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23 AUGUST – 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
The Barn Theatre in association with Wiltshire Creative and Octagon Theatre Bolton present
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
A Play by Marie Jones.
Stones in his Pockets is a BUILT BY BARN PRODUCTION
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
Lights! Camera! Action!! HOLLYWOOD is coming back to the Barn once again! The return of the 2021 smash hit STONES IN HIS POCKETS also went on a sellout transfer in 2022 to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast as part of a 25th anniversary celebration of the show. The new version re-opens at the Barn before going on a limited UK tour for 2024, followed by a major 2025 tour of the UK and Ireland.
What happens when two Irish extras become the stars?! The authentic rediscovery of the worldwide phenomenon, ‘Stones in His Pockets,’ will again capture the magic of the original production with the added thrill of new stagecraft.
Set in a rural Ireland, a small village is turned upside down by the arrival of a Hollywood studio to film the latest historical blockbuster. Told through the eyes of local lads Charlie Conlon and Jake Quinn, who are employed as extras, it soon becomes clear that Tinseltown’s romanticised dream of Ireland is a long way from reality…
Directed by Matthew McElhinney, son of the play’s writer and original director, this new production brings a fresh take on the often hysterically funny, thought-provoking and witty comedy.
STONES IN HIS POCKETS has won numerous awards including both the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best New Comedy, as well as three Tony nominations on Broadway. Stones in his Pockets ran for four years in the West End and has delighted audiences around the world.
DETAILS
TICKETS
Age Guidance
14+
Content Warning's
Includes strong language and themes of suicide including references to drowning.
RUNNING TIME
2 hours 25 mins including interval
SHOW INFO
PROGRAMME
Praise
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Cast
SHAUN BLANEY
GERARD McCABE
View cast biographies
SHAUN BLANEY
Nominated for Best Actor at the Irish Theatre Awards 2022 for his one-man show In the Name of the Son – The Gerry Conlon Story, which toured the Edinburgh Fringe and AKL Auckland theatre festival New Zealand.
Winner of Best Actor at the IAWTV Los Angeles, 2015 for FARR with RTE Ireland.
Further theatre credits include: Marie Jones’ Stones in his Pockets (Barn theatre), Little Women (Lyric), Rhino(Tinderbox), David Ireland’s Cyrpus Avenue (The Tron Theatre), The Man Who Fell To Pieces(Tinderbox), Game of Governments (RADA).
TV credits include: Game of thrones (HBO), Bloodlands (BBC), Frankenstein Chronicles (ITV), St Mungos (BBC), Halo: Nightfall (Scottfree/343 studios), Farr (RTE), Eat the rich (RTE), The Lodge(Disney Channel), Dani’s Castle(CBBC).
GERARD McCABE
Gerard trained at The Lir National Academy Dramatic Arts, Dublin, and Rainbow Factory School of Performing Arts, BELFAST.
CREDITS INCLUDE: The Threepenny Opera, What The Reindeer Saw, Smiley, Pride and Prejudice and The Jungle Book (Lyric Theatre); The Blue Boy Glenmore (Brassneck/Lyric Theatre); Jacque Brel is Alive and Well (Lyric Theatre/Blunt Fringe); Lally the Scut, Fireworks, and Swing State Cabaret (Tinderbox); Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged, 25th Annual Spelling Bee, Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Midsummers Night Dream, and Blue Remembered Hills (Bruiser); iSpy (Big Telly); Short Strand Rising and Henry and Harriot (Kabosh); Tosca (NI Opera); The New Kid and Sinking (Replay); The Comedy of Errors (Belfast Th. Co); Herons, Pvt. Wars(Pintsized Productions).
TV & FILM INCLUDES Blue Lights (BBC-Season 1&2), Say Nothing(Disney) Ups and Downs(BBC); U Looking At Me (Channel 4); Betrayal of trust and Father Father (BBC NI). Other TV work includes Give My Head Peace (BBC NI) and Touched by an Angel (CBS).
Gerard has also worked as a presenter for CBBC on Ukool for 5 years and also worked as guest presenter on Fully Booked. Gerard has numerous panto and small screen credits and he is the founder of Pintsized Productions and Artistic Producer at Sodabread Theatre. Notable Short films include Water with Food Colouring (Best Actor at New York Film Festival) and most recently BBC’s Fright Shorts The Grandmummy and Derek vs Killer Pigeons.
Creatives
MAIRE JONES
WRITER
Marie’s plays have toured extensively throughout the world, including the former Soviet
Union, Germany, coast to coast America, Canada, Britain and Ireland. Her plays
include an adaptation of Gogol’s The Government Inspector, which toured in
Britain and Ireland and A Night in November (London, Glasgow, New York and three
tours of Ireland). Marie also starred in and wrote Women on the Verge of HRT (Belfast,
Dublin, Glasgow and London’s West End Vaudeville Theatre). Dancing Shoes, the story
of George Best, co-written with Martin Lynch and the Miami Show Band Story also co-
written with Martin Lynch both premiered at the Grand Opera House and went
on to tour the UK and Ireland. Stones in His Pockets, which toured Ireland prior to
the Dublin Theatre Festival culminating in a four-year run-in London’s West End,
gaining many wards including the Lawrence Oliver Award for Best New Comedy and
the Evening Standard award for best new Play. Her Broadway debut of Stones in His
Pockets gained 3 Tony nominations and won the American Drama Critics award.
Marie’s plays have been translated into 38 languages. Dear Arabella, her latest play,
was directed by Lindsay Posner the Oliver Award Director and premiered at the Lyric
Theatre. She has been awarded two honorary doctorates of literature from Queens
University and the University of Ulster. She has also been awarded an OBE (Order of the
British Empire). Marie has recently directed Fly Me to The Moon at Lyric Theatre Belfast.
MATTHEW McELHINNEY
DIRECTOR
Matthew McElhinney is an award-winning director and acclaimed stage actor from Northern Ireland.
Stage Acting credits include: ‘Scenes from the Big Picture’ (Prime Cut); ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’, ‘Dockers’, ‘Weddin’s Weein’s and Wakes’, ‘Mistletoe and Crime’ and ‘Christmas Eve can Kill You’ (Lyric Theatre); ‘Dancing Shoes’ and ‘Three’s a Shroud’ (GBL Productions); Over the Bridge (Greenshoot Productions); ‘Rockdoves’ and ‘Archy in Manhattan’ (Rathmore Productions); Carthaginians (Millennium Forum); From the Shipyard to the Somme (Partisan Productions) Tartan (The MAC); and the Dundonald Liberation Army Trilogy (Hull Promotions/Soda Bread Theatre Company)
Screen Acting credits include: Closing the Ring (Closing the Ring Productions); Five Minutes of Heaven (Big Fish Films); The Man Who Could Fly (Doubleband Films); One Night (Aim High); Shooting for Socrates (New Black Films);
Directing credits include: ‘Footsteps in the Forest’ (Lumiere Events); ‘A Night in November’(Lyric Theatre/Soda Bread/Irish Arts Centre NYC); ‘Betrothed’ and ‘Women on the Verge of HRT,’ (GBL Productions); ‘How to Bury a Dead Mule’ (Rathmore Productions); ‘The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary’ and ‘Pride of the Shore’ (Greenshoot Productions).
Awards and accolades include: Heritage Ireland Award for ‘Footsteps in the Forest.’ Winner of ‘Best Production’ at London Pub Theatre Awards for ‘A Night in November.’ It was also nominated for another LPT Award and two Offies; UK Theatre Award nomination for ‘Best New Play’ for ‘How to Bury a Dead Mule.’
After a critically acclaimed run in the Lyric Theatre, Matthew is honoured to be bringing this fantastic production of ‘Stones in his Pockets,’ back to the Barn where it began its journey and beyond.
GREGOR DONNELLY
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
Gregor is an internationally recognised, award nominated theatre designer. Gregor trained in Set and Costume design on the very last Motley Theatre Design Course in 2011.
Designs highlights include, Women on the Verge of HRT (Gaeity Theatre, Dublin, Grand Opera House, Belfast and tour), Exhibitionists (new Kings Head Theatre), I Loved Lucy (Jermyn St Theatre / Arts Theatre / Lucille Lortel Theatre, NYC, Woodstock Theatre, NY), Rumi (London Coliseum and D’reesha Arts Festival, Qatar), Theatre Café Channel (episodes 1-5 starring a range of leading west end stars (Broadway HD), Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era (London Palladium, Dubai Opera House, Ithra Theatre, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain National Theatre), Stones in his Pockets (Barn Theatre / Belfast Lyric), Media Suite and interval show designer for Olivier Awards (Royal Albert Hall), Broken Wings and The Throne (Charing Cross Theatre), Rags (Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester and Park Theatre, London), Laughing Matters, Celia Imrie’s one woman show (Crazy Coques), The Great British Musicals (St James Theatre / London Hippodrome), Dirty Dating (Stockport Plaza / Epstein Theatre, Liverpool), Rumpy Pumpy (Windsor Theatre Royal / Union Theatre). Peter Pan and The Snow Queen (Park Theatre), The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit (Hope Mill Theatre), The Jazz Age and Shirley Mander (Playground Theatre), Daddy Long Legs, Marry Me A Little and Peter Pan (Barn Theatre, Cirencester), Me and My Girl (Frinton on Sea summer theatre), My Son Pinocchio (Southwark Playhouse), Jack and the Blingstalk (Harold Pinter Theatre), Shirley Valentine (Byre Theatre) Damn Yankees (Unicorn Theatre), The Great British Musicals (St James Theatre/London Hippodrome), Dirty Dating (Stockport Plaza/Epstein Theatre, Liverpool), RumpyPumpy (Windsor Theatre Royal/Union Theatre). Cat–the Play! (Ambassadors theatre) and Bastille’s ‘Doom Days’ album launch concert.
Gregor was nominated for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design, Off West End Awards for Benighted (Old Red Lion), nominated for Best Costume Design, Off West End Awards for The Autumn Garden (Jermyn Street). Gregor was also nominated for Best Set Design, Off West End Awards for Peter Pan (Park Theatre) and nominated for Best Set Design, Off West End Awards for Rags (Park Theatre).
Future designs 2024/25 include, Umm Kulthum and the Golden Era – Cultural Palace, Amman, Jordan and Dubai Opera House, Stones in his Pockets (tour), Into the Woods, Fun Home, Sister Actand Cinderella.
FLEUR MELLOR
CHOREOGRAPHER
Fleur Mellor trained as a professional dancer at the London Studio Centre and with over 20 years in the industry, has been producing and choreographing for commercial theatre with an emphasis on live work with a strong dance/theatre element. She is passionate about movement in all aspects of creative performance as a choreographer and movement director. She also works as a freelance producer and for Peter Corry Productions.
Theatre choreography credits: Thank You For The Musicals (NI tours); The Showman Is Coming (Netherlands & NI tours); Celtic Rhythms (Netherlands tour); Annie Get Your Gun (Theatre At The Mill); Throughly Modern Millie (Adelphi Theatre); The Music Box (Folk & Transport Museum Cultra, Theatre At The Mill, Belfast Waterfront); The Boyfriend (Her Majesty’s Theatre), Irish Wings (Netherlands tour); The Tenderland (Arcola Theatre); Crazy For You (London Palladium).
Movement Direction: Green Space, Dark Skies (Unboxed festival);The Gap Year (The Lyric Theatre, Belfast); Stones In His Pockets (The Lyric Theatre, Belfast & The Barn, Cirencester); Archy In Manhattan (GOH, Belfast). Fleur has recently finished working as Movement Director on A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the first ever amphitheatre in Belfast, created for The Lyric’s summer season.
As a board member of both Thrive Audience Development & Theatre And Dance NI, Fleur is a fierce advocate for dance and a champion for the arts.
BENJAMIN COLLINS
VIDEO DESIGNER
Born in Paris and raised in Cirencester, Benjamin studied Media Technology at the University of South Wales.
Ben began his creative journey writing comic strips for his school newsletter. Coming from a mixed background of technology research and the arts, he created most of the Theatre’s content on-stage and on social media before 2020, supporting Iwan Lewis with content creation since 2015, during the construction of the Theatre.
As part of the Barn’s digital transformation, Benjamin worked to spearhead early platform adoption including Unreal Engine, DaVinci Resolve, Cloud workflows, and the Blackmagic hardware ecosystem.
Stones In His Pockets emerging on the Barn Stage in 2021 was a culmination of this process, the beginning of many shared credits between Benjamin and frequent collaborator Alex Tabrizi.
Notable credits include Henry V (2019), Bard From The Barn (2020), Dorian Grey (2021), Now Or Never (2021), The Passerby (2024).
HARRY SMITH
SOUND DESIGNER
Harry is a Composer and Sound Designer for theatre, film and TV. He worked as Resident Composer & Sound Designer at the Barn Theatre between 2018 and 2022. Highlights include Henry V, Private Peaceful and Stones in His Pockets. Since leaving the Barn he has been writing and producing music for an award-winning studio in London, working on campaigns for clients including Microsoft, Nike and Aston Martin.
Barn theatre credits include: The True Adventures of Marian and Robin Hood, The Girl on The Train, Driving Miss Daisy, The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella, David Copperfield, Jeeves and Wooster, Stones in His Pockets (Barn Theatre, Cirencester and Lyric Theatre, Belfast), A Russian Doll, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Peter Pan, Now or Never, What a Carve Up, Private Peaceful, Marry Me a Little, Ben Hur, Jeeves & Wooster, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Christmas Carol, The 39 Steps, Henry V andOne Minute.
ALEX MUSGRAVE
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Alex designs lighting for theatre and opera across the UK and Internationally. Notably Home at
Chichester Festival Theatre and The White Factory at Marylebone Theatre, London. Alex has been nominated for two Off West End Awards for Best Lighting Design for The White Factory at the Marylebone Theatre and You are Here at the Southwark Playhouse. Alex was
also the 2019 Association of Lighting Production and Design Lumière 2019.
Recent design work includes: Home (Chichester Festival Theatre), Sherlock and the Whitechopel Fiend (Barn Theatre, Cirencester), It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (New York), Treasure Island (Barn Theatre, Cirencester), Kin – The Musical (Teatro Technis, London), The White Foctory (Marylebone Theatre, London), It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Oslo) Dance Nation, Serious Money and The Grain Store (Mountview), King Charles Ill and Let The Right One In (ArtsED), Private Lives (The Barn Theatre, Cirencester), It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Soho Theatre, London), The Clockmaker’s Daughter (New Theatre Royal Portsmouth), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Kings Theatre, Portsmouth), The Cunning little Vixen (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire), Urinetown (Portsmouth New Theatre Royal), Cinderella (Kings Theatre, Portsmouth), Rapunzel (The Watermill Theatre), The Sleeping Sword (The Watermill Theatre), Tales of Acom Wood (National Tour). The Chronicles of Atom and Luna (National Tour). Anyone Con Whistle: You Are Here and Romeo and Juliet (Southwark
Playhouse). Future work Forsyte Saga Part I & 2 (Park Theatre) & A Christmas Carol – Hope Mill (The
Lowry).
https://wwwalex-musgrave.com/designs
ALEX TABRIZI
FILMAKER & PHOTOGRAPHER
Alex is of Iranian and Scottish heritage and studied fine art photography at university, as well as the acting techniques of Stanford Meisner & Lee Strasburg and Clowning & Lecoq Physical Theatre. He started his career as an artist, then worked as a 360° product photographer for Selfridges & others before producing a feature film starring Jason Flemyng and Lindsey Colson. After several years working as a freelance videographer and documentary maker, he joined The Barn’s marketing team in 2021, responsible for visual content creation. Notable Barn credits include Stones in His Pockets (CGI content, 2021) and A Portrait of Dorian Gray (Gaffer, 2021).
BEN THOMAS
SOUND PROGRAMMER
Ben is thrilled to be a part of the remounting of Stones In His Pockets, having worked on the original production at The Barn Theatre 3 years ago.
Ben’s other work incudes: Murder For Two [Sound Designer, Barn Theatre, Cirencester], Nutcracker, Choir Boy & Arabian Nights [Head of Sound, Bristol Old Vic], Child of Science [Head of Sound & Video, Bristol Old Vic], Kathy & Stella Solve A Murder, Starter For Ten [Production Sound Engineer, Bristol Old Vic]
Backstage area!
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23 Aug – 14 Sep 2024
STONES IN HIS POCKETS
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