In 2022, 100 years on from the formation of the Irish state’s independence from British rule, Strange Fish this month presents a new production of Dev’s Army, Stuart D Lee’s multi-award-winning whip-smart comedy set during a seminal time in Ireland’s history. Time to get booking!
Dev’s Army, in a new production directed by Helen Niland for Strange Fish, runs at London’s Bread & Roses Theatre from 8 to 19 March 2022, followed by a night at the London Irish Irish Centre on 24 March.
It’s 1940 and, as war moves ever closer to neutral Ireland’s shores, three members of the Local Defence Force keep watch from the Dublin coast, armed only with a pistol with one bullet and a bicycle with one wheel. When a stranger suddenly appears at their remote look-out post, stakes are raised and loyalties questioned in this dark comedy that combines the wit of Sean O’Casey with the thrill of film noir.
Marking 2022’s centenary of the formation of the Irish State, Strange Fish Theatre Co present Dev’s Army, a comedy that examines the first major foreign policy decision the nascent nation made independent of British rule: namely, to remain a neutral country for the duration World War II.
The cast for Dev’s Army are Nick Danan (BBC’s WPC 56, ITV’s Innocent 2, RSC’s Lieutenant of Inishmore), Eoin McAndrew (Quick Comedies, BBC Radio Ulster), Niamh Finlay (The Wonder – with Ciaran Hinds, Doctors) and Paul Murphy (Interconnected, Aisha).
The production is designed by Phil Newman, with lighting by Amy Daniels and sound design by Paul Freeman.
As a consequence of desperate fuel shortages, the bicycle was hugely important in Ireland during the 1940s. Strange Fish present Dev's Army – a dark comedy about a bicycle with one wheel and a gun with one bullet. 8-19 March https://t.co/pAgVKcUDgn pic.twitter.com/DyW6ITEUCF
— Strange Fish Theatre Company (@Strangefishco) February 21, 2022
Stuart D Lee is an Irish-born writer. He has had several plays produced in both the UK and internationally. He won the Oxford Playhouse Competition (The Attic and Never Tell Them, 2007 and 2008). Dev’s Army was his seventh play and won the Galway Theatre Festival New Writing Competition (2010), the ‘Manchester Forever’ Manchester Fringe (2011), and the Best New Writing award at the Buxton Fringe (2011). It was also shortlisted for the Welsh Drama Competition (2010) and the Oxford Playhouse Short Play Competition (2010).
Show trailer
About Strange Fish
Founded in 2016 by artistic director Nick Danan along with co-producers Paul Lloyd and Matt Dunphy, Strange Fish are a producing company aimed at bringing the best of classical, modern and new Irish writing to the UK and beyond. Dev’s Army is their fourth production following their critically acclaimed revival of Frank McGuinness’ The Matchbox, Owen McCafferty’s Quietly and an adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw.
