Shall Roger Casement Hang?
★★★★☆ Impressive debut
Hill St Theatre: Mon 15 – Fri 19 Jun 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Shall Roger Casement Hang? at Hill Street until Friday, is a convincing and intimate piece of theatre realised with great care.
This is the debut production from Union Theatre Company, newly formed by some of those associated with Arkle, who intend to ‘forge a year-round fringe theatre industry in Edinburgh through support of grassroots artists and theatre practitioners’. It’s a bold mission statement, but a few more productions of this calibre will certainly boost their chances of succeeding.
Paul Arendt and Adrian Moore in Shall Roger Casement Hang?. Pic: Robin Mair Photography
Peter Arnott’s play, originally seen at the Tron Theatre in 2016, dramatises the Easter 1916 interrogation of Sir Roger Casement, a diplomat who was arrested after seeking German help for Irish independence.
Casement was an unlikely candidate for the movement; part of Anglo-Irish society and raised as an Ulster Protestant, he was an employee of the British Empire and very much part of the establishment. Yet his personal views, his experience of imperialism (especially the atrocities in what was then the Belgian Congo) and his sexuality also marked him out as an outsider.
It’s very much a complex portrait that is given in Arnott’s excellent play. Casement (Paul Arendt) presented as an idealist who already lives in the better world that he envisages, but also as a somewhat self-deluding figure whose vanity leaves him open to manipulation.
carefully observed portrayal
Arendt’s carefully observed portrayal does justice to the nuances in the character, being poised, measured, dignified and just a little too fond of the sound of his own voice. The conflicts within Casement are subtly conveyed by Arendt facially and by gestures.
One of the play’s strengths is that, while the audience are clearly intended to sympathise with Casement, it’s not always that straightforward. Indeed, his interrogator Captain Reginald Hall, while a representation of the British Empire, is not simply that.
Adrian Moore in Shall Roger Casement Hang? pic: Robin Mair Photography
Hall (Adrian Moore) is also a nuanced figure and is given many of the best lines. It is clear that Hall knows much more about the situation than he is letting on at first, and that he is letting Casement incriminate himself through his lack of self-awareness. This is oddly reminiscent of Columbo or even Crime and Punishment, and certainly adds another layer to events.
Moore’s performance is also a very fine one; once again there is considerable subtlety. It is generally a more understated performance than Arendt’s, but this means that when Hall’s anger does surface it is all the more effective.
very safe hands
While Moore also plays a couple of other characters, the play is mostly a two-handed series of interrogations. It is extremely dialogue-heavy, which puts real pressure on the two performers, heightened by the fact that they are in such close proximity to the audience. They respond to this extremely well, greatly helped by the direction of Hannah Bradley Croall, which is sympathetic and excellently judged.
It has to be said that the top-floor venue at Hill Street looks more like a black box-theatre than it has ever done. The set-up is unavoidably somewhat claustrophobic, but this works in favour of the atmosphere. The lighting and sound of Rob Shields is thoroughly accomplished; from the opening moment, when a shaft of light illuminates the noose at the back of Michael Mulligan’s spare, elegant set, it is clear we are in very safe hands.
Paul Arendt in Shall Roger Casement Hang? Pic: Robin Mair Photography
Gregor McElvogue’s projections, meanwhile, are similarly well-judged, especially when accompanying the pre-recorded voice of Paule Yimga Tchamdjou in a harrowing sequence dealing with Casement’s experiences in the Belgian Congo.
The wordiness of the play does cause the occasional less secure moment, and the nature of the narrative means that it can become a little static at times, despite the quality of the direction. However, the production overall is extremely impressive, and signals a bright future for Union Theatre Company.
Running time: One hour and 30 minutes (no interval)
Hill Street Theatre, 19 Hill St, EH2 3JP
Monday 15 – Friday 19 June 2026
Daily at 7.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Union Theatre website: https://uniontheatre.co.uk
Facebook: @uniontheatreco
Instagram: @uniontheatreco
Linktree: @uniontheatreco
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