Who would have thought the British weather could be so interesting?

Well, to be honest, just about anyone who has ever lived in these Isles for more than a few days. We natives know the elements can be unpredictable, which, as David Haig’s character Group Captain Dr. James Stagg is at pains to point out, is why we never stop talking about them.

For Stagg, the head of a team of meteorologists charged with predicting the conditions over the English Channel for the D-Day invasion, persuading his commanding officer, General Dwight D Eisenhower of the peculiarities of the weather patterns during a typical British summer was his personal battle and ultimate victory.

Stagg’s troubled genius is the subject of Haig’s extraordinary portrayal of one of Operation Overlord’s unsung heroes. His skirmishes with his American opposite number and Ike’s favoured weather man Colonel Irving P Krick, palyed by Tim Beckmann, who’s optimistic predictions of blue skies and fair weather on June 5 almost destroyed the invasion fleet, are central to Stagg’s near breakdown.

Daily Echo:

Haig, who wrote this new play, places Eisenhower’s chauffer and mistress Kay Summersby in the role of bridge-builder between the two men; her faith in the dour Scot’s abilities appearing to change the course of history. Summersby, played superbly by Laura Rogers, is fighting her own battle, coming to terms with an understanding that the invasion will mark not just the beginning of the end of the war but also her relationship with the man who would go on to become President of his nation.

Malcolm Sinclair is a tour de force in the role of Ike, an imposing presence, yet nurturing his own fears of failure.

The timing of this new piece, set entirely in the weather room of Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force at Southwick House near Portsmouth, is not coincidental, of course. Staging its opening over the D-Day 70th anniversary commemorations brought sharp focus to an aspect of events in early June 1944 and how fragile truly was a victory we now take for granted.

Designer Colin Richmond’s set is simple yet makes clever use of juxtaposing state of the art imagery with period weather maps and impressive weather effects to create a tension and urgency few could imagine to be involved in climate watching.

The outcome should have been known to all present, however there were still a few gasps and even spontaneous applause from an edge-of-the-seat audience.

Pressure runs until June 28.