When Winston Went to War with the Wireless London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (11)
See it if You like politics and historical pieces. You enjoy great acting. You find Churchill an intriguing figure.
Don't see it if You don't care for politics and history. Read more
See it if You’re interested in historical plays, the origins of the BBC, and how the press is manipulated for political ends.
Don't see it if You’re not interested in lesser-known moments in history with perhaps less significance. Read more
See it if Fascinating story of the BBC and the general strike.
Don't see it if Have no idea who Lord Reith was.
See it if You interested in issues of politics and broadcasting. You know a bit of twentieth century English history.
Don't see it if You are tired of seeing Churchill portrayed on stage. Read more
See it if you want to see a brilliantly acted play about the early history of the BBC and their relationship with the government.
Don't see it if you want a deep dive in to history, this is sadly quite banal- it doesn't allow itself to explore or create, rather than retell. Read more
See it if you're interested in the history of BBC or the man who started it.
Don't see it if you are expecting a play about Churchill. Read more
See it if you’re deeply interested in the BBC and its role in the General Strike of 1926. Haydn Gwynne is a hoot as Stanley Baldwin.
Don't see it if you would prefer to see that history dramatized, rather than watch good actors act out the Wikipedia page on that history.
See it if Some good acting.
Don't see it if I didn't find the content particularly interesting, an unfamiliar bit of history I'm not sure needed to be told
Critic Reviews (10)
“If Reithian principles represent the ideal of truth-telling and impartiality in public service broadcasting today, Jack Thorne’s play looks back at the man who established them at a delicate moment in the history of the BBC, and dramatises his inner tussle with truth.”
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“If Thorne’s script has a flaw, it’s that most of the characters remain cheerfully two-dimensional.”
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“...Thorne triumphantly uses real history to create a compelling drama that is both amusing, touching and revealing.”
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“Katy Rudd’s beautifully crafted production utilises radio-style foley effects throughout...Overall, however, there is too much informing for a drama (and actually, with so much narration and audio work, it might be better suited to radio). But it’s still a potent love letter to the BBC, in all its messy glory.”
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“Unfortunately, Thorne also saddles Archer with some clumsy narrating duties...All his characters here, in fact, are broad and flat, and although there are flashes of strobe-lit police violence and confrontation with strikers, the texture of interwar life is not pungent enough. Still, it is a piece full of interest; the sort of play, in fact, that would sound at home on Radio 4.”
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When Winston Went to War With The Wireless is a fascinating glimpse at two men who have shaped the history of this country, regardless of how accurate all the elements of it are, the early pioneers of the BBC would be proud to know that this is a play that mirrors the Royal Charter as it succeeds in informing, educating and entertaining.
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“The strength of the play, and perhaps its most depressing side, is that it shows how some things never change in this country.”
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“On reflection, it’s not really about Winston Churchill at all. It’s primarily a piece about right, wrong, and the decisions made by one man which secured the future of our national broadcasting corporation. While it doesn’t throw any punches, it’s both thought provoking and educational – with a humorous script and compelling performances.”
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