David Farnor | On 28, Mar 2020

Royal Court Theatre has joined the growing number of cultural venues opening their digital doors during the coronavirus pandemic with the online release of Cyprus Avenue.

Released yesterday, to mark World Theatre Day, the film of Cyprus Avenue, by David Ireland, mixes live capture of performance from the iconic Royal Court Theatre stage production with location shooting in Belfast.

The hard-hitting black comedy tells the story of a man struggling with the past and terrified of the future. Starring Stephen Rea and directed by Vicky Featherstone, the it follows Eric Miller (Stephen Rea), a Belfast Loyalist. He is experiencing a psychotic episode and mistakes his five-week old granddaughter for Gerry Adams. Generations of sectarian trauma convince him that his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.

It was awarded Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama in 2017. For his portrayal of Eric, Stephen Rea won Best Actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017.

First broadcast in September on BBC Four, and commissioned by The Space, it is now available to watch for free on the Royal Court website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages for one month. This is the first time the film has been madecyrus avenue available internationally.

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