Shall Roger Casement Hang? at Hill Street Theatre

Shall Roger Casement Hang? By Peter Arnott

Originally commissioned and presented by Tron Theatre, Glasgow

Based on real events in the run up to the Easter Rising, 1916, Shall Roger Casement Hang? is a dramatisation of the diplomat and Irish Nationalist’s arrest and interrogation. A confrontation of two men who have served Britain, it asks fundamental questions about history, colonialism, and national identity. The stakes are raised when violent events elsewhere and a revelation of Casement’s identity come to light, ensuring that the Empire they have both served will never be the same again.

Written by Peter Arnott 100 years after the events that inspired it, Shall Roger Casement Hang? premiered at the Tron Theatre as part of its 2016 Mayfesto season in the wake of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. In a year when the population of Scotland go to the polls for the seventh Scottish Parliament election, Union Theatre revisit this important piece of work ten years on, with the question of Scottish independence as prevalent as ever and in the shadow of rising violence across Britain all in the name of national identity.