by Sebastian Faulks, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff. Directed by Imogen Front.
Wednesday 11 – Saturday 21 November
At the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington
Who are we, that we do this to each other?
| France, 1910. Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman, visits Amiens on business and finds himself distracted and soon entranced by Isabelle Azaire, a married woman. Six years later, he returns to France as a soldier, worn down by war, loss, and heartbreak. Now the leader of a wayward troop of young men, Stephen must face the ghosts of his own past and try to stay human in an increasingly inhuman world. First performed in 2010, Rachel Wagstaff’s celebrated adaptation of the best-selling novel by Sebastian Faulks has gained critical acclaim across the UK. Described as a “tour de force of writing” (The Latest), Birdsong beautifully captures the intensity and complexity of love, loss, courage and friendship, against the backdrop of the First World War. |
Buy Tickets
Wednesday 11 November at 7.30pm
Thursday 12 November at 7.30pm
Friday 13 November at 7.30pm
Saturday 14 November at 3pm
Saturday 14 November at 7.30pm
Tuesday 17 November at 7.30pm
Wednesday 18 November at 7.30pm
Thursday 19 November at 7.30pm
Friday 20 November at 7.30pm
Saturday 21 November at 3pm
Saturday 21 November at 7.30pm
Age Guidance: 14+. Content Advice
Cast
Stephen Wraysford : Ben Naisbitt
Isabelle Azaire : Oran Lynch
Jack Firebrace : Paul Graves
René Azaire/Captain Gray : Julian Farrance
Bérard/Colonel Barclay : John Stivey
Lisette Azaire : Emily Hassan
Jeanne Fourmentier : Amelia Kirk
Arthur Shaw : Simon Billington
Michael Tipper : Pablo Tranchell
Tom Brennan/Lucien Lebrun : James Forster
Joseph Evans : Rob Scarlett
Turner/Ensemble : Sam Eaglesham
Marguerite/Nurse/Ensemble : Laura Piccirillo
Production Team
Director : Imogen Front
Set Design : David Taylor
Costume Design : Kathleen Morrison
Lighting Design : Stephen Ley
Sound Design and original music composed by : Colin Guthrie
Stage Managers : Neha Das, Sarah Ambrose
Assistant Director : Alistair Brown
Lighting Operator : Juliet Webster
Sound Operator : Tara Atri
 Ben Naisbitt has recently moved to London and this is his first performance with the Tower Theatre company. He is an English teacher which goes hand in hand with his love of theatre and his ability to try and entertain a crowd (or classroom). He is incredibly grateful to be part of this cast and hopes he can contribute to a brilliant show. |
 Óran Lynch is an Irish actor from Dublin, trained at the Gaiety School of Acting and Bow Street Academy. Her work spans both theatre and screen with credits including A Christmas Break (BBC iPlayer) and the role of Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. She has worked across a range of theatre productions in Dublin and London, with a particular enjoyment of emotionally rich and varied roles. This is her second production with the Tower, having previously played Doris in Flare Path in May last year. She’s delighted to return to the Tower and to be part of another wonderful production with the company. |
 Paul Graves is an actor, writer and theatre maker who’s been with the Tower since 2018 and is the co-founder of Liminal Space Theatre Company. He’s played an eclectic range of characters at the Tower including; a dog, an insect, a child, a Scotsman (twice), a man who goes up and down a ladder a lot, and a man trapped inside a polar bear outfit. Credits with the Tower include Moby Dick (Starbuck/co-writer), The Little Prince (Lamplighter/Co-writer), Metamorphosis in Lockdown (Gregor/Co-writer), Coram Boy (Meshak), Kensuke’s Kingdom (Stella puppeteer), Trainspotting (Renton) and 1984 (Winston). |
 John Stivey joined the Tower back in the early 2000’s and had the great delight of being in The Kitchen, Cold Comfort Farm and The Winters Tale (which was also performed in Paris). After a small absence of approximately 25 years where John has performed in many different shows, most recently as Francis Nurse in The Crucible with SEDOS and as Dennis in the musical Rock of Ages with SMP. This year, shows with the Tower have been My Night with Reg and the rehearsed reading of The Mirror and the Light at All Hallows Church by the Tower which he thoroughly enjoyed. Soon to be playing Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls with ELODS, John is first looking forward to getting to know the cast of this show. |
 Amelia Kirk joined the Tower Theatre in 2026 and this is her first show with the company. Previous professional theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. After a hiatus of more than a decade, earlier this year she returned to the stage to play Laura Wade in The Watsons with the Putney Theatre Company. |
 Simon Billington is an Actor and Priest. He enjoyed is Tower debut earlier this year playing Casca and Octavius in Julius Caesar. Previous credits whilst in Oxford included Athos in The Three Musketeers (Story Museum), the one man play Scaramouche Jones (St Barnabus Church), Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Oxford Castle and Museum) and Mr Vincent Crummles in Nicholas Nickleby (Oxford Playhouse). Before this Simon was in a number of children’s and classic plays around the country. He is a published researcher in theology and theatre. |
 This is James Forster‘s first show with the Tower, and he is thrilled to be joining the cast of Birdsong. After co-founding a theatre company at university, he is excited to return to the stage after a long hiatus. Past performance credits include The Seagull, The Graduate, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lear (Edward Bond), and The Crucible. James also writes for stage and screen. |
 Laura Piccirillo joined the Tower this summer, and this is her first production with the company. As an NYT graduate and performing in amateur productions while studying, Laura is returning to the world of theatre after 10 years and is excited to get back on stage. |
 Imogen Front has worked on a range of Tower shows since joining the company in 2024, including acting roles in The Chimes, The Secret Garden and Brief Encounter, and operating lighting for Clyde’s. Outside the Tower, Imogen is an actor, with recent roles including Mary Bennet in Pride and Prejudice for BBC Radio 4, and several audiobooks for Harper Collins. She assistant directed last year’s Black Men Walking at the Tower and cannot wait to make her directorial debut with Birdsong. |
 Kathleen Morrison (Costume Design) crossed over from architecture to costume design on retirement 9 years ago and has found that her skills as an architect helps inform shape, line, colour and the attention to detail. She has designed costume for multiple productions at the Tower Theatre for both period dramas (such as Coram Boy, The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, Gainsborough’s Girls, An Enemy of the People, Antigone, Kindertransport, Shakespeare in Love and Anne Boleyn) and contemporary plays (including Handbagged, Kensuke’s Kingdom, King Charles III, Labour of Love and Girls). |
 Colin Guthrie (Sound Design and Original Music) has acted, directed and musical directed for many Tower shows since joining in 1984. Directing credits include Crime and Punishment, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Voysey Inheritance as well as the last play to be produced at the Tower’s old home in Canonbury, Strangers on a Train. Musical directing credits include Return of the Marionettes, The Producers (which won the coveted Minack Trophy in 2014), and, most recently, Moby Dick, for which he also composed the music. Colin has composed music for many Tower shows, including David Copperfield, Lark Rise and Coram Boy. Acting credits include Kafka’s Dick, Her Naked Skin and Shining City. Colin plays accordion and sings with Americana band The Replacement Hipsters and on Friday nights he can usually be found in a Forest Gate pub playing and singing loudly with The Dog Jammers. |