“Gerry Adams has disguised himself as a new-born baby and successfully infiltrated my family home.”

David Ireland’s award-winning play Cyprus Avenue, directed by Royal Court Theatre Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone, was broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday 15 September 10pm.

Commissioned by The Space, this film of Cyprus Avenue, by David Ireland, mixes live capture of performance from the iconic Royal Court Theatre stage production with location shooting in Belfast.

Starring Stephen Rea and directed by Vicky Featherstone award-winning Cyprus Avenue was originally produced at the Royal Court Theatre, London and Abbey Theatre, Dublin before touring to MAC Belfast and the Public Theater in New York.

Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He is experiencing a psychotic episode and mistakes his five-week old granddaughter for Gerry Adams. Generations of sectarian trauma convince him that his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act. This hard hitting black comedy Cyprus Avenue tells the story of a man struggling with the past and terrified of the future. It was awarded Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama in 2017. For his portrayal of Eric, Stephen Rea won Best Actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017.

The adaptation was commissioned by The Space and produced for BBC Four by the Royal Court Theatre. It was Executive Produced by Lucy Davies, Jane Featherstone, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.

To find out more, click here.