A warmly human performer relating a powerful story that's touchingly emotive and thought-provoking rather than hysterical.Rating
Good
I have to say Bill Posley has had some unlucky moments in his life. Tonight he’s only set back by an audience deficiency probably caused by Tube strikes, which also lead to a late start and people walking in when the show is well underway: not the best environment for a comedy night. But despite this he’s gonna goddamn give us his all as he tells his life story – with PowerPoint slides – including how he ended up improbably getting sent as a teenage soldier to Iraq.
Posley is a likeable guy, and immediately his message is positive and active, affirming the possibility of co-existing in a difficult world with people you don’t know or may not like. The audience become his troop, equipped with stickers identifying our rank and with spangled stars in our hands, whilst our basic training involves learning to work as a team and to respond vocally to instructions. In no time at all we’re recruited, booted and ready for action.
This is a great story, engagingly told, telling of a badass dad, a gambling mom who loses the family home, failure at school and ultimately a decision to join the US National Guard which, although helpful for weight loss, sees Posley’s passing out ceremony coincide with 9/11, and him mobilised to the Middle East war zone for 15 months. The show is packed with information and facts that enlighten us: we are told of the disproportionate numbers of soldiers who are Black or from economically deprived backgrounds; we ponder the sense of giving responsibility for people’s lives to inexperienced boys just out of high school; we learn about the US military’s programming of soldiers to see all foreigners as terrorists. It’s really thought-provoking – almost like a documentary report softened with humour, and is deeply moving at times. This would make a great one hour TV special with additional graphic material, photos and film.
Posley is beautifully animated, but not always polished – perhaps the impact of a show that stuttered to start, which sees him then occasionally tripping over his delivery and reaching for lines. And for a UK audience there’s a slight cultural gap in understanding that means we’re occasionally grasping to translate what he’s describing, or which causes him to have to explain himself, slowing the pace at times.
When he’s funny, he’s very funny, particularly in the detail, with laugh out loud description of menopausal metabolism and Iraqi hairstyling choices. But his is an often poignant and distressing tale and his affable demeanour is juxtaposed with the horrors of war and tragic personal loss. When things go dark, they are very dark and the balance with the lighter comedy is perhaps not quite there. The audience laughed and loved him, for sure, but weren’t exactly rolling in the aisles.
What does come across dazzlingly clearly, however, is a call to action for us all to look again at our neighbours; to see our differences and respect them, even as we might dislike them. It’s a timely and important message, and our participation enacts it and empowers it. That alone is worth seeing this show for.
Written by Bill Posley
Bill Posley: The Day I Accidentally Went to War runs at Soho Theatre until Saturday 13 September.
