Theatre review: Cruel Sea, Liverpool Everyman

Jul 6 2007 by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

Ricky Fearon and Kieran Lynn in the play, Cruel Sea, at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre _320

CAN the Merchant Navy’s incredible contribution at sea during World War II really be encompassed in a single two-hour play? Writer John Fay and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse’s community department give it a pretty good go in Cruel Sea.

Fay was helped by hours of taped interviews with those who were there and veterans even went through early drafts of the play, making their own contributions.

The result is a genuine drama which captures much of the essence of the time and the spirit of the people, both at sea and on shore.

His characters and ships are fictional but they represent the thousands of lives lost in the Merchant Navy; real-life veterans add snippets of their own stories on large screens or voice-overs.

The story here is of two teenage boys Dicky (Kieran Lynn) and Sam (Zain Salim) going off to sea with experienced black sailor Bill (Ricky Fearon) at the outbreak of war, boys whose families have sailed before them. “The sea is in my blood,” explains Dicky whose sister Kitty (Keddy Sutton) does not want him to go.

Their father Paddy is missing at sea and, as explained, once a sailor was considered dead his wages were stopped – “discharged at sea” was the chilling phrase. To make ends meet, they pawn the chair their father made.

Paddy (Colin Connor) has, however, survived and returns home with his new friend, Chinese sailor Song (Nick Chee Ping Kellington), who immediately falls for Kitty.

There follow tales of jollity, sea-sickness, stoking, racism, storms and sinkings. Indeed, all human life – and death – is there.

The Kitty/ Song on-off romance is at the centre of things but around it are the stories of the tough reality of Merchant Navy life. There is a merry episode on leave in New York, but also the bitter home leave when they discover homes bombed and families dispersed.

The most dramatic moment comes when some of the characters are at sea in an open raft after their ship has been torpedoed, a grim situation based on fact as one of the veterans’ voices reveals with his own comments on the action.

There were a few technical hitches in this premiere – the authentic voices needed to be clearer – but this is essentially a moving drama which does not try to hide the nastier aspects of Merchant Navy life, even once the war was over.

The cast of six create a real mood with simple sets, some songs and plenty of imagination.

Rebecca Ross-Williams directs the production, which will tour schools and community centres in the region together with a date in the Isle of Man.