Bex from Swindon

Rating:

Thursday evening "Profound and Pensive"

This was incredible. I was moved to laughter, tears and anguish all in the space of a few hours. The feeling of the show was palpable in the space, the seating made you feel part of the action. The performance was raw in exactly the right way to bring you into the moment. It felt personal. May be my favourite ever FDS production. I didn't just love it, I lived it.

Neil from West Hanney

Rating:

Thursday evening "Poignant musical history lesson with humour and sincerity."

Enjoyable commendable community effort with fun and poignancy of the horrors of war. Some very talented singing voices noted among the female cast. Venue very good. I liked the seating arrangement – almost in the round. One or two of the young girls need volume in their dialogue. Entrance to the school requires a poster direction on Gloucester St. Ice cream for the interval! Thank you and keep up the good work.

Christine from Faringdon

Rating:

Thursday evening "Alternately funny and moving, excellent."

I really enjoyed the performance, production was excellent and the performers from the youngest to the oldest were faultless. I took my brother and he will be looking out for future productions.

Margaret from Faringdon

Rating:

Thursday evening "Emotional, humourous and performed well"

I thought it was a good evening. A good mix of songs, readings and comedy. Just the right length. The music was, at times, a bit too loud especially for those singing, with quieter voices. The setting was a good way of showing all that was going on. The costumes were appropriate. Overall an excellent show. Thank you to everyone who gave their time and talents performing or backstage. Well done.

Shirley from Witney

Rating:

Thursday evening "Entertaining, amusing, thought-provoking and moving"

The show was excellent overall. The costumes were extremely good and appropriate. Visibility was good, and audibility mostly good. The music came across well. The pianist was excellent!

Sheila from Faringdon

Rating:

Thursday evening "Very impressed and entertained"

Content and production superb. I especially liked the reference at the end to current conflicts. I loved the seating arrangement!

Katie from Faringdon

Rating:

Thursday evening "Such a moving production"

I found this so moving, especially Part 1. Beautifully put together. The only downside was that some of the soloists were rather inaudible/spoke a little too fast, but this was the first performance so it may become clearer.

Keith and Anne

Rating:

Thursday evening "A very interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking evening"

We thought it was an excellent evening, up to FDS's usual high standard. The choice of script, the piano continuo and the screen pictures with typed captions were particularly effective. It would have been nice to know more (in the program perhaps?) about the actual source of some of the "stories". We enjoyed the Dad's Army sketch. Our only criticism was some examples of poor voice production, which made it impossible to follow the words, particularly when the actors had their backs to our part of the audience. In some cases they could have stood further "upstage", which would have helped a bit. Afterwards the outside lights had been switched off, which made our return to the Town carpark tricky, but some kind young people lit the way for us. Overall a very good evening.

Chris and Eddie from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "A gripping performace"

We went to see your play ‘Over by Christmas’ last night and we’re blown away, it was stupendous. It had us gripped from begging to end. We’ve never seen anything like it before. There was silence in the school hall and everyone looked as engrossed in the play as we were. Congratulations it was fantastic. The acting, music singing and costumes were most impressive. Great show. Thank you.

Val from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "Emotional"

Just needed some voices to be louder, but excellent.

Chris from Watchfield

Rating:

Friday evening "Poignant, funny, informative, enjoyable – all in one show!"

Really enjoyed the show. It passed very quickly which is usually a good sign! A lot of variety and some parts were stronger than others. I particularly enjoyed the Christmas eve 1914 scene and Poppies and holocaust scenes were very moving. Some of the dialogue and singing could have been a bit louder and clearer although that is a challenge in the setting and I was near the speaker. All in all, a great show once again, well done!

Mrs B from Grove

Rating:

Friday evening "Poignant, heartfelt, and touching"

Such a thought-provoking, heartfelt, and touching show. A wonderful mix of songs from both the WWI and WWII eras, excerpts from letters written by those in battle and those who had to carry on at home whilst missing their loved ones, memories of those lost, a wonderful re-enactment of the Christmas Eve Truce, and some brilliantly performed comedy (floral dance). The setting of the show was intimate, you could feel the emotions of the performers and just how much the show meant to them. Brilliantly performed with real emotion by everyone involved, with great choreography, direction, music, lighting, and costumes. Well done FDS! You were awesome!

Janet from Fairford

Rating:

Friday evening "Brilliant – flowed beautifully & was very professional."

Loved the setting in the round, use of screen as background & clicks as words typed in. All cast were brilliant & loved how the scenes flowed into each other seamlessly. Wonderful that the cast included so many of all age groups, but thought the young people's section seemed more difficult to carry off. Enjoyed it all, but most especially the first half. Thankyou & well done all. Incredible & very moving production.

Wilmshurst from Oxford

Rating:

Friday evening "Great, poignant, thought provoking show"

I thought this show was very good. It made you think and appreciate what our soldiers went through to secure peace for all. I liked that it was split into two halves – first then second world war. The letters were hard to listen to. I thought the way you brought humour in was clever and loved the 'Dad's Army' sketch, really well cast too. The only negative for me was that occasionally it was difficult to hear some of the actors which was a shame. The cast were great, really good singing voices and properly 'in their role'. I wholeheartedly believed they were in the time and persona of who they were portraying. Thoroughly enjoyed the show and looking forward to the next one.

Geraldine from Witney

Rating:

Saturday evening "Poignant Emotive Excellent Production"

A truly excellent show. Very well put together with thought, emotion, humour and poignancy. Great costumes...loved the backdrop and way each part was typed out...music perfect choice. Very well delivered performances. Emotive readings. Good singing. Each section perfect length. Humour of Floral Dance very good. One of the best amateur dramatic performances I've seen for a long time. Original different idea for a show. Very well done everyone.

Jacob from Fairford

Rating:

Saturday evening " An excellent tribute to the History of the World Wars"

Wow. What an incredible performance. Such a great way to honour the history of the two world wars. The show was a variety of performances including songs, poems, diary and letter readings as well as comedy sketches, all well put together in time line order. The use of the projector screen marking the year of current scene helped the audience to follow the piece through the years. The show carefully addressed very difficult topics, such as the Battle of the Somme to the Holocaust, with the utmost sensitivity. It also delivered contrasting moments of energy and comedy from the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, the Dad's Army sketch. The performance of The Last Post (played by Adam Bayliss) at the end of Act 1 followed by a 2 minutes silence and The Reveille was particually powerful, with all performers on stage marking their respects. A special mention to all of the young people who are dedicated their time for this show, again it wasn't an easy performance at all but you embraced the topics well and delivered outstanding performances, alongside the adults in the show too. It was also Heather Kent's debut to directing for FDS, along with Carolyn Taylor, congratulations to you both. The clever use of the in the round enhanced with the bringing the scenes to life. A big well done to all at FDS who were involved in the show, it wasn't an easy undertaking but you all made a true wonderful performance filled with all sorts of emotion. You should all be very proud.

Joy from Faringdon

Rating:

Saturday evening " A very poignant production"

I loved the age range of the actors. Costumes so authentic. Lovely voices and a dash of humour too!

Diana from Witney

Rating:

Saturday evening "Polished, professional, poignant and entertaining"

Acting and singing was excellent. Good costumes. Content of the performance was very entertaining, yet poignant and thought provoking. The seating arrangement enhanced the performance. Very enjoyable.

Diane Dickinson from Swindon

Rating:

Saturday evening "It was amazing and really different"

We really enjoyed the production. It portrayed the two wars really well and was very entertaining. Look forward to the next one we attend.