped authority over the children’s mother Josephine (Leonie Marzecki) to preserve her calm during her husband’s stressful absence. It’s a good thing to, because Josephine is a woman and therefore liable to start having emotions all over the household if not kept in check.

The entire production has the uncanny sensation of childhood deja vu. As if the Railway Children broke into the Lion and Witch’s walk-in-wardrobe. It feels like a nostalgic favourite forming before our very eyes. The old VHS you still think of fondly but could no longer explain why with your old, caffeine-addled mind. In spite of the overwrought score This Was the World… successfully sets a marching beat to invigorate these tired wartime themes with a joyous childish exuberance.

This Was the World and I was King is playing at C nova as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until 26th. For more information and tickets, please see to the Edinburgh Fringe Website.