Drama \"Heroes\" by Gerald Sibleyras.

¶ … drama "Heroes" by Gerald Sibleyras. "Heroes" is a story set in 1959 in an Old Veteran's Home somewhere in France. The three main characters, Henri, Gustave, and Philippe are all veterans of World War I who live in the home. They have all been scarred by the war in some way, and they know deep inside that they will never leave the home, no matter how they scheme to run away. They spend most of their time on the terrace of the home, making plans to leave, and fanaticizing about women and sex. The play is a comedy with undertones of drama and sadness as the audience comes to realize these men are going to die in the home, and their dreams of freedom will not come true.

The actors play their roles with great comedy - slapstick farce is a way to describe it. They all have physical or mental problems because of the war, and sometimes they act confused or silly, which adds to the comedic element of the play. Almost all of the action takes place on the outdoor terrace, which is lined with poplar trees that are commanding and attractive but indicate their lack of freedom. The characters often refer to the trees, talking about the wind in their leaves and such. However, the way the trees are arranged on the set, they look like bars in a prison, so they really stand for the mechanism that keeps the men inside the home.

The men decide they want to take a trip away from the home, and start to plan their "escape." First, they want to sail to Indochina, but then they modify the plan to go to the top of a nearby hill, where they can have a picnic and see the nearby girl's school, which they all fantasize about throughout the play. The men even plan to take along a 200 lb. statue of a dog, which adds to the comedic parts of the play.

Gustav is the military strategist, who goes about planning the expedition just as if it were a military exercise. Unfortunately, he is afraid to leave the home, even though he has only been there a few months. Henri is the down-to-earth member of the group, who finally decides he does not want to take part in the expedition, which sours the others on him. Finally, Philippe is the funniest of the three, due to an unfortunate war wound. He has shrapnel in his brain that causes him to pass out at the most inopportune moments. The three actors all have wonderful comedic timing, and the script itself is full of quick, witty responses and great use of the language make the play's hour and a half seem to pass much more quickly, even though all the men do is talk. In some hands, that could be extremely boring, but this production moves quickly, and the scenes just seem to get funnier as the play progresses.

The audience cannot help but feel sorry for these men, who know that they are never going to escape the home or old age. However, they do not feel sorry for themselves, and so they are inspirational as well as sympathetic. I enjoyed the play and I would recommend it to just about anyone. It might seem old-fashioned, but it is really up-to-date, interesting, funny, and very entertaining.