Riots, fear and energy in The Plough And The Stars at Leamington’s Loft

Revelry, terror, fear, courage and some extraordinary characters will bring the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin to life at the Loft Theatre in Leamington this week in Sean O’Casey’s The Plough And The Stars.
By The Newsroom
Published 25th Feb 2014, 07:00 BST
Peter Meredith (Lt Langon), Peter Gillam (Commandant Clitheroe) and David Perryman as members of the Irish Citizens' Army in The Plough And The Stars at the Loft Theatre.Peter Meredith (Lt Langon), Peter Gillam (Commandant Clitheroe) and David Perryman as members of the Irish Citizens' Army in The Plough And The Stars at the Loft Theatre.
Peter Meredith (Lt Langon), Peter Gillam (Commandant Clitheroe) and David Perryman as members of the Irish Citizens' Army in The Plough And The Stars at the Loft Theatre.

Set at a pivotal moment in the history of Ireland, the play sparked off riots when it was first performed in 1926.

Among the characters portrayed in the tragi-comedy are Jack Clitheroe, a bricklayer and former member of the Irish Citizen Army, his wife; Nora, cousin; Young Covey; and Nora’s uncle, Peter Flynn.

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For those living in the tenements a few streets away from the General Post Office, the rising was a call to arms: an invitation to riot, loot shops and ransack pubs.

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Director Gordon Vallins said: “When I read The Plough and the Stars for the first time many years ago, I knew it was a play I would love to do. The sheer exuberance of the language, the energy and life of the superbly drawn characters and the emphasis on the way people lived in deprived conditions, ignored by those in positions of responsibility, were irresistible.”

Performances take place from tomorrow (Wednesday February 26) to Saturday March 8 at 7.30pm each evening (except Sunday). For tickets, call 0844 493 4938 or visit www.loft­-theatre.co.uk

Related topics:LeamingtonIreland