A full-length stageplay in two acts

Seven bored and demoralised survivors in a Flanders trench in 1916 find their lives transformed by the arrival of a new officer, David Cartwright. With his bright charisma and subversive approach to authority he inspires them to face their seemingly inevitable fate with courage, high-spirited stoicism and a sanguine sense of humour – the only defence against a bleak and mindless war.

"The standard first world war play is still RC Sherriff's Journey's End. But Rebecca Wilby, a 29-year-old from Cheltenham, knocks it into a cocked hat with This Wretched Splendour. Where Sherriff's play is steeped in the public-school ethos, this one conveys the eccentric humanity and the tragedy of life at the front line."
Michael Billington, The Guardian

ISBN: 978-1-4461-5419-9
Copyright: Rebecca Wilby
Language: English
Pages: 80  
Binding: perfect-bound paperback
Interior ink: black & white, some photographs
Dimensions: 229mm tall × 152mm wide (6 x 9 in)

Published August 1st 2010

£8.25

$13.25

Cast photo from the original production of This Wretched Splendour.

Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham, September 1997.