Full casting is announced on Jeremy Herrin’s production of Frank McGuinness’s iconic war play Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme; a major co-production between Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Headlong, The Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. The production marks the 100th anniversary of The Battle of the Somme and runs at the Playhouse from 8th Jun to 25th June.
On 1 July 1916, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in one of the bloodiest battles in human history, The Battle of the Somme, on the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne of 1690.
“In the end we were not led, we led ourselves. We claimed we would die for each other in battle. To fulfil that claim we marched into the battle that killed us all.”
Acknowledged as a modern masterpiece, Frank McGuinness’s deeply humane play is a poetic and complex response to the futility of war. We follow the fate of eight young Ulster volunteers as cultural ties interact with individual friendships and the realisation that ultimately their true allegiance lies with one another. Elegantly and movingly drawn, McGuinness captures the deep love of men and shows with lyrical grace how war unites and extinguishes them.
The ensemble includes Donal Gallery, as Young Pyper, who played Johnny in Juno and the Paycock at the Playhouse in 2014. The full cast is Ryan Donaldson (Shakespeare In Love, West End) as Craig, Jonny Holden (Homefront, B.B.C.) as Crawford, Andy Kelleher (Retreat, New Theatre) as Anderson, Paul Kennedy (The Fall, B.B.C.) as McIlwane, Marcus Lamb (Heartbreak House, The Abbey) as Roulston, Chris McCurry (Operation Crucible, Finborough Theatre) as Moore, Seán McGinley (A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Abbey Theatre) as Old Pyper and Iarla McGowan (Scenes from an Execution, National Theatre) as Millen.
Frank McGuinness is an internationally renowned novelist, short story writer, poet and opera librettist, as well as playwright. His play The Match Box premiered at the Playhouse Studio in 2012 to critical an audience acclaim before transferring to London. His many other plays include The Factory Girls, There Came A Gypsy Riding, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me and The Hanging Gardens. He is equally acclaimed for his adaptations of classic texts which include A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Peer Gynt, Oedipus and Phaedra.
Jeremy Herrin is the Artistic Director of Headlong. His production of Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places and Things enjoyed a sell-out run at the National Theatre and is currently playing in the West End’s Wyndham Theatre. Other Headlong credits include The Nether (Duke of York’s/ Royal Court) and The Absence of War (Sheffield Theatres) which toured to the Playhouse last year. For the R.S.C., the hugely successfully and award-winning world premiere of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies (West End/Broadway), for which he won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director and was nominated for Best Director at the 2015 Tony Awards.
There is a twilight performance of the play at 17:30 on Wednesday 15th June.
Tickets are priced at £9.50 – £28* and can be purchased from the Box office on 0151 709 4776 and online at www.everymanplayhouse.com.
*A single transaction fee of £2 applies to all phone, counter and internet bookings. Cash payments are exempt from any transaction fees.