R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End takes place in an officers’ dugout during the First World War, over the few days before an expected German attack. The British raid discussed in the play is a separate operation to capture a prisoner and gather intelligence, while the preparations in the dugout focus on facing the coming German assault. These events are overshadowed by German bombardment and counter-action around the play’s ending. The single setting creates confinement, so the audience focuses on speech, silence, relationships and the sounds of the unseen battlefield.