Ola (Lola Oteh-Cole) and Christian (Ola Teniola) are cousins and grew up together in Nigeria. Their lives changed during World War II change. Ola moves to the UK and Christian fights in Burma. The cousin’s correspondence forms the narrative of OUR WAR and we learn about the horrors faced by Christian in the jungles of Burma and the hard work and training Ola undertook.

During World War II there was a plea to the British Colony Nigeria to help fight against the “enemy”. However, from the subscription descriptions, it appears that the Nigerian Villagers felt under pressure to sign up and fight. Although they had no perception of what this would entail and the horrors that lay ahead.

Ola arrives in the United Kingdom from Nigeria to train as a nurse after answering a call for assistance as the UK faced high employment shortages, not much changes! As Ola comes to terms with the British cuisine and biting wind (Ola arrived in Winter) she explains that her travelling was all self-funded and she believed she was helping the war effort.

Christian’s Mother didn’t want her son to go to war. But felt that she needed him to do his bit as other young men from his village signed up and left for war. However, Christian explains that nobody had any idea of what they were signing up for.

The storylines are strong and the human element brings the horror and fears of war to life and they undoubtedly will leave an impression on the audience. Douglas Baker’s video design provides additional footage and Karl Swinyard’s set combines the cousin’s two settings as the conversations switch between the pair. A captivating storyline which would have been echoed through Nigerian families during World War II and has been unfairly overlooked in many historical documentaries.

OUR WAR offers another side to those who fought during World War II and gave their lives. Burma doesn’t necessarily get as much coverage as other countries during World War II yet it should do as many lost their lives on both sides and deserve to be remembered.

For more information about OUR WAR please visit the link below.

Photo credit Georgia Sims.

Four Stars.

Jack Studio Theatre

OUR WAR by Andrew Ashaye Creative Team:Presented by Imole Theatre.

Written by Andrew Ashaye

Director: Kate Bannister

Associate Director: Marley-Rose Liburd

Lighting design: Chuma Emembolu

Sound design: Florence Hand

Video design: Douglas Baker

Set design: Karl Swinyard

Costume: Marn Robinson

Publicity design: Leah Lewis

Stage manager: Johann Heske 

Cast Lola Oteh-Cole and Ola Teniola.