Journey's End
by R.C. Sherriff
We were fortunate to have original artwork available for this production, and this painting, 20"x26" was scanned and reduced for use in our postcard (and on this website). The original hangs, at the time of this writing, June 2001, at the New 42nd St. Theatre where Journey's End was performed.
Journey's End was first produced in London, in 1928, and was directed by James Whale, who later went on to fame as a film director.
![[Journey's End artwork]](/mstage/je00/je-post.jpg)
Original Artwork by Ximena Claure
Journey's End is set in World War I, but shows that, although we may have advanced technologically a great deal in the last century, we have advanced little in how we treat each other. Men are still killing each other for reasons which they barely understand, men are still suffering horrible conditions both physical and psychological for that privilege. We have advanced to the point where women are also allowed to suffer in such ways. Hurrah. Even then, the men doing the killing did not know why, and on both sides there were moments where they said, "Enough! No more." Yet still they fought on. And so do we. Is the result a greater understanding of our fellow man? Great art? Lasting peace? Or merely a pile of bodies?
Journey's End, although set in WWI, is a mirror held to the face of the human response to any intolerable situation, of which war -- any war -- is one.
-- Jeff Berry, 11 May 2000
The play is a treasure- written in 1929 by R.C. Sherriff (who went on to further acclaim as the screenwriter of Goodbye, Mr. Chips, among other things), its sincerity, heart, humor and tension still have the freshness of anything being developed today. An engaging group of characters is faced with an eternity in the front line, staring down the enemy's guns, always knowing the next big German offensive could come at any minute and wipe them out. It's a scenario in which every other order is the equivalent of a death sentence. It would be very easy for the writing in such a situation to slip into melodrama, but Sherriff deftly unfolds his tale with an economy of expression that is at once realistic, unornamented, and heartbreaking. The piece was written for Sherriff's social club based on his own experiences in the front line, and perhaps only someone who had witnessed the horrors firsthand could tell such a story in a way that is both so simple and so gripping.
It may be that World War I is not a popular war in the US- Hollywood has yet to offer a Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington treatment of this conflict. Perhaps Americans are more interested in the Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam. But to overlook this play on such grounds would be an unfortunate mistake- its themes of disillusionment, loss of innocence, and the senselessness of war are timeless and universal. The play develops these themes in a realistic, undated style that takes the viewer under its spell.
It's truly a joy to bring such a nuanced and engaging piece to life, and it's all the more rewarding in light of the fact that the piece rarely receives its due- productions on this side of the Atlantic are few and far between.
A top-notch team of actors and production staff has been assembled to bring the play to life with as high a level of authenticity as possible. The production's authentic sound, props, costumes, and set will bring the audience to a place they are unlikely to have ever visited before- the French trenches of 1918, in the moments just before an enormous German offensive that will leave the outcome of the war, and history, in question.
Christopher Stillwell, May 2000
![[Photo of cast]](/mstage/je00/jepubsp2.jpg)