The country is marking the centenary of WW1 this year with countless events and productions inspired by the outbreak of WW1 in 1914 and its consequences for our heritage, a generation lost but not forgotten. Translating Rolf Hochhuth’s intense Sommer 14 – A Dance of Death, Cerberus Theatre convert Finborough Theatre into Death’s battlefield, a collection of events all leading up to the beginning of the war and the many lives lost.

With Death impersonated as a fallen solider, we are guided through a myriad of events from King Edward VII and Emperor Franz Joseph’s early discussion of the possibility of war in 1909, to the shots in Sarajevo and the outbreak of the Great War. Touching on every significant event, we are introduced to the world leaders and their thoughts on the war, the consequences of their actions and the impact on civilians, with the sinking of Lusitania as a very personal and emotional example. All scenes are linked together by Death, disguised as a young soldier, singing and manipulating all characters onstage to his liking, commenting on the horrors of war and the reason behind it and the way humans act in crisis.

Sommer 14 – A Dance of Death is uncomfortably intense and feels ice-cold in the small setting of Finborough Theatre. Hochhuth’s writing has an almost Ancient Greek feel to it with Death functioning as the commenting chorus, manipulating the characters and guiding the audience’s reaction and opinion throughout the piece. Dean Bray portrays the cold hand of death to perfection with a shrilling voice, great commitment and energy peppered with black irony, and a wonderful balance between emotional investment in the text and a cynical push of narrative. He links the piece together with Mike Lees’ haunting design, propelling us into the horrors of the war with incredible graphics and film, casting beautiful shadows over Death as he speaks one of his shrilling monologues. All scenes are played with energy and intention, and the cast work well together, with especially Tim Faulkner leaving an impact as Kaiser Wilhelm II.

It does feel like a heavy history lesson at times, and some information is lost in the speed of dialogue and scene change. The scene-changes provided by Death make it all flow and is the glue that holds an otherwise slightly wobbly piece together. The costumes are phenomenal and resonates with the time, but I missed a little more work on accents as actors morph into various worldly known people, with only a few of them changing their accents into a non-British one. That said, director Christopher Loscher has created a work of great detail, a heavy piece hard to swallow that honours the centenary and the lost lives of the war, and also manages to teach us something new about a time long lost. To an older audience this will resonate extremely well. For a younger one it probably feels too slow and lecturing at times, but still worth the watch.

Sommer 14 – A Dance of Death is playing at Finborough Theatre until 30 August. For more information and tickets, see the Finborough Theatre website. Photo by Scott Rylander.