A stage adaptation of a bestselling First World War novel will come to the city to mark the 30th anniversary of its publication. Adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and directed by Alastair Whatley, Birdsong will appear at the Theatre Royal Brighton from February 4 – 8 as part of a country wide tour. The production marks the 30th anniversary of Sebastian Faulks’ international best-selling 1993 novel of love and loss in the First World War.
The play opens in pre-war France (Image: Pamela Raith) Birdsong opens in pre-war France where a young Englishman, Stephen Wraysford, embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with the beautiful, but married, Isabelle Azaire. When war breaks out, Stephen must leave this life behind and lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels. Stephen is a lieutenant in the British Army during the First World War (Image: Pamela Raith) Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war, Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle.
The production has partnered with the Royal British Legion and its annual Poppy Appeal. Ahead of the production and in the run up to Armistice Day commemorations, lead members of the cast recorded on-stage video readings of war poems chosen by Sebastian Faulks. The videos can be watched on Original Theatre’s YouTube channel.
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