Design Ciaran Walsh
2024 Roundabout@Summerhall (Edinburgh), Hampstead Theatre (London), and Original Theatre (online)
A co-production with Ellie Keel Productions and Hampstead Theatre, in association with the Women's Prize for Playwriting.
‘What do you want me to say? That the world’s ending? Would that be helpful?’
The mushrooms are encroaching, fish are falling from the sky, and in a bell tower Clement and Aspinall are waiting for lightning to strike.
Superstition says that the ringing of church bells can dispel a storm.
When the apocalypse is here, anything is worth a shot.
A finalist for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2023, this is the stunning debut play by Daisy Hall. Directed by Jessica Lazar, Atticist returned to Roundabout after the sold-out sensation SAP in 2022, before a London transfer to Hampstead Theatre.
BELLRINGERS will be available online at Original Theatre from November 2024.
Available for touring in 2025: please contact david@attticist.co.uk
Written by Daisy Hall
Directed by Jessica Lazar
Set & Costume Designer Natalie Johnson
Lighting Designer David Doyle
Composer & Sound Designer Holly Khan
Stage Manager (Edinburgh) Aime Neeme
Stage Manager (Hampstead) Chloe Forestier-Walker
Assistant Director Joseph Winer
Intimacy Director Imogen Frances
Cast Paul Adeyefa & Luke Rollason
Producers David Doyle for Atticist, Ellie Keel and Natasha Ketel for Ellie Keel Productions, and Greg Ripley-Duggan for Hampstead Theatre
★★★★★ London Culturalist: 'Bellringers is an absolutely unique play, truly like nothing I’ve seen before.'
★★★★(★) Bouquets & Brickbats (Philip Caveney): ‘Under Jessica Lazar’s assured direction this is another winner from Roundabout, one that will send you out of that unique location with a lot to think about..’
★★★★(★) One4Review: ‘A thoroughly great and thought-provoking time.’
★★★★ The Times (Anya Ryan): ‘An alluring piece.’
★★★★ The Scotsman (Susan Mansfield): ‘A confident debut ... impressively brave.
★★★★ Playbill (Dylan Parent): ‘A fanciful yet emotional cry out for our climate.’
★★★★ The Spy In The Stalls (Dominica Plummer): ‘Bellringers is an easy pick at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.’
★★★★ The Arts Desk (David Kettle): ‘Director Jessica Lazar balances an increasing sense of impending menace with a naturalistic feeling of bantering wit between the two young men in a vivid, strongly felt staging, and David Doyle’s lighting acts as warning and signifier of violence from the skies – and also makes great play of the Roundabout tent’s wonderfully fluid, flexible lighting..’
★★★★ Broadway World (Fiona Scott): ‘Eerie and entertaining.’
★★★★ Theatre Weekly (Jacqueline Wheble): ‘Directed beautifully by Jessica Lazar ... this is a masterclass in acting ... Bellringers deserves all and every award that could get heaped upon it .’
★★★★ A Youngish Perspective (Tabitha James): ‘The pair [Paul Adeyefa & Luke Rollason] captivate the stage ... the lighting design by David Doyle and sound design by Holly Khan transports the audience into the claustrophobia of this world that Hall has created. Immersion is key, and the sense of rain and wind pounding against hallowed stone walls was so powerful it feels like you are there..’
★★★★ Edinburgh Guide (Kenneth Scott): ‘Beautifully written.’
★★★★ Corr Blimey (Jack Quinn): ‘Knotty, gritty and obscure, Bellringers is a beautiful story of friendship, sacrifice, and destiny.’
★★★★ The QR (WJQuinn): ‘Director Jessica Lazar negotiates the shifting tones of the play deftly. Throughout, whimsical self-distraction slips into foreboding and back again..’
★★★★ The Student (Olivia Fischer): ‘Daisy Hall has proven with this play that theatre is in very capable, empathetic hands. With their steady, gentle storytelling, they’ve managed to weave a tale that transcends time.’
Stagedoor (Lyn Gardner): ‘Adeyefa and Rollason are a joy, and their relationship is delicately etched..’
