It kicked off proper on Church Street last night, just like the old days November 1715 to be precise, as Preston’s Uneasy Theatre and Cardinal Newman Dance Academy joined forces to recreate the last battle fought on English soil.
AdvertisementJacobite: The Preston Fight told the story of the battle on Church Street during the struggle to reinstate the Stuart Monarchs. First performed in the 1992 Guild Year in UCLAN Arts Centre, the drama was entirely redrafted by Uneasy Theatre director Pete Hartley. The result was a powerful mix of song, dance, drama and live music in the magnificent surroundings of St John’s Minster, close to where the actual battle took place.
The story follows two Jacobite women Morag (Chloe Purkis) and Grainne (Holly McCarthy) as they followed their beloved, the spirited Jacobite soldier Angus (Tom Harrison) from Scotland to England. As the Jacobite army makes it’s way south it journeys through Garstang and onto Preston, where the core of the conflict and the drama was set.
Within the army there was a power struggle between the superiors, William Macintosh of Borlam (Lee Johnson) and William Gordon (Graham Eaglesham) and Thomas Forster, the Jacobite leader (James Boylan) which provided humour and lighter moments.
Traditional Scottish folk songs, like the rabble rousing ‘Ye Jacobites by Name’ and energetic re-enactments of the savage fighting in streets of Preston by Cardinal Newman Dance Academy combined with live music by James Cruickshanks and superb performances from the Uneasy Theatre cast created a stirring piece of drama depicting an important moment in Preston’s history.
A performance will take place on Saturday 31st March from 7.30pm at St John’s Minster.Tickets are £10 with concessions at £7. Tickets are available by calling 0871 230 0010 and from the Tourism Information Centre in the Guild Hall.