Birdsong at Crewe Lyceum Theatre

Peter Duncan, Edmund Wiseman and Emily Bowker head the cast of the 2015 national tour of Rachel Wagstaff’s stage play Birdsong when it comes to South Cheshire.

The show, adapted from the novel by Sebastian Faulks, will run at Crewe Lyceum from Tuesday June 16 to Saturday June 20.

Birdsong tells a story of love and courage, before and during the war.

In pre-war France, a young Englishman, Stephen Wraysford (Wiseman), embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with Isabelle Azaire (Bowker) that turns their worlds upside down.

As war breaks out, Stephen must lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels underground.

Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war, Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle and the idyll of his former life as his world explodes around him.

Gemma Whalley, marketing manager at Crewe Lyceum, said: “Birdsong is the type of emotional, touching drama that audiences in Cheshire continue to embrace.

“This mesmerising performance is a stunning piece of live theatre that must be experienced.”

Duncan returns to Birdsong as Jack Firebrace, having played the role in the 2014 tour.

Best known as a Blue Peter presenter, and more recently in BBC One’s Tumble, Duncan began his acting career in the 1970s when he joined the National Theatre.

Recent theatre credits include Denry Machin in The Card, Alan Ayckbourn‘s Things We Do For Love, the twins in Corpse, Stan Laurel in Laurel and Hardy, Macduff in Macbeth and Fantastic Mr Fox, both at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, and the title role in Charlie Peace – His Amazing Life And Outstanding Legend.

Wiseman’s recent theatre credits include Richard II (RSC/Barbican), Duchess of Malfi (White Bear Theatre) and Filumena (Almeida), and Bowker’s roles include A Bunch of Amateurs (The Watermill), What the Women Did (Two’s Company/Southwark Playhouse) and London Wall (Two’s Company/Finborough and St James Theatres).

Also in the cast are Emily Altneu, Max Bowden (BBC One’s Waterloo Road), Selma Brook, James Findlay, Roger Martin, Liam McCormick, James Staddon, Cloudia Swann and Alastair Whatley.

Faulks was thrilled the show was re-mounted to tour again.

He said: “Both Rachel and I want this to be the definitive version of Birdsong on stage.

“The audience watch it and think, thank God I have never undergone all of this.

“These experiences are far outside the lives of most people but there is something about the way the production works which makes people identify and think, it could be me…”

For  times and ticket details visit https://crewelyceum.co.uk/Online/

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