By Grace Hatchell
Some plays apparently bring football, politics, sectarianism, old grudges and two Belfast men waiting for a ferry.
I suspect this one isn’t going to be a gentle evening.
David Ireland’s first play, What the Animals Say, is returning to the stage at London’s Finborough Theatre for a strictly limited four-week run from 29 September to 24 October 2026.
David Ireland returns back to the Finborough for the fourth time, but this time audiences are being taken right back to where his playwriting career began.
What the Animals Say was first performed at Òran Mór in Glasgow in 2009 as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint. Seventeen years later, the theatre describes its themes as newly urgent in a period of renewed political tribalism and sectarianism.
And the set-up sounds deceptively simple.
Two former classmates are waiting for the Stranraer ferry back to Belfast.
Jimmy is a struggling actor still searching for the break that never seems to arrive. Eddie, meanwhile, has found rather more success: he’s a celebrity footballer and, despite being Protestant, captain of Celtic.
At first, their reunion is built around familiar territory – football, Father Ted and the Unionist culture in which they grew up.
But old friends have an annoying habit of remembering things you’d rather they didn’t.
The banter gradually gives way to something much darker as buried resentment, betrayal and violence begin to emerge. The Finborough describes Ireland’s play as both provocative and hilarious, examining two men trapped by the stories they tell about themselves and one another.
If David Ireland’s name sounds familiar, there’s good reason.
His later work includes Everything Between Us, Yes So I Said Yes, Cyprus Avenue, Ulster American, Not Now and The Fifth Step. His work has travelled from Belfast and Edinburgh to London and New York, collecting major awards and plenty of critical attention along the way.
Going back to an artist’s first play after knowing what came afterwards is always interesting. You can look for the ideas, style and preoccupations that were there before anyone knew where that writer’s career would eventually lead.
This revival gives audiences exactly that opportunity.
Harry Burton directs, with Matthew Blaney playing Jimmy and Robbie Martin as Eddie. Blaney previously appeared at the Finborough in Ireland’s Not Now, earning an OffWestEnd Award nomination for his performance.
Blaney’s other theatre credits include Derry Boys, Under The Black Rock, Blackout and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, while his screen work includes Belfast and Bloodaxe. Martin’s credits include Celtic Kiss, Hello Georgie, Goodbye Best, Melons for Two and C’Mon Angie!.
The original production certainly made an impression. British Theatre Guide reported an audience howling with laughter, while both The Herald and The Scotsman awarded it four stars.
But beneath that laughter sits something considerably less comfortable.
Friendship, identity, masculinity, religion and the cultural divisions of Northern Ireland all appear to be circling these two men as they wait for their ferry.
Sometimes the smallest setting gives a playwright nowhere to hide.
Two actors. Two old classmates. One conversation that begins with Father Ted and football.
What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, I suspect.
Grace x
What the Animals Say plays at the Finborough Theatre, London, from 29 September to 24 October 2026, with press nights on 1 and 2 October. The production runs for approximately 80 minutes without an interval.
Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Prices until 4 October 2026
Tickets £20, £18 concessions.
Previews (29 and 30 September) £15 all seats.
£10 tickets for Under 30s for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£15 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on Saturday, 3 October 2026 at 7.30pm when booked online only.
Friends Evening on Wednesday, 7 October 2026at 7.30pm
Prices from 6 October 2026 to 18 October 2026
Tickets £25, £23 concessions, except Tuesday evenings £23 all seats.
Prices from 20 October 2026 to 24 October 2026
Tickets £29, £27 concessions. No concessions on Friday or Saturday evenings.
Group Bookings for all performances – 1 free ticket in every 10 purchased.
Box Office 020 7244 7439
No booking fees
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