National Theatre of Scotland announces the full cast for the world premiere of Orphans, a darkly comic musical about family, grief and forgiveness, based on the much-loved cult film written and directed by Peter Mullan.
Directed for the first time for the stage by award-winning theatre director Cora Bissett, Orphans is a big, bold Scottish musical with raucous and heartfelt songs from Glaswegian composing team Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly, ingeniously adapted for the stage by playwright Douglas Maxwell.
Orphans is set in the streets of Glasgow and will open at Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo before touring to the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh and Eden Court, Inverness with preview performances at Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock in April 2022. The production signals the welcome return of National Theatre of Scotland live performances to Scotland’s largest theatres.
Set in 1998, Orphans follows the Flynn siblings on a stormy night in Glasgow after the death of their mother. Thomas won’t leave the church, Michael is bleeding and roaming the streets, John has a gun and is set on revenge while Sheila wants to live life on her own terms. But will the siblings survive the night to get to their mother’s funeral?
“Grotesquely funny and desperately sad, a headbutt and a hymn, the film is something special.” Empire Magazine
Peter Mullan, writer and director of the Orphans film said: “It’s a brave and ballsy thing to do, to adapt any film and then put it on stage. The story lends itself well to being a musical because, however misplaced, however funny, it’s all about emotion. Orphans is an epic journey through the night. The thing that draws you in is the characters, how they interact and what implications there are for the world that’s around them which combine into a cauldron of craziness and hurt and grief. The idea of putting that to music made sense to me. Oh, and if you f**k it up, you’re on your own, my disclaimer is going in the programme but if it’s good, I’m taking all the credit.”
The stage musical of Orphans is brought to life by Amy Conachan, Amber Sylvia Edwards, Robert Florence, Chloe Hodgson, Reuben Joseph, Louise McCarthy, John McLarnon, Patricia Panther, Paul McCole, Martin Quinn, Betty Valencia, Harry Ward and Dylan Wood.
Orphans is touring to Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock (Previews 1 & 2 April 2022) SEC Armadillo, Glasgow (6 to 9 April 2022) King’s Theatre, Edinburgh (12 to 16 April 2022) and Eden Court, Inverness (26 to 30 April 2022). Booking, on sale and access information can be found here
