Following 2010’s West End hit, a brand new adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’s bestselling novel Birdsong is making its way to Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre starring Rugby born ‘Allo, ‘Allo actor Arthur Bostrom, award-winning actress Sarah Jayne Dunn and EastEnders actor Charlie G Hawkins.
Birdsong – Tim Treloar, Liam McCormick, Arthur Bostrom, Malcolm James. Photo: Jack Ladenburg
Running on the Main Stage from Tues 29 Jan to Sat 2 Feb, Birdsong is an epic tale of love and war set both before and during the Great War.
In pre-war France, a young Englishman Stephen Wraysford embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with the beautiful Isabelle Azaire that turns their worlds upside down.
As the war breaks out over the idyll of his former life, Stephen must lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels that lie deep under ground.
Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle as his world explodes around him.
Recently aired on BBC 1 and following on from the hit West End production in 2010, this brand new adaptation of Birdsong was written by Rachel Wagstaff.
She said: “Birdsong is in an incredibly powerful novel, and through the story of Faulks’s fictional characters, we can understand what it might have been like for individuals caught up in this most extraordinary period of world history. Given the approaching centenary and the passing away of Harry Patch, the last surviving British Army Veteran to have fought in the Great War, it seems more important than ever that the courage and sacrifices of those who fought and fell for future generations are not only remembered, but understood. Lest we forget; lest we let suffering on such a scale ever happen again.”
The cast includes ‘Allo, ‘Allo actor Arthur Bostrom, who was born in Rugby and Sarah Jayne Dunn, who played Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks from 1996 until 2006, and she has also appeared in national theatre tours of Boeing Boeing, The Vagina Monologues and When Harry met Sally. Alongside her is Charlie G Hawkins, who played Darren Miller in BBC soap EastEnders, Tim Van Eyken, who appeared in War Horse and newcomer Jonathan Smith as Stephen Wraysford.
Tickets for Birdsong are available now from the box office on 024 7655 3055 priced from £8.50 to £20 or via www.belgrade.co.uk where cheaper tickets are available.
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