A new play about growing up, coming home and making noise.
The Band Back Together arrives in London after a spring tour of England and Wales. Barney Norris (Visitors, Eventide, We Started To Sing) returns to the Arcola with a raucous and tender new story full of music.
Joe, Ross and Ellie used to be in a band. They were pretty good too, making waves across a rugged patchwork of pubs and clubs. But time has thrown the three friends far from their younger selves. Back together for one night only to play a benefit gig in their home town of Salisbury, they find a community reeling from an infamous poisoning and a pandemic. And as they rehearse the old songs together, their stories and secrets must also be excavated.
Commissioned and first produced by Farnham Maltings, March 2024
-
Running time
1hr 55mins (including interval) -
Age guidance
12+ -
Content warnings
"In Barney Norris’ latest play, he manages to reflect this intangible feeling with such emotional clarity. A script full of heart and three touching performances, it is a top-quality piece of theatre that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre"
"Evelyn’s voice is crisp, clear and full of emotion, finding joy and darkness at every tempo"
"This compact production, with three vital performances at its heart, will strike a chord with anyone who left themselves behind in order to grow up"
"Norris explores issues of regret, nostalgia and the lasting harm that people cause to each other, in a truthful piece that makes good use of music"
Rehearsal photos
Production photos
The Company
-
Laura Evelyn
Ellie
Laura Evelyn
Ellie
Laura is an actor, writer and improviser, based in London.
Theatre credits include: Red Ellen (UK tour for Northern Stage/Edinburgh Lyceum/Nottingham Playhouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Wilton’s Music Hall), Lysistrata (UK tour for Actors of Dionysus), The Girl with the Iron Claws (Arcola Theatre) and Twelfth Night (Rose Playhouse). Film credits include: Last Christmas (Universal), Last Train to Christmas (Sky), Denial (BBC Films). TV credits include: Sex Education (Netflix), Agatha Raisin (Sky), Starstruck (HBO/BBC), Good Omens (Amazon/BBC), Doctor Who (BBC), Black Mirror (Netflix), Lovesick (Netflix) and Silent Witness (BBC).
Laura collaborated with Music Supervisor Tom Cook and the cast to write the songs for The Band Back Together.
-
James Westphal
Joe
James Westphal
Joe
James is a neurodiverse Actor, Writer and Musician originally from Portsmouth and based in London.
Theatre credits include: Driftwood (Pentabus and ThickSkin UK Tour), A-Typical Rainbow (Turbine Theatre, Aria Entertainment), Other Hands (Bridewell Theatre, TuffLuv Theatre), The Sam Wanamaker Festival (The Globe), A Wake In Progress (Edinburgh Fringe, Fine Mess Theatre), Child of Science (Bush Theatre, R&D). Film and TV credits include: NOMAD (upcoming feature), The Paramedics, You Got A Face On (Liftoff, Pinewood), Sweetheart (MetFilm School) and Murphy’s Law (Short).
James’ play Better Yet? was shortlisted for the Original Theatre Playwrighting Award for 2022 and is currently in development. He trained at ArtsEd.
James collaborated with Music Supervisor Tom Cook and the cast to write the songs for The Band Back Together.
-
Royce Cronin
Ross
Royce Cronin
Ross
Royce trained at the Oxford School of Drama.
Royce can most recently be seen in the feature film Gran Turismo and before that in Bohemian Rhapsody and The Iconoclast. His television credits include Doctors, Holy Land Foundation, Boom! Pilot, D-Day Landings, The Marchioness, 24 Seven and Family Affairs.
In addition to acting on screen, Royce has graced the stage in; The Little Prince (Omnibus Theatre), Dick Whittington (Theatre Clwyd), The Court Must Have A Queen (Historic Royal Palaces), Kicking and Screaming (Tangled Feet), Turf (Kings Head Theatre), The Hypochondriac (Theatre Royal Bath), Woyzeck (Omnibus), The Rubenstein Kiss (Soho Theatre), Imogen (Arcola) and The Fetch (The Old Red Lion).
Royce collaborated with Music Supervisor Tom Cook and the cast to write the songs for The Band Back Together.
-
Barney Norris
Writer and Director
Barney Norris
Writer and Director
Barney Norris’s work has received awards from the International Theatre Institute, the Critics’ Circle, the Evening Standard, the Society of Authors and the South Bank Sky Arts Times Breakthrough Awards, among others, and been translated into nine languages. His plays include Visitors, Eventide, Nightfall, The Wellspring and acclaimed adaptations of Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and Lorca’s Blood Wedding; his novels include the acclaimed Undercurrent and the bestselling Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain.
-
Lux Swithinbank
Lighting and Sound Designer
-
Oliwia Rokowska
Stage Manager
-
Tom Cook
Original Music Supervisor
-
Becci Kenning
Designer