‘Edward and Eliza and the smashing of the van’ coming to Oldham

‘Edward and Eliza and the smashing of the van’ to come to Oldham

Oldham Coliseum is set to host touring play ‘Edward and Eliza and the smashing of the van’ on Saturday 14 October.

Written by Eileen Murphy, from Rochdale, and directed by Chris Honer, the play, starring Alison Darling and Dominic Gately, is based on the true event of ‘The Manchester Martyrs’, three Irishmen who were hanged 150 years ago.

In September 1867, a police van carrying two famous Irish rebels, Kelly and Deasy, was stopped by a band of Irishmen on Hyde Road near Belle Vue in Manchester. In a dramatic rescue, the two rebels were freed, but in doing so, killed a policeman who was guarding them. His name was Sergeant Charles Brett.

Kelly and Deasy escaped but, as a result of what happened, a wave of anti-Irish feeling swept through the whole country. Many Irishmen were arrested, and in November 1867, three of them were tried, found guilty and publicly hanged in front of a large crowd outside the New Bailey prison in Salford.

Their role in the killing has always been a matter of dispute and massive processions took place in cities throughout Britain and Ireland following the hangings.

Monuments were erected in their memory throughout Ireland and there is also one in Moston Cemetery, Manchester. A memorial to Sergeant Brett also still survives in St Anne’s Church, Manchester and there is a plaque commemorating the events under the railway bridge on Hyde Road (still known as ‘The Fenian Arches’).

In her research for the play, writer Eileen, who has lived in Bolton since 1971, discovered that Sergeant Charles Brett had an Irish sister-in-law, Eliza. Her husband, Edward Brett, was a retired drum-major in the British Army and the couple made a living by keeping a small shop in Macclesfield.

Intrigued by how these momentous events might have affected their marriage in the hostile anti-Irish climate of the time, playwright Eileen, who was director in residence at M6 Theatre in Rochdale for five years, has given these two characters centre stage. Whilst Edward and Eliza were real people, Eileen has created a fictional story which explores their struggle to cope with their personal family loss, their loyalty to each other, and their very different cultural backgrounds.

It raises questions of cultural identity, scapegoating of minorities, the status of women, and, not least, the complex relationship between Britain and Ireland – issues still very relevant today.

‘Edward and Eliza and the smashing of the van’, starring Alison Darling and Dominic Gately, opens at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester on 5 and 6 October before touring throughout October.

The play opens at 7.30pm at the Oldham Coliseum on Saturday 14 October.