{"id":18587,"date":"2019-11-10T09:31:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-10T17:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=18587"},"modified":"2019-11-10T09:31:39","modified_gmt":"2019-11-10T17:31:39","slug":"billy-bishop-goes-to-war-decent-comedy-with-missed-dramatic-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2019\/11\/10\/billy-bishop-goes-to-war-decent-comedy-with-missed-dramatic-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Bishop Goes to War<\/em> decent comedy with missed dramatic potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billy Bishop Goes to War <\/i><\/span><\/span>is a fictional retelling of the real-life exploits of a WWI fighter pilot. RJ Peters portrays Bishop, and 17 other characters, and his stage presence is explosive. Gabriel Macdonald delivers an equally robust supporting performance, along with piano accompaniment to their frequent duets. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Although produced by a small theatre, incredible love and effort has gone into creating the set. The lighting is brilliantly designed, using colour to convey tone, with standout moments featuring lights held by Peters himself, creating wildly shifting shadows, dramatically heightening the tension and excitement of the aerial dogfights described in the play.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Billy Bishop Goes to War<\/em> is on now a the Roxy Theatre (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bishop is a young soldier excited to become a great hero, but soon discovers the ugly reality of war. Eventually, he becomes an ace fighter pilot, hero of the RFC.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a comedy, the show provides a light-hearted interpretation of war. However, I found myself searching for more than I received from Peters\u2019 performance. The writing provides deep subtext and potential to explore the truly devastating impact war has on a soldier, but Peters\u2019 performance falls short of this. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It begins upbeat, a fitting tone as it depicts a young soldier with a falsely aggrandized impression of war. Bishop, initially playful, soon turns to liquor, and I anticipated the gradual formation of a man whose mind and body becomes increasingly damaged.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, although the writing suggests a character arc, Peters\u2019 performance doesn\u2019t realize it\u2014his characters remain sprightly, frivolous, and comedic, such that even scenes intended to be serious seem inappropriately energetic, failing to create an emotional response.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The story is complex, exploring genuine themes such as soldiers using humour to dispel terror, and looking at how wounds were considered fortunate, providing temporary escape from the battlefield. Dramatic potential exists, but the performance neglects deeper undertones, and is instead presented with levity. However, when viewed as a comedy piece, <\/span><\/span>Billy Bishop <\/i><\/span><\/span>is a humourous, exciting adventure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Peters and Macdonald give energetic performances in the play, and their passion is evident in every moment. These are two highly talented actors who give a fine tribute for Remembrance Day, and that\u2019s worth seeing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Billy Bishop Goes to War
\n<\/i><\/span><\/span>Various times, until Sunday, November 17
\n<\/span><\/span>Various prices, Roxy Theatre
\n<\/span><\/span>bluebridgetheatre.ca<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Billy Bishop Goes to War is a fictional retelling of the real-life exploits of a WWI fighter pilot. RJ Peters portrays Bishop, and 17 other characters, and his stage presence is explosive. Gabriel Macdonald delivers an equally robust supporting performance, along with piano accompaniment to their frequent duets. Although produced by a small theatre, incredible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18591,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions\/18591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}