Only the Brave

Telling of a select handful of soldiers, it illuminates the power of love, patriotism and courage. At the same time, the show confronts the obvious pains of war and the difficult sacrifices which are made in the name of freedom.

What it offers instead is a series of over-climactic musical numbers which bombard the audience with heavy emotions and fractured storytelling. The conflicting themes are never satisfactorily resolved, and the entire experience slants more towards cheesy than heart-warming.

Nevertheless, the cast is extremely talented. Although the show has been heavily promoted on the presence of BBC starlets Keith Jack and Niamh Perry, the real credit should go to Gerald Bentall, who plays platoon leader John Coombes. Never mind that he strikingly dominates the majority of powerful musical numbers, Bentall presents the most complex and expressive performance in the entire ensemble.

It is a shame to see such a vocally strong cast relegated to simply belting out their lines while the orchestra swells to climax-after-climax beneath them.

At the time of this review there were still several unresolved technical issues at the George Square Theatre, with the volume levels between microphones frequently going off-balance. The production should be credited, however, for its use of lighting technology; the elaborate projections certainly added to the experience.

At the end of the day, Only the Brave fails to live up to its hype. For those who seek a musical revue with unrestrained force, they will certainly enjoy themselves. As a complete work, however, it does not succeed on the same level as other professional musicals, nor does it tell a story powerful enough to compensate for its flaws.