To do this and to also enable audiences to connect with the book’s ultimate message of hope is a high ambition that this production achieves remarkably.

From the outset, the play foreshadows radical changes that lie ahead of a middle-class French family living in a pre-1914 world. In the formal Azair household much is unspoken and feelings are rarely expressed honestly. In performance, the lack of emotional expression sometimes goes too far – the scene designed to show the bond between sisters Isabelle and Jeanne feels somewhat stilted.

But overall, the sense of rising tension, both in the domestic situation and the wider world, is well developed. Charlie Russell’s performance as Isabelle, suffocating in an abusive and loveless marriage, is a powerful portrayal of a strong woman who cannot break free from her circumstances.

The self-importance of Bérard (played by Roger Ringrose), a friend of Isabel’s husband and fellow supporter of a patriarchal system, gives a palpable sense of an unfolding crisis. When German army officers enter the house, guns at the ready, the trigger is pulled.

The rawness and bravado of men in the trenches in Act II is in marked contrast. Strong performances by Max Bowden as Firebrace, Tama Phethean as Shaw, and Joseph Benjamin Baker as Evans, their artless humour set alongside displays of deep love and empathy for one another, take these scenes to a new level. Their enduring feelings for those back at home illustrate the play’s central theme – in the midst of destruction and carnage, love offers meaning and hope. Singing by the cast and particularly the solo voice of James Findley, as Brennan, adds further resonance.

Scenes of brutality are counterposed with scenes of tenderness throughout. The visit made by Stephen, played by James Esler, to a prostitute brings back a recollection of an earlier more loving sex scene between him and Isabelle. The violent end to the youthful and vulnerable Tipper, played by Raif Clarke, is in contrast with the care he has been shown by his army comrades. The changes in mood and tone are skilfully achieved through Alastair Whatley’s direction.

Richard Kent’s set, made up of slatted panels that allow changing lighting to filter through, works well as a series of interiors, from the Azaire house to a raucous bar frequented by British soldiers. The claustrophobic conditions in which tunnellers dig in their efforts to reach beyond the German lines is created by a panelled canopy lowered down, leaving crouching and crawling the only option for those beneath.

The waste of human life is all too clear in the imagery of barbed wire that soldiers face as they go over the top at the infamous Battle of the Somme. Pace and mood of Birdsong is heightened by a sound track by Dominic Bilkey.

Whilst Birdsong is challenging and sometimes shocking, the production is powerful and compelling, and the messages conveyed through the central character of Stephen of the futility of war and of ultimately finding hope through love are loud and clear.

Birdsong was written by Sebastian Faulks and adapted for stage by Rachel Wagstaff. It was presented by Original Theatre and JAS Theatricals in association with Joshua Beaumont & Huw Allen, Tiny Giant Entertainment, Birdsong Productions and Wiltshire Creative.

It’s on at the Rep until 1st February, with an age guidance of 15+. For further information visit birmingham-rep.co.uk.