Now it is back, after Live theatre\u2019s artistic director Jack McNamara persuaded an initially reluctant Peter Flannery, the writer, to return to the characters he first created for a Royal Shakespeare Company play in 1982, before later rewriting and expanding the story for the screen.<\/p>\n
Geordie sure things \u2026 (From left) Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee, Mark Strong and Daniel Craig in the 1996 TV series of Our Friends in the North. Photograph: BBC Photolibrary<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way, the production came from a sense of frustration, of always having to think small and manageable in a historically underfunded region,\u201d says McNamara. \u201cWe needed a bigger gesture. A wider story for a larger audience that had a familiar outline, but still something no one has seen on stage before. Put simply, I wanted to direct 12 actors on a big stage in a brand new work. The significance and agility of Our Friends offers a rare opportunity for that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of the scale of the show and its potential afterlife, it is a co-production between Live theatre, the Theatre<\/a> Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne and the theatre producers Eastlake Productions.<\/p>\n Flannery has reworked two of the TV episodes, set in 1979 and 1984, into a two-act play. He has introduced a chorus and there are a couple of borrowings from other episodes for explanatory purposes. The stage design allows for it to be a fast-moving show.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019m aware it is a\u00a0bleak view of\u00a0society, but the\u00a0characters are survivorsPeter Flannery<\/p>\n On TV, McKee was the only one of the four principal players who was from the region. For the play, four actors from the north-east have been cast. Ryan Nolan is the political idealist Nicky (Eccleston on TV). Sam Neale is the quietly driven Mary (McKee). Jack Robertson plays the would-be entrepreneurial Tosker (Strong). Scott Turnbull is the luckless Geordie (Craig).<\/p>\n At the table read, a few days before rehearsals with the full cast begin, various scenes are stress-tested under the guidance of McNamara. There\u2019s a long discussion about how best to make a particular joke land, and the two actors concerned try it in a number of different ways. In the script, one character is reprimanded for missing his son\u2019s football final. \u201c\u2018Football final\u2019 is a bit of a cliche,\u201d jokes Turnbull. \u201cMaybe it should be a \u2018bassoon recital\u2019.\u201d Everyone laughs.<\/p>\n The actors want to know whether McNamara expects them to model their performances on their TV predecessors, but he is not interested in impersonations. The way to pay tribute to the originators of the roles, he says, is to do their own thing. There\u2019s a sense of relief but the four are acutely aware that Our Friends in the North is a cherished TV show, and there is a weight of expectation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying not to get into an anxiety spiral about it but it is there, looming,\u201d says Neale, who recalls watching the show with her mum.<\/p>\n \u201cI do feel like there\u2019s a lot of pressure,\u201d says Turnbull. \u201cThis needs to be executed well.\u201d<\/p>\n
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