''The Accrington Pals'' is a 1981 play by

Peter Whelan Peter Whelan (3 October 1931 – 3 July 2014) was a British playwright. Whelan was born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, England. As a student from 1951–55 Whelan was an inspirational figure in the newly-formed Drama Society at the experimental ...

. It is based on the Accrington Pals unit in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and contrasts its life at the front and experiences in the 1916

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

with the women left behind in

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

Production history

It was premiered at the Warehouse in London on 10 April 1981 by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

Premiere cast and crew

* Janet Dale (May) * Nicholas Gecks (Tom) * Peter Chelsom (Ralph) *

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...

(Eva) * Sharon Bower (Sarah) * Hilary Townley (Bertha) *

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

(Annie) * Andrew Jarvis (Arthur) * Jack Marcus (Reggie) *

Bob Peck Robert Peck (23 August 1945 – 4 April 1999) was an English actor who played Ronald Craven in the television serial ''Edge of Darkness'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He was also known for his role as game warden Robe ...

(C.S.M. Rivers) * Bill Alexander (Director) * Kit Surrey (Design) * Michael Calf (Lighting) * John A. Leonard (Sound) * Peter Washtell (Music arrangement)

Other productions

* In February 2013

James Dacre James Charles Dacre (born May 1984) is a British theatre director. He has been artistic director of Royal & Derngate Theatres in Northampton since 2013. Early years James Dacre was born in 1984, the son of Paul Dacre, former editor of the '' ...

directed a revival at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

with

Emma Lowndes Emma Lowndes (born 1975) is an English actress, known for portraying Bella Gregson in '' Cranford'', Mary Rivers in ''Jane Eyre'' and Margie Drewe in ''Downton Abbey''. Background Brought up in Irlam, near Manchester, Lowndes attended Irlam Pri ...

as May, Sarah Ridgeway as Eva, Robin Morrissey as Tom and

Gerard Kearns Gerard Kearns (born 4 October 1984) is an English actor. He is best known as Ian Gallagher in '' Shameless''. Career Kearns starred in the film ''The Mark of Cain'', for Film4 Productions, based on British soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners ...

as Ralph. The production won a UK Theatre Award for best design. * In October 2017

Dumbarton People's Theatre Dumbarton People's Theatre (often abbreviated to DPT) is an amateur theatre group which exists in the town of Dumbarton in Scotland. It was formed in 1945. Since then they have normally performed four plays a year. This usually includes a Christ ...

performed the play.

Publication history

The play was first published by Methuen London Ltd in 1982.

Scenes

Act 1 i) May's market stall ii) Recruiting office iii) May's stall iv) May's kitchen v) May's kitchen (doubling as Tom's watch post.) vi) May's kitchen vii) May's stall (doubling as Caernarvon) viii) May's stall ix) May's kitchen x) May's stall Act 2 i) May's kitchen/France ii) May's kitchen/France iii) May's kitchen iv) The Somme front, France v) Sarah's backyard vi) May's kitchen vii) May's stall viii) May's stall {{DEFAULTSORT:Accrington Pals, The British plays 1982 plays Plays about World War I