Audience feedback from the June 2024 mini-tour.
‘I had to write to tell you how very much I enjoyed your play tonight and I can assure you I am the most critical of people! I thought it was beautifully written and acted and there was a tear in my eye as I left the theatre! Many thanks for a memorable evening.’
‘Absolutely amazing. Made me laugh and cry and well done for bringing this beautiful story to life.’
‘Thank you so much for the beautiful play, you touched my heart so very deeply. Of course it is incomparable but I am engaged to an American and we have been apart many years waiting for my visa. Some things in those letters, the ache, the longing, resonated so deeply! Again I say there is no comparison to to torment Ursula and John endured but I will carry their story with me always.’
‘A very moving and beautiful performance. You really brought the whole wartime experience to life. Thank you.’
‘This was a super production, in an intimate setting. A great production that brought home to those of us lucky enough not to have experienced it, the long term horror of war and the impact on the home front. Sensitively written and beautifully delivered by the cast of three. I was moved to tears at the end.’
Reviews
The Valentine Letters is a ‘gentle’ play, where the ‘horrors’ of the age aren’t vividly depicted, but the fears, concerns and anxieties are. In that respect, it is much like a book where the characters’ interior experiences are brought to the fore, shaping our reality. (Breaking The Fourth Wall)
A moving story of ordinary people trying to live their lives through the trauma of war and a heart-warming story that reminds us, it’s love, not hate that endures. (London Pub Theatres)
A deeply interesting and moving look at a world long gone … The play has been neatly put together by Steve Darlow … A heart-warming tale, which brings a forgotten past to life. (ReviewsGate)
Review of the amateur production at The Maltings Theatre, St Albans, 9th to 11th November 2023
The Maltings Arts Theatre in St Albans has steadily assumed a position as one of the most progressive theatres in the southeast over the last decade, with networks extending into London, the midlands and beyond. Innovative and exciting dramas have often been produced at the theatre by the OVO theatre company and many other local production companies. It has also always been a home for new writing and now Jo Emery Productions presents ‘The Valentine Letters’ by Steve Darlow, based on the book by Frances Zagni, based in turn on letters between her mother Ursula and father, John, whilst a prisoner of war.
Directed and produced by Jo Emery, and narrated by Charlotte Drummond-Dunn as Frances herself, with calm presence. The trauma of this most reticent of generations, their courage and pragmatism whilst chaos raged, was celebrated by their own words, an effective use of verbatim material deftly assembled into dialogue by subtle editing. The role of John was taken by Tom Hilton, stoic yet vulnerable. A sure footed performance, boyish yet not gauche, sentimental but not mawkish. Ursula, was superbly played by Katie Hamilton with style and grace, an everywoman, a rock. A first class performance. Much more than linked narratives, the company moved together with balletic grace, reacted as one reaching for meaning in the subtext as John’s resolve and health were tested to breaking point.
Lighting and tech, by Dorian Brooks, was creative and enhancing. A nod to Auriole Wells for evocative costumes and props.
Although set now at the outer limit of living memories, the story is as relevant now, some would say more relevant, as the echoes of those twentieth century conflagrations thunder in our ears, and lovers everywhere cling to the comfort of the mundane. Thus, the last words must fall to Ursula.
URSULA: I am filled with dread and anxiety as the battle front gets nearer to you. It’s getting quite unbearable. God keep you safe, my dearest. … I have been occupying my leisure time … by dressmaking … in the evenings we play bridge or Mah-jong! What a lazy life!
The play is based upon the book ‘Geprüft—The Remarkable Second World War Letters of Prisoner of War John Valentine and his wife Ursula’ by Frances Zagni and published by Fighting High www.fightinghigh.com
Laura Thomas