The trailer for the new BBC drama series Death and Nightingales – filmed in part in the heart of Armagh city – has been released (see below).
Based on Eugene McCabe’s modern Irish classic, Death And Nightingales is a riveting story of love, betrayal, deception and revenge, set in the beautiful haunting countryside of Fermanagh in 1885.
A place where neighbours observe each other and inform, a world of spies, confessions and double dealing, where a pervading sense of beauty is shot through with menace and impending doom.
Set over a desperately tense 24-hour period, it’s Beth Winters’ (Ann Skelly) 23rd birthday – the day she has decided to join the charming Liam Ward (Jamie Dornan) and escape from her limited life and difficult and complex relationship with her Protestant landowner stepfather Billy (Matthew Rhys).
As decades of pain and betrayal finally build to a devastating climax, Death And Nightingales is a powerful and gripping drama that follows a woman struggling to control her own destiny and will illuminate tensions that tear both families and nations apart.
Speaking about the role, Dornan said: “I’m thrilled to be reunited with Allan and his brilliant scripts to play such an intriguing character like Liam Ward and to return to Northern Ireland and BBC Two.”
The Americans and The Post star Matthew Rhys (pictured above) takes on the role of landowner Billy.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Allan Cubitt’s work for many years so I’m thrilled to have been given the chance to work on Death And Nightingales alongside Jamie and Ann and return to the BBC,” Rhys said.
Ann Skelly of Red Rock and Kissing Candice fame takes on the role of young, oppressed heroine Beth Winters.
Skelly, who takes the lead, explained: “Playing such a strong character as Beth Winters is truly an actor’s dream, and a fantastically intense challenge to be given the opportunity to play.
“And to get to work with such brilliant actors like Matthew and Jamie, and a director like Allan Cubitt, is just surreal to me. I can’t wait to start!”
Death and Nightingales is expected to air on BBC2 later this month (November).
