The Machine Gunners

The Customs House, South Shields

The themes of love, loss, loyalty, friendship, childhood and warfare are skilfully interwoven into a musical that tells the tale of a group of teenagers growing up on Tyneside during the Blitz.

Robert Westall’s The Machine Gunners was published in 1975 and won the Carnegie Medal for Children’s Literature, became a set text in schools, a million seller and a classic BBC TV series. This musical adaptation, written by Ken Reay and Tom Kelly with music by John Miles, was first staged at The Customs House in 1998 and then spent a month at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received rave reviews. It returns to The Customs House, with a stellar cast, as part of the venue’s fifteenth anniversary season.

Fourteen-year-old Chaz McGill (played by James Baxter) is an avid collector of shrapnel and other forms of wartime memorabilia, which he finds amongst the debris of the bombsites in his home town, Garmouth. One day, he stumbles across the tail-end of a German fighter, its machine gun and its pilot.

Together with his gang of mates, Chaz decides to keep the German airman as a prisoner of war and he is secreted in a disused garden shed. Soon, though, the teenagers grow fond of Rudi and a set of unlikely friendships are formed.

The Machine Gunners is a piece of theatre that succeeds on every level. As dramatic as it is comedic, you cannot help but get caught up in the adventures of the youngsters, whilst also empathising with the fears and concerns of the adults.

Director Gareth Hunter has gathered together a cast comprising much of the best of North East talent. James Baxter’s portrayal of Chaz is carefully crafted and utterly believable. The relationship between Chaz and the other members of his gang, played by Tom Booth (Cem), Steven Stobbs (Clogger), Jamie Hannon (Nicky) and Rachel Teate (Audrey) is extremely convincing. Wayne Miller and Charlie Richmond also deliver great performances as Bodser the bully and John, respectively.

Neil Armstrong and Tracy Gillman strike up a great rapport as Chaz’s parents, whilst Annie Orwin maximises the comedy in her role as nosey-parker Mrs Spalding. Jamie Brown as Rudi, the German air-gunner, puts in a fine performance, as does Louis Roberts in the slightly limited role of Sergeant Green. Donald McBride and Tony Neilson complete the line-up as members of the Garmouth Home Guard.

Some of the songs stand up better than others, with ‘Gossip’, ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ and ‘He Will Need You’ being the showstoppers. However, it is the story that completely sweeps you up and makes The Machine Gunners memorable for all the right reasons.

Steve Burbridge.

The Machine Gunners runs until Saturday 13^th February 2010.