Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness

On 1 July 1916, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in one of the bloodiest battles in human history, the Battle of the Somme. This enduring war play is a powerful portrayal of mortality, love and loss. In the extraordinary circumstances of World War I, eight ordinary men arechanged, changed utterly.

In 2016, one hundred years after the battle, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness was revived in a co-production between Abbey Theatre, Citizens Theatre, Headlong and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse.

This edition contains a new introduction by P. J. Mathews.

‘There is a touch of genius in McGuinness’s, sensitive, often bleakly comic exploration of the men’s situation.’ Daily Telegraph

‘This is an epic drama that demands recognition for the male human animal in all his complexity, across any boundaries of belief or belonging we care to construct.’ The Scotsman