I couldn’t face another British anti-war play much less one about World War I. There was so much to see in London it seemed wiser to skip Journey’s End and so we did. Luckily we had a chance to rectify this mistake when the production moved to New York this winter though with a mostly American cast. It was a very intense night at the theatre. There is an overwhelming sense of inevitability about the whole enterprise. And if by the end of the evening thoughts go to our soldiers in Iraq all to the good.

The lights go down and the theatre in filled with the sound of bombs. At first it feels like an unnecessary theatricality. Yes war is hell. But the play goes on to convince us of that universal truth. The action, if you could call it that, takes place in a bunker, illuminated by candles and the claustrophobic atmosphere begins to convince us that we are there; comrades in arms.

The characters are basic types: the jolly sergeant, the untested new recruit, the wise older soldier, the coward, the funny irreverent servant and the hero of the piece the good looking, leader of men, only this one is close to a nervous breakdown and only copious amounts of alcohol keep him going. And yet while we rely on this shorthand to figure out the playing field, the playwright and actors work in concert to make those stock characters into real men with real fears and hopes.

Boyd Gaines known mostly for his musical roles sets the tone with a beautiful modulated performance. There is a deep sense of melancholy pervading these scenes, as the soldiers do their duty and await their fate. Hugh Dancy plays the dashing commander with a simmering intensity. As he waits for orders for the final push against the enemy we see him struggle with his responsibilities, needing to take charge but also longing for the oblivion that drink provides.

Journey’s End is not so much an anti-war play as well an anti-government play. These soldiers are pawns of their government, their generals, and the politics of their time where taking a few yards from the enemy is a victory no matter the cost of human lives. And in the final moments of the play as the characters execute a particularly worthless exercise with increasing cost; we see the thousands of lives wiped out in the name of civilization symbolized by the deaths of these few men.

With the sound of bombs falling and echoing in our chests, the lights go down and then come up again with the cast members standing in front of a huge curtain with the names of some of the 770,000 British soldiers killed in World War I. And as the actors stare out into the audience we are forced to acknowledge our complicity in the acts that are done by our country in our name.

Journey's End is playing in New York City at the Belasco Theatre.