Behind the scenes war drama is Mikron's best play

Hush Hush cast, (L-R) Catherine Warnock, James McLean, Georgina Liley, Robert Took. Photo © Robling Photography.

Hush Hush! Written by Lucie Raine, performed by The Mikron Theatre, at Calcutt Boats, Southam, on 9 August 2025. Director Elvi Piper.

Review by Charles Essex

Bletchley Park, the wartime home of British military intelligence, is now open to the public, but when it was in operation and for many years afterwards, those who worked there were bound to secrecy by the Official Secrets Act. Writer Lucie Raine’s script has come up with a wonderful evocation of the pressure the staff were under to try to decipher enemy messages which could save thousands of soldiers’ lives.

All four of the Mikron actors play numerous roles, slipping seamlessly between characters with a change of accent and donning a hat or scarf or pair of glasses.  Amongst the roles, James McLean was excellent as the authoritative head of the department.  Rob Took played the Oxbridge undergraduate, frustrated and embarrassed that his brother was fighting on the front line whilst his family thought he had a desk job.  He conveyed well his paranoia about any possible careless talk.  Georgina Liley was superb as the blue stocking girl who had been to finishing school in Switzerland – but who spoke four languages.  Catherine Warnock was ideally cast as the Cockney working class lass who was also an excellent linguist.

As always, the action and dialogue were interspersed with clever and witty songs written by Lucie with music by Greg Last. The singing and musicality of all the actors was flawless. James excelled on trombone and accordion, with Georgina and Rob on ukulele and guitar, whilst Catherine played three wind instruments. Sound effects were ingeniously achieved with various musical instruments, which also served as props in other ways.

L-R: Robert Took, Catherine Warnock, Georgina Liley, James McLean. Photo © Robling Photography.

With the narrative spread over five years, various stories intertwined. Early on, we learnt of the bombing of Coventry. Tensions rose between the characters in Hut 3, at the heart of the analysis of the information. Mrs Slater (Georgina), whose son was fighting overseas, had Catherine billeted with her and Georgina conveyed well the anxiety of a mother fearing for her son. James as an Old Etonian met up with an old chum (Catherine) and there was an hilarious exchange of public school banter.

Anxieties rose as D-Day approached. Catherine and Bob were front line troops facing the French coastline, fearful of what lay ahead. All the cast intermittently played officers in the German High Command, so we eavesdropped on the success of the deceptions and how successful Bletchley was at gathering enemy intelligence.

Perhaps because of the current political climate in Europe and the Middle East, or because many of the audience had parents who were involved in WW2, it was clear there were members of the audience moved by this play, a tribute to the writing and acting. As a long time Mikron attendee, this was in my opinion their best production to date. 

Hush Hush! is at Rowington Village Hall (CV35 7DB) on Saturday 16/08/25 at 7.30 pm.

For dates and venues for Mikron’s other production Operation Beach Hut get details from their website: https://mikron.org.uk/