Touring production marks 30th anniversary of ‘Birdsong’
Former EastEnders actor Max Bowden has returned to Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks’s epic story of love and loss set amid the First World War – having appeared in the original production, albeit in a different role, nearly 10 years ago.
The actor, who played Ben Mitchell in the popular soap from 2019 to 2024 (his TV credits also include Waterloo Road and Casualty), spoke to the Cambridge Independent from Salisbury, where the tour had stopped.
It comes to Cambridge, to begin its six-day run, next Monday (23 September).
“I think I was 19 when I did it, playing a very different character,” says Max, recalling the first time he appeared in Birdsong on stage. “It’s nice to see how the play has grown, as I have!”
What does Max, who says “never say never” about a possible return to EastEnders one day, like about this particular piece of drama?
“I think thematically, it’s resonant of a time that’s quite current,” he replies, “we’re looking at a world that’s… it’s scary out there.
“And the important things of Birdsong – hope, love, camaraderie, trust – are all quite prevalent in today’s society, for a means of survival, and I think that was what drew me back to the project.”
On how the play has changed since 2015, Max says: “Well the script’s different; I mean before it was quite arty, in that it was flashback-orientated, but now it’s chronological.
“We follow the pre-war journey of Stephen, the current war journey of Stephen and Firebrace, and then the final days of the war journey of Firebrace and Stephen, and I think it’s an interesting way of telling the story.
“It reads better for the audience, and I think Rachel [Wagstaff, writer] has done a great job.”
The ‘Firebrace’ to whom Max refers is one Jack Firebrace, the character he portrays (he played Tipper last time around).
“I play Jack Firebrace, he’s what was called a ‘sapper’,” explains Max, adding that sappers were specialist soldiers who dug trenches, among other things – as depicted in the BBC television series Peaky Blinders – “and he sort of represents the old, quintessentially British slogan of ‘keep calm and carry on’.
“Even in the face of adversity, he’s still that character that’s trying to uplift his comrades and make sure that through laughter, they all buy into the war effort – and I think it’s a really beautiful sentiment.
“He was working under disastrous conditions, three ft tunnels each way – horizontal and vertical – and spending 16 hours down there at a time.
“So his conditions within the war were pretty tragic, but also his home life was falling apart, with his son not being very well.
“But yet still he pushes through and he uplifts everyone around him. To use an analogy, it’s like a football manager – you don’t want to lose the dressing room.”
Max notes that so far on the tour, the play has drawn a “mixed demographic”, in terms of who’s been coming to see it, and adds: “We’ve got a great cast – Charlie Russell, who plays Isabelle, and James Esler, who plays Stephen, are brilliant, they’ve got a fantastic connection.
“And it embraces both the beauty of humanity and the ugly side of humanity, which I think is very important because humanity can be a fickle yet beautiful place, and I think it really cleverly tells that sort of juxtaposition…
“It’s very well-lit, it’s very loud at times – because we really wanted to focus on the brutality of war – yet there’s moments of extreme tenderness.
“I think it’s been very well directed by Alastair Whatley, and as a company we’re very tight, we’re very close, and I think that that always helps.”
The international best-selling novel, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, came out in 1993. This new touring production marks 30 years since it was first published.
The play comes to the Cambridge Arts Theatre next Monday (23 September) and runs until Saturday (28 September). Tickets, priced £20-£40, are available from cambridgeartstheatre.com.
