Breaker Morant

Entering the Udderbelly, the upturned cow currently gracing Bristo Square, the audience glimpses vignettes of army camp life during the Second Boer War, toward the shabby, shag-end of which 'Breaker Morant' is set. Although the British army effectively won the war in a short space of time, owing to the South African Boer's obsession with tying down insignificant British garrisons through expensive sieges, the Boers themselves refused to recognise the inevitability of their defeat. In response, units were raised to employ their own 'Commando' tactics against these 'Bitter Enders'.

One such was the Bushveldt Carbineers' and it is with the behaviour of three officers of this unit that the court martial which forms the main focus of 'Breaker Morant' is concerned. Harry 'Breaker' Morant was the scapegrace son of a British Admiral, sent out to Australia to redeem himself. His redemption proved his downfall; after distinguishing himself as a volunteer in the early days of the war, his actions whilst with the Bushveldt Carbineers led to charges of shooting prisoners out of hand, charges also brought against two other officers, Lieutenants Handcock and Witton.

Both as a film (it's original form, with the late Edward Woodward in the title role) and as a play by Kenneth G. Ross, 'Breaker Morant' is high court-room drama which is with its protagonist from the outset. In the play version in this production, at least, there seems little light and shade and a large amount of black and white.

The interrogation of the three accused which opens the play would probably get a round of applause from the perpetrators of extreme rendition, but feels unlikely in the context of the time, if not the place. The verdict of the court martial is presented as a forgone conclusion, quite possible given British anxiety at the time to placate a rising Germany whose ruler was a relative of Queen Victoria, and to demonstrate to a British public increasingly uneasy about a long and costly war that even-handedness and fair play could still be the order of the day, even when it is quite clear that in any real orders of the day, they scarcely figured.

Nonetheless, there are some fine performances here, particularly Adam Hills as Morant, Sammy J as Defence Counsel Major Thomas, and Alan Francis as Johnson, the prosecuting officer. In some other cases, it felt as if the Establishment had clutched at the nearest security blanket and was determined not to let go; although this production is a British premiere, the justification for bringing the piece to the stage surely lies in its awful continuing relevance.

From Sumer or the original 'Armageddon' to Afghanistan or Iraq, grubby, shameful military misjudgments have to be judged outwith the contexts of the situations in which they were made. Those who follow orders can find themselves betrayed by those they obeyed. The Edinburgh Fringe is perhaps not the easiest place to get complex messages heard, but this reviewer can't help feeling tighter direction, sharper eyes on the script and its possible layers of meaning and more work on some characterisations would have helped this show enormously.

Time: 1.40pm-3.10pm

Dates: 4 - 27 August

Copyright Bill Dunlop 2007, published on EdinburghGuide.com, 2007