Goodbye Barcelona – review

Goodbye Barcelona starts on the streets of the East End as young Sam defies the march of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts, standing up for his Jewish identity.

We follow Sam from his East London home to Spain, as he volunteers to fight in the Brigades against General Franco’s fascists.

His mother, Rebecca, cannot bear to be without him and decides to leave London and nurse the International Brigades.

This new musical presents the unlikely relationships that develop at war, between soldiers and different nationalities. Goodbye Barcelona highlights the degradation and poverty suffered by the Spanish people and also the extraordinary bravery of those who tried to thwart Franco’s coup, with a fatal lack of resources and preparation.

Whilst Franco had his armoury bolstered by support from Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany, the newly-elected Republican government and its ragtag team of defenders from around the world only received military backing from the Russians and Mexicans. There are strong performances all round, particularly from Laura Tebbutt, Lucy Bradshaw and Mark Meadows. Meadows plays a gruff British fighter, brash and bolshy, haunted by his experiences of The
Great War.

The writers, KS Lewkowicz and Judith Johnson, found inspiration for Goodbye Barcelona from a collection of interviews with British fighters who survived the years in Spain. They were moved by the sacrifice made by people who left their homes and families, of their own volition, to fight against a movement that they knew to be wrong.

Goodbye Barcelona
24 November – 23 December 2011
Performances: Monday to Saturdays at 7.30pm  (including a matinee on Friday 23rd at 2.30pm), and for Saturday, matinees at 2.30pm.

Arcola Theatre
24 Ashwin Street
Hackney
E8 3DL

A special discounted rate of £10 seats is available to Hackney Citizen online readers.

Please call the box office at the Arcola on 020 7503 1646 after 1.30pm and quote ‘£10 offer’.

For any queries please email: contact@goodbyebarcelona.com

Review quotes:

‘fervently sung and warmly felt’ Observer

‘The staging is clever, the performances uniformly strong’ Daily Express

‘stirring anthems’ Evening Standard

‘a triumphant work of tender love, not to be missed’ Morning Star

‘Karen Rabinowitz’s production has plenty of punch’ Guardian

‘a wonderful night of theatre!’ Thoroughly Modern Millie

‘There is many a West End show that struggle to achieve as much’ Adventures of Miss H