Flare Path

Due to her court battles with the News of The World, Sienna Miller has a higher profile than the Theatre Royal Haymarket could have possibly intended.

She'll put bums on seats for this revival of Terrence Rattigan's slightly obscure wartime drama.
The play tells the story of a squadron of RAF pilots based in a slightly rundown Lincolnshire hotel.
Unusually for war dramas, it also focuses on the wives.
In fact, the wives are amongst the strongest characters.

Patricia Graham (Miller) is an acclaimed actor, visiting her pilot husband who she isn't exactly faithful to. Miller's character is pained but her performance falls a little flat in comparison to Harry Hadden-Paton as her husband, trying to cope with the stresses of war.
Amongst an array of great performances, including James Purefoy and Clive Wood, the stand-out is Sheridan Smith as Doris. She's a barmaid who's married to a Polish Count and clearly fears both for his life on missions and whether he will stay with her, assuming he survives the war. Smith deftly handles both the light and the dark. It is an incredible performance, especially in the translation scene with Purefoy. Her Borat-esque husband takes a bit of getting used to and I do wish that was turned down a bit (my main criticism of the evening actually).

One thing I find particularly moving is, the original performances were in the midst of the war. For them, this wasn't a nostalgia piece but a documentary of what was happening every night. And without the benefit of the knowledge that there would be a happy ending.

Speaking of endings, here be

» some spoilers «

yes, the happy ending is a bit ridiculous. There's no way the Count would have survived. But good God, it's wonderful. And it clearly would have lifted the spirits of the original audience.
So Noel Coward on this one was wrong. It's a great conclusion, albeit completely unexpected.

So, maybe go to watch Sienna Miller and enjoy the fashions, but you'll be moved AND entertained by this play and that's a promise.