August 13, 2018

Written by and starring David Haig, Pressure is an exciting dramatization that tells the story of those responsible for putting together the weather forecasts ahead of the the Allied landings at Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Haig plays Group Captain James Stagg, who is brought in to work closely with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of Overlord.

A story about weathermen does not at first look like promising drama, especially when the outcome is already well known. But Haig succeeds in depicting the intense “pressure” facing all those involved, as the meteorologists study the high pressure and low pressure patterns unfolding in the Atlantic and attempt to foretell what conditions will be like on the intended launch date of the invasion.

Enhancing the drama is the tension that develops between Stagg and his American counterpart Colonel Irving Krick. Gen. Eisenhower, a major figure in the play along with his British driver Kay Summersby, has to decide which of the two contrasting forecasts he is presented with is the most reliable.

Haig, who has appeared in many popular films and television programs, scored a previous theatrical success with his play My Boy Jack, which he wrote and also starred in as Rudyard Kipling dealing with the loss of his only son in the First World War. That play was adapted into a film featuring Haig alongside Daniel Radcliffe as Jack Kipling. Hopefully this excellent work set during the Second World War will also have a film adaptation.

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Pressure written by and starring David Haig runs through September 1 at the Ambassadors Theatre in London.

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