Birdsong Tickets

Birdsong Play Tickets: An Epic Story of Love and Loss

Follow one man into the battlefields of love and war as Sebastian Faulks’ stirring World War One tale Birdsong returns to the stage in 2025, celebrating 30 years since the best-selling novel was published. Charting the life of Englishman Stephen Wraysford, who is consumed by a passionate love affair before heading to the frontline, this “riveting” (The Telegraph) play is a powerful theatrical experience that once seen, can’t be forgotten at Alexandra Palace.

What is Birdsong about?

In pre-war France, young Englishman Stephen Wraysford falls in love with Isabelle Azaire. Isabelle, married to a cruel factory owner, plans to escape with Stephen, but their happily ever after is thwarted.

Years later, Stephen is an army officer leading his men through danger every day. As the horrors of the First World War close in on him and his fellow soldiers - including tunnel-digger Jack Firebrace, who longs to visit his sick son in England - Stephen clings to the memory of his lost love and wonders if he’ll ever see her again.

As Stephen, Jack and their company travel deep beneath the trenches, their stories provide a spark of hope and lay bare the pain and comfort humans inflict on each other in both wartime and peace.

Cast and Creative Team

Birdsong soars back into London after an acclaimed 30th anniversary UK tour, in a new version by the show’s original playwright Rachel Wagstaff (The Girl on the Train, The Mirror Crack’d) and directed by Original Theatre Artistic Director Alastair Whatley. With its bruising soundscape that throws audiences into the heart of the battlefield and gorgeous performances that channel passion, heartbreak, fear and hope, this is a landmark staging of Sebastian Faulks' novel.

The cast is fronted by James Esler in his professional stage debut as Stephen Wraysford, with Mischief Theatre favourite Charlie Russell (The Goes Wrong Show) as Isabelle Azaire and Max Bowden (EastEnders) as Jack Firebrace.

The full company includes Tama Phethean as Arthur Shaw, Raif Clarke as Tipper, and Natalie Radmall-Quirke as Jeanne.

Book Tickets for Birdsong at Alexandra Palace Today

Sebastian Faulks’ book is one of the greatest war novels ever written, and this towering stage adaptation brings the characters to life with gutwrenching clarity. Celebrate 30 years of Birdsong, and experience a striking piece of theatre, with tickets for its limited run at Alexandra Palace.