Howard Davies-directed The Plough And The Stars arrives at the National Theatre Lyttelton to commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising, focusing on the mixed reactions of local citizens to events which indirectly led to Irish independence.

Placing a fixed lens half a mile away from the epicentre of the rebellion between November 1915 to Easter 1916, the play follows a dozen residents of a Dublin tenement as they go about their daily lives.

On the periphery of Ireland’s history, this vivid and eclectic mix of characters – selfless, hilarious and desperate by turns – come and go, all while the very heroic myth of Ireland itself is contested, nearby but elsewhere.

A mercilessly objective scope through which to observe the events, this Sean O’Casey play is simultaneously hilarious and heart-warming.