Play Review: ‘This Is War’ at the Walterdale

The Walterdale Theatre is putting on yet another incredible production. This Is War, directed by Shawn Marshall, hits the audience right in the gut with its unflattering depictions of the Afghanistan war. From the script and the set, to the performances and the lighting, it was all on point.

This Is War is a mix of a one-sided interview with four veterans of the Afghanistan war and scenes mostly from the day leading up to a botched mission. It starts with Master Corporal Tanya Young’s (Chelsea Thompson) account, then Private Jonny Henderson’s (Declan Hutcheon), Sergeant Stephen Hughes’ (Michael Leoppky), and finally Sergeant Chris Anders’ (Alex D. Mackie). As an audience, we never see the reporter interviewing the veterans, but the cast manage to fill in all the blanks for us.

The story slowly begins to reveal what happened the day of the disastrous mission, and tells the audience more about the characters. As the audience gets to see some of the events replayed from the perspective of the different characters, it adds more layers to the story and the people in it.

The performances were truly amazing. Thompson’s range from her character’s coldness to quick anger to the absolute devastation gripped me. Hutcheon embodied each version of his character, from Young’s perception of him, to his own, and to his two Sergeants’. He went from despicable and annoying to goofy and loveable, and then to downright heartwrenching.

Leoppky did just as great bringing the role of the gruff, yet caring leader to life. In a slightly different way from Henderson’s character, he went from making me cringe to wanting to cry. And Mackie’s performance was just as heartbreaking. His character was easily loveable from the beginning, but grew into something more bitter. 

All four of the cast drew the audience into their characters, each just as compelling as the next. Their performances exceeded any expectations I had going into the play.

As usual, the Walterdale’s lighting and sound crew hit every mark. The lighting was used to differentiate from the interviewing scenes from the flashbacks, and to show the violence of the war. The sound did much of the same, even playing clips of reporting on the Afghanistan war quietly as the audience trickled in. 

The set was also exactly what sets should be — relatively simple and highly effective. It brought the audience from the interviews to the flashbacks in the base to the violent scenes of war seamlessly. 

The story does not shy away from the horrors of the war, both what it did to the Afghanistan people and those fighting in the war. It didn’t glorify or smooth over the wrongs committed from both sides. Much of the story revolves around uncovering what the Canadian troops did and enabled to happen.

It is by no means a light or short play. The run time is about two and a half hours, but I would have stayed in my seat for twice as long to follow the story and the characters further. And it’s the kind of play that will stick with me long past those brief hours.

This Is War plays at the Walterdale Theatre until February 14.