A Night to Remember

A Night in November Launches 25th Anniversary Production in Chiswick

The 25th Anniversary Production of A Night in November has launched at The Chiswick Playhouse.

When Marie Jones’ incendiary oneman show first launched in Ireland, extra security had to be placed in and around the theatre. A Night in November tells the story of how one man is inspired to change his life after witnessing an incredibly sectarian football match in Belfast. The show takes place at the height of the Troubles as Protestant dole clerk Kenneth McCallister, played by Matthew Forsythe, attends the now-infamous Windsor Park World Cup Qualifier between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in 1993. Horrified by what he sees, Kenneth can no longer go through his life as a cookie-cutter Belfast Protestant, finding himself at odds with his wife, his friends, his community. As the tension comes to a head, he finds himself launched onto a journey which will change his life forever. 25 years on, the world looks very different to when the play was first shown. "It’s a history piece,” says director Matthew McElhinney. "A chance to reflect back on how far we’ve come in Northern Ireland, but it seems as relevant today as it was 25 years ago. It’s great to be putting it on in England!” Actor Matthew Forsythe adds: "It’s a great opportunity for people in

England, in London, to learn about Northern Ireland.” McElhinney agrees. "We’re hoping that people will come away from this with at least an insight into the quirkiness and the strife and the difficulty that there is with identity in Northern Ireland, with being British and Irish. It really tackles those questions, I think it’s a real eye-opener for people.” Indeed, at moments the play can be truly heart-shattering as Kenneth struggles with the realisation of that he has unwittingly been a party to, the terror of the match and the slow process of unwelcome accountability that follows. The audience find themselves rolling from riotous laughter to a horrifying silence with whipcord speed as Kenneth is exposed to the best and worst elements of human nature, one after another after another. Forsythe does an incredible job of managing the tone as the play whips from horrifying to hilarious to triumphant. "I grew up around this play,” he explains. "It’s one of the first plays I’ve ever seen, the first play I fell in love with and thought, I want to be a part of this. I was at the match, too, and it’s the sort of thing you were used to as a child, you thought there was nothing to it. And now it’s an amazing chance to look back at how far we’ve come as a football team and as a nation.” The Soda Bread Theatre’s production went on an enforced hiatus following lockdown, and is now bursting back onto the stage sharper, slicker, and more resonant than ever. To celebrate the 25 years since its first writing, the show now opens with Kenneth walking along the bank of the Seine on the night Irish fans were awarded the Grand Vermeil for ‘exemplary showmanship’, looking down at the crystal-clear waters and comparing them to the polluted lake he once looked down into in Belfast. With the themes of identity and culpability so poignant today, McElhinney explains: "We’re so happy to be in Chiswick. The opportunity to have a venue like this is a great platform-- this play is West End quality and standard. We have a journey for this in our minds.” In the intimate space of The Chiswick Playhouse, the show’s understated set design and backdrop place all eyes on the incredible performance of Forsythe as he spins the world

around him into the backdrop of Kenneth’s confusion, anxieties, and ultimate triumphs. "It’s a great chance for me,” he says. "I resonate a lot with the character Kenneth, I went on a similar sort of journey but at a younger age. I grew up in a Protestant household, grew up in a divided society, and with that you build up this fake knowledge of the other side. I just try to tell the story as truthfully as possible. I play about 20 other characters onstage, it’s a big multi role, and I love being able to colour those characters in. It’s Kenneth’s view and he sees them with a negativity that’s been highlighted, the only thing that’s been seeping into his brain all this time, and as the play progresses he just can’t go on without doing something about it. I don’t know another one-man play like it.” Writer Marie Jones commented: "The actor, director and producer of this production of Night in November were not even teenagers when this play was first performed. The fact that more than 25 years on it still resonates with them is humbling and the passion they bring to re-staging it for another generation is incredibly exciting. “This show is one of the best to come from our wee country. Now 25 years after the events and more recently after Brexit, parts of Northern Ireland believe they are more British than those in Chiswick or Finchley. Identity is still at the fore in Northern Ireland and reactions to the NI protocol shows it can’t be taken for granted but I believe through dialogue it is possible to change.” Forsythe brings a huge range of characters to life, from bombastic football fans in New York and surly old men of Belfast to Kenneth’s hilariously snippish wife and understatedly confident Catholic boss. "It has the potential to be a really impactful night at the theatre,” says McElhinney. "The courage to change themselves is the real takeaway.” The play has now had two nominations from Off West End for Lead Performance In A Play (Matthew Forsythe) and Sound Design (Garth McConaghie), as well as a Standing Ovation Nomination from London Pub Theatres. McConaghie said: “It was a privilege working with Soda Bread Theatre on A Night in November, by Marie Jones. The play was years ahead of its time when first

A Night in November is running at The Chiswick Playhouse until 3 September, when it will be moving on to the Minack.

performed, 27 years ago. Sharply observed, it still retains its hilarity, truthfulness, bold cultural challenges, particularly around national identity and, above all, sensitive humanity. I feel honoured to receive an OFFIE nomination in service of this play.” Forsythe added: “I am just overwhelmed with these nominations which not only highlights the detail and hard work I put into making this play such a success, but what we have achieved as a team.”

Ticket Prices: £18.00 - £22.00, available from www.chiswickplayhouse.co.uk/anightinnovember.