Doing the right thing: acts of remembrance at the Rosemary Branch

Lest we forget: Neil Walker’s play looks at the ‘ritual’ of remembrance

The sight of fallen soldiers being carried through the streets of Royal Wootton Bassett has become all too familiar in recent years.

From 2007 to 2011, the Wiltshire market town paid tribute to 350 war dead on 167 different occasions – an incredible amount of grief for one small community to withstand in such a short period.

This ever-constant remembrance is what inspired Neil Walker’s Do We Do The Right Thing? a verbatim production opening at The Rosemary Branch theatre this month that uses the experiences of soldiers, photographs and video footage to tackle issues surrounding the act of remembrance, while examining the aftermath of loss – particularly in the families who are left behind.

Through Andy, the play’s autobiographical protagonist, Walker channels his own experiences of the armed forces and feelings towards what he calls the “ritual” of remembrance in Wootton Bassett, as well as the reasons behind the conflicts.

Walker, who himself grew up in a military environment, spent time in Royal Wootton Bassett before penning the play, meeting and interviewing residents of the town, and discovering the impact the remembrance marches have had on the area.

Members of the military were also interviewed, to allow first-hand accounts to become the central focus of the production.

“The verbatim accounts give the play a very real human voice, and the audience can draw their own opinions and feelings from them,” says Walker.

“The interviews show there is more to loss than purely remembrance – there is the impact it has upon the lives and relationships of people.

“The play has grown so much since work began on it, and has evolved into something I wasn’t really expecting.”

Do We Do The Right Thing? also looks at the longevity that loss can have, in the way it can be passed down through a family.

Walker says: “I spoke to a World War Two veteran, and he showed me that loss can ripple through several generations.

“Both World War Two and the war in Afghanistan resulted in huge loss, yet the reasons behind the wars were so different.”

“This generation’s war”, as one character calls it, is a constant theme throughout the production, with question marks raised over what happens in the coming years, and what has been achieved from the conflict.

Walker adds: “These people fight in our name, whether it’s right or wrong. People have died fighting for us, and that is an important issue.”

Do We Do the Right Thing? is at The Rosemary Branch, 2 Shepperton Road, N1 3DT from 12-15 November