Behind Enemy Lines

Salisbury Arts Centre was the setting for a remarkable evening last Thursday as Louise Jordan delivered her immersive one-woman play Behind Enemy Lines. Through a compelling blend of storytelling, original song and archival audio she brought to life the harrowing and heroic stories of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) women who operated in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War.

The SOE was established by Winston Churchill in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in enemy occupied territories and to aid local resistance movements.

A talented folk singer, Louise’s beautiful voice was the perfect vehicle for conveying the bravery and vulnerability of the women. Each song was a poignant reflection, each spoken passage a window into lives lived in the shadows of war.

The immersive nature of the show meant Louise engaged with the audience, inviting us into the world of espionage and resistance. The intimacy of the performance space heightened the emotional impact, making the stories feel immediate and personal.

Insightful and meticulously researched, Behind Enemy Lines offered more than just a history lesson – it was a tribute to courage, sacrifice, and the often-overlooked role of women in wartime. Louise’s ability to embody multiple characters with nuance and empathy was extraordinary and her storytelling was both educational and profoundly moving.

This was not just theatre – it was remembrance.

Louise has crafted a production that honours the legacy of these remarkable women with grace, artistry, and emotional depth.

Christine Stock

Salisbury Journal: 13/11/25

You don’t go to Louise Jordan gigs, you go to Louise Jordan events. Over the years, singer songwriter Louise Jordan has become mistress of the one woman. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen many of them and know that they have three things in common. They will be well researched, about a powerful female character or group of characters and, most importantly, be highly entertaining.

I guess there’s also a touch of music hall about them as well and that’s certainly true of her latest piece, “Behind Enemy Lines” a two part work about the recruitment and deployment of female agents for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) that is connected to the area via a large WW2 operations base down the road at nearby Beaulieu.

Whilst most of Louise’s shows come in two acts, including songs performed on both guitar and keyboards, which in the nature of the piece managed to camouflage its appearance, this was, to coin the football adage, very much a game of two halves.

The first half, definitely the most audience interactive set I’ve seen Louise perform, there’s code breaking, a cypher quiz and an opportunity to join in the singing is lighter, capturing that false sense of bravado that come with doing something a bit clandestine, there are parts that are still fun, still set away from the reality and, as if to exemplify the changes through basic train, more costume changes as different skills a required.

One of the things that really caught me, was that as Louise left the stage, there was both applause and uncertainty as you weren’t entirely sure she was coming back, simple but powerful until the auditorium lights went up and you realised that it was definitely the interval.

The second half is more stark, both in lighting and mood, suddenly it all gets real. The second half, is, as the title suggests set behind enemy lines. The bravado is replaced by fear, anxiety the realisation that a mistake or simple bad luck, could come with a price to pay and whilst not in the seen league as WW1 pilots, life expectancy for SOE agents of both genders was not high.

More stark is the realisation of what happened to many of these women after the war. They weren’t looked after in the same way as their male counterparts and for many of them things got decidedly tough, stories were left untold only to emerge decades later.

Throughout Jordan commands the stage, experienced enough in delivering the format, but never taking anything for granted. The songs not only providing additional snapshots, but also giving you time to appreciate what you had seen, were seeing.

“Behind Enemy Lines” is a great show, careful research delivered in a highly visual and aural way, a great night’s entertainment.

Neil King

FATEA Magazine