Pressure at L.A. Theatre Works

David Haig; dir: Martin Jarvis.

Authors

• David Haig

The play is set in 1944 at Southwick House, the headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force in the 72-hour period leading up to the launch of Operation Overlord. Group captain James Stagg is the chief meteorologist who, on no more than educated guesswork and instinct, is advising Dwight D. Eisenhower that despite a prolonged heat wave, weather conditions will suddenly deteriorate sharply on D-Day, and that the colossal logistical task of landing 150,000 soldiers in occupied France should therefore be postponed. However, Stagg's assistant and American celebrity weatherman Irving P. Krick forecasts another calm sunny day. Stagg knows the volatile nature of English weather and predicts severe storms, making it impossible to land troops successfully and establish the long-awaited second front. Under the most intense pressure, both personal and military, Stagg seeks to persuade Eisenhower his forecast of events is correct.