OUR BOYS
By Jonathan Lewis
Set in 1984,
'Our Boys' concerns five young soldiers, among them
veterans of the troubles in Northern Ireland and the
Hyde Park bombing.
The veterans are killing
nothing but time in the quiet ward of the Queen
Elizabeth Military Hospital, with television, games,
pornography, bragging one-upmanship and cynical humour
as their only means of mental escape. Tensions arise
however when a young officer is billeted with them, and
a bitter, savage war of words, only just disguised as
humour, is waged against him. After an hilarious
birthday party, into which several cans of beer have
been smuggled, the six find themselves facing charges of
misconduct - and then the fighting really starts.
Fired by the author's anger
at the Army's neglect of its wounded heroes, the play is
a perceptive and surprisingly tender work. This is the
first major London revival since being staged at the
Donmar Warehouse in 1995.