Sky Arts Art 50
ProjectsNews ArchiveAboutHome

'And The Band Keeps Marching On' by Martha Barnett

'And the Band Keeps Marching On' is a provocative and humorous play exploring British identity post Brexit, from a Northern Irish Loyalist point of view - a group who often feel British in Ireland, but outsiders in England. It's a darkly comic study of identity, crisis and redemption, set in a Northern Irish Loyalist marching family in a border town.

John, a local band leader, goes on his first trip to the mainland to celebrate Brexit. The play starts on his return home to his family. Has a long weekend in London gilded his Britishness? How can he translate his experience to his family and friends who have never left the bubble of Northern Ireland? How will it affect this season’s marching and his desire to learn the Lambeg drum and parade their Loyalty through the streets?

MARTHA BARNETT is a playwright, based in Edinburgh, but originally from Belfast. Her debut full-length play, ‘The Shift’, was shortlisted for the Theatre 503 Playwriting Award and her second, ‘Girl at a Stop’ was long-listed for the Old Vic 12 and has been in development at The Tron Theatre, Glasgow. She has also had readings and short plays produced at the 503, The Traverse and by Sky or the Bird. Martha likes to tackle controversial subjects in her writing - from backstreet abortionists to dementia - taking these issues and exploring them through the experiences of individuals.

Born into a Protestant Northern Irish family, in this play she wants to tackle the identity crisis she felt when she left Northern Ireland and to challenge the stereotypes other Brits had of her and the community she came from. She looked at how people felt within the Loyalist community, how they identified themselves and what happens when this identity is questioned. The play was an exploration and celebration of the complex, impassioned and sometimes absurd ways in which we define ourselves.

orange-v1.jpg
quotes-_opinions_from_interviews_on_the_orange.jpg
an_orange_collarette-1.jpg
having_a_blatter_on_the_lambeg-1.jpg
a_mid_scotland_orange_walk-2.jpg
the_maid_of_donaghadee_on_a_lambeg-2.jpg
And The Band Keeps Marching On

You can see Martha's website here

The other projects

hania_amar_2.jpg
'Stock' by Naqqash Khalid
edinburgh-1.png
'School Britannia'- Edinburgh
tiai_landscape_with_titles_1800_x_900.jpg
'This is an Island?' by DanceXchange
st_ives_website_pic.jpg
'St. Ives' by D.A. Nixon
the-scary-bikers-web-1.jpg
'The Scary Bikers' by John Godber OBE
version_2.jpg
'Come Hell or High Water' by The Citizens Theatre
an_taoidann_ban-2.png
'School Britannia' - 'An t-Aodann Ban' (Fair Hill Face)
i_am_from_2.png
'School Britannia' - 'I Am From'
jasleen_141_rs.jpg
'Daughter of a Perpetual Foreigner' by Jasleen Kaur
split_britches_image_from_barbican.jpg
'Unexploded Ordinances' By Split Britches
website_pic.jpg
'Backbone of Our Land' by Folkworks
capture.jpg
'When We Collide: A British Songbook' by Hanbury & Groves
mg_9602-1.jpg
'Window Wanderland' by Lucy Reeves Khan
cardigan.png
'School Britannia' - 'Cardigan's Corner Shop'
crew_pic.jpg
'Small Town Politics' by Gulliver Moore and Oliver Clubb
lab_and_chi_2.png
'Automat' by Lab Ky Mo and Chi Thai
brand_identities_website_image.jpg
'ReBranding Britishness' by Common Vision
one_pic.jpg
'Shepherding the Uplands' by Phil Hatcher-Moore
boris_website.jpg
'The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson' by Jonathan Maitland
youth_manifesto-_website-1.jpg
'Youth Manifesto' by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and featuring Gustavo Dudamel
rose_davies_big_drawing.jpg
'Here Be Dragons: A New British Flag' by Rosie Scribblah
brutish_mul1.gif
'The Battle of Heptonstall' by The Brutish Multitude
dreda_say_mitchell.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- England' by Dreda Say Mitchell and Tony Mason
britbot_website_pic.jpg
'Britbot' by Libby Heaney
big_sing_website_pic.jpg
'Spirit of Our Nation' by Peter Brewis and Sharon Durant
nye_thompson_-_press_shot.jpg
INSULAE [Of the Island] by Nye Thompson
kuba_by_janina_sabaliauskaite_3.jpg
'Sweet Dreams' by Kuba Ryniewicz
website_pic.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Scotland' by Al Kennedy
his_england_still_2_159045-1.jpg
'His England' by Matty Crawford and Joe Argent
artist_mary_branson_with_ladders_of_light-_part_of_the_sky_arts_50_installation_in_salisbury_cathedral_-_photo_by_zachary_cu.jpg
'Ladders of Light: A Constitution for the UK ' by Mary Branson
img_9929.jpg
'Empire' by Sarah Maple
kyle_1-1.jpg
'Postcard from the Future - Wales'
boyblue_website_pic.jpg
'R.E.B.E.L' by Boy Blue
website_pic.jpg
Art 50 Gathering
5_-_shaq_-min.jpg
'We Are British' by Rio Blake
ehlu8qdg-1.jpeg
'Declaration of Independence' by Barby Assante
2_sides-1.png
'School Britannia' - '2 Sides'
by_john_minihan_2.jpg
'Postcard from the Future- Northern Ireland' by Paul McVeigh
lemn_sissay_with_his_poem_magniloquent_cartilage-_part_of_ladders_of_light-_a_new_constitution_for_the_uk_-photo_by_zachary.jpg
'Magniloquent Cartilage: A Constitution for the UK' by Lemn Sissay MBE
maddogs_website_pic.jpg
'Mad Dogs' by Gadzooks
jack_cockers_on_shoot_image_for_social_media-1.jpg
'Me, My Nan and Oldham' by Connor Coulston
schoolbritannia.jpg
'School Britannia' - Poetry Anthology
44439650_1763665660412301_749853275043800064_n.jpg
UnFOLD: Hope and Water by Lyrix Organix
Nitin Sawhney presents Brexit - A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum
'BREXIT: A Rational Anthem for a National Tantrum' by Nitin Sawhney CBE
the_brink_1s.png
'The Brink' by Simon Armitage CBE
border-_promo.png
'BORDER- A VR Ride' by Abigail Conway and Laura Collier
dufftown_2.jpg
'Dogs and their Owners' by Dougie Wallace
group_photo_tbai-1.jpg
'Let Me Play The Lion Too' by Told by an Idiot
huntington_gardens_actors_on_shoot-1.png
'Huntington Gardens' by Simon and Paul Wade