The Accrington Pals

The devastation of war, the lives lost and the lives left behind, utopia and reality. This is The Accrington Pals.

The ‘Accrington Pals’ battalion of Kitchener’s New Army was raised and destroyed during WW1. This new take on Peter Whelan’s play occupies a timeless space, as we see the futility of all wars, past and present, unfold and watch how they devastate the lives of those left behind.

This is the heartbreaking love-hate relationship between a strong-minded, rugged individualist woman and a dreamy, Utopian idealist young man, and the village that surrounds them.

The Accrington Pals has been adapted for the Vitruvian Theatre Company by Seamus Casey who directs this acclaimed new production.

“In Whelan’s preface to the play, writing in the early 1980’s, he discusses the ideological differences between the lead couple. But today it takes on a global urgency as we face the question: how shall we survive? These questions are equally as poignant in 2026 as they were when they were written.”

Seamus Casey

Featuring projected artwork from ‘The Danger Tree’ exhibition, the result of collaboration between Marc Marot and Scarlett Raven, impressive paintings meet digital media and wartime poetry to create an augmented reality that brings both beauty and pain to the story unfolding onstage.

This special theatre show runs at Isbourne Arts across Remembrance weekend. Shows on Friday 6 November at 7.30pm, Saturday 7 November at 7.30pm and Sunday 8 November at 1pm.

Tickets: £18.50 standard and £12.50 under-26

This production has been licensed by arrangement with The Agency (London) Ltd, 24.