Cast announced for Our Friends in the North (1979-84) at Newcastle Theatre Royal
Live Theatre, Eastlake Productions and Newcastle Theatre Royal have announced the cast for Our Friends in the North (1979-84), a new stage adaptation of Peter Flannery's landmark BBC drama. The production marks the first major co-production between the three organisations and will run at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Thursday 15 to Saturday 24 October 2026.
The stage version does not attempt to cover the full span of the original nine-part television series. Instead, it focuses on two defining years, 1979 and 1984, using them to examine how political and social change is felt in the everyday lives of four friends from Newcastle. In 1979, as Britain approaches a new political era, the friends' paths begin to separate. Nicky moves into parliamentary politics, Tosker becomes caught up in a life-changing romance, and Geordie is drawn further into the city's criminal underworld. By 1984, the miners' strike has taken hold of the national conversation, putting pressure on communities and relationships across the country and forcing each character to face difficult decisions about loyalty, identity and survival.
The production is directed by Jack McNamara, Artistic Director of Live Theatre, and adapted with the involvement of original writer Peter Flannery.
Ryan Nolan takes on the role of Nicky, an ambitious and idealistic would-be politician who is drawn into the realities of power. Nolan is a graduate of Newcastle Theatre Royal's Project A, having trained there in 2017. His film credits include 1917 and How to Build a Girl, and his television work spans Becoming Elizabeth, The Power of Parker and The Left Behind. He will next be seen in Amazon Prime's Kill Jackie and in Saviour for ITV. His stage credits include The Bounds, Hyem, Road, One Off and Father Unknown. Speaking about the production, Nolan said the writing and scale still feel ambitious to him, and that he is glad to be performing Flannery's words again while working once more with director Jack McNamara.
Scott Turnbull plays Geordie, a former soldier whose life becomes increasingly shaped by his involvement in Newcastle's criminal underworld. Turnbull trained at Stockton Riverside College and LIPA and won The Journal's North East Actor of the Year in 2011. His theatre work includes productions at Northern Stage, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse and the Old Vic, along with several solo shows performed in Stockton and Edinburgh. His screen credits include Byker Grove, Vera and Blue Jean.
Jack Robertson takes on Tosker, a self-made entrepreneur whose fortunes shift with the changing economic landscape of the 1980s. Robertson is a BAFTA-nominated writer and actor raised in Whitley Bay. He writes and performs with the sketch group Metroland, whose Edinburgh Fringe debut transferred to Soho Theatre, and he wrote and starred in the BBC short Where It Ends, which was nominated for Best Short Form at the 2024 BAFTA Awards. His recent stage credits include Gerry and Sewell, which transferred from Live Theatre to Newcastle Theatre Royal and on to London's West End, and Champion by Ishy Din at Live Theatre.
Sam Neale plays Mary, whose loyalty and resilience are tested as the lives of her friends move in different directions. Neale is an actor and award-winning writer from Newcastle upon Tyne. Her theatre credits include Last Seen Bensham Road, Iris and The Girls from Poppy Field Close, and her screen work includes Vera, Holby City and Wolfblood. She won the Live Theatre Playwriting Bursary Award in 2019 for her play Last Seen Bensham Road, and later received a Channel 4 commission to develop a pilot script into a six-part drama series.
The wider company brings together performers from across the North East, combining established names with emerging talent. Meena Al-Nawrasy is a Kurdish actor, singer and writer born and raised in Newcastle, whose theatre credits include Geet Northern Show, Reverb and Pease Puddin' Sandwiches. Christopher Connel has worked as an actor for almost thirty-five years, with theatre credits including The Pitman Painters, Close the Coal House Door and Wet House, alongside television work on George Gently, Coronation Street and Byker Grove.
Jane Holman's theatre credits include Lush Life and Cabaret for Live Theatre, along with Tyne and Close the Coalhouse Door, and her television work includes Vera, Inspector George Gently and Billy Elliot. Leo James is known for playing Noah "Bird" Wallis in The Dumping Ground across five series, and recently appeared in Manhunt at the Royal Court and in the feature film The Brook. Cooper McDonough trained at Newcastle College and Northern Stage's North Actor Training Programme, graduating in 2019, with recent credits including All Change, Beyond the Wall and Fold Me a Paper Man.
Jude Nelson is an actor and singer from County Durham who trained with the National Youth Theatre and Project A, with credits including The Sunderland Story and Book of Crow. Robert Punchard, a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, makes his Live Theatre and Newcastle Theatre Royal debut with this production, having recently appeared in Fine Lines at Live Theatre and Big Ange with Eastlake Productions.
Jack McNamara said the casting process drew hundreds of people from across the region and described the standard as remarkable. He added that the resulting company ranges from established actors to a member of Live Theatre's Youth Theatre, and said he was looking forward to bringing the production to Newcastle Theatre Royal's stage.
Our Friends in the North was first broadcast in 1996 and followed four friends from Newcastle across three decades of post-war Britain. It became one of the defining British television dramas of its era and was widely recognised for its portrayal of politics and personal responsibility. Its original cast included Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee and Mark Strong.
Marianne Locatori, Chief Executive of Newcastle Theatre Royal, said the production reflects exactly the kind of ambitious work the venue wants to support, describing it as rooted in the North East and continuing to speak to audiences today. Jamie Eastlake, Executive Producer of Eastlake Productions, said the region has considerable talent and stories to tell, and that the show brings those strengths together in a way that could encourage further large-scale storytelling from the North East. The production brings together Live Theatre's experience in new writing, Eastlake Productions' independent producing work and Newcastle Theatre Royal's large-scale production capacity.
Tickets:
Our Friends in the North (1979-84) runs at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Thursday 15 to Saturday 24 October 2026. Tickets are available from www.theatreroyal.co.uk or by calling the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.
