Edinburgh 2002

Fringe

Pump Room 111
The Smirnoff Underbelly

Stuart Simpson

The scene is Hawaii, December 6 1941, the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but this isn't really a war play.

Instead the play is focused around three men trapped in Pump Room 111 of a sunken US Naval ship, and their crewmate who was on shore leave on the day of the attack. The themes of the play are very clear, duty and camaraderie.

They are clear, however, only because we are supplied with a prologue and epilogue to inform us that this is the case. Otherwise you may have thought that the theme of the play was to see how many Second World War film stereotypes could be crammed into a one-hour theatre production. The answer to this question is more than you would think.

The four men comprise one 'Kid', whom the others try to get laid in the opening scene; one confident womaniser, who frolics in the sand with his waitress girl-friend as the Japs fly over head; one big guy, who acts tough but only because he never really got on with his dad; and the cool headed one who takes the lead, only to finally break down and reveal his tender side. The waitress girlfriend, although not really an advance on any of the above types, is, however, performed wonderfully, providing a glimpse of light in the dark of the performance.

Conquest or Die clearly believe they have very noble motives for putting on this performance. They have researched their material thoroughly, talked to many world war two veterans, and played in front of the US armed forces. Unfortunately noble motives don't get you anywhere in theatre without a good script and quality actors.

Until August 25.