WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY is David Ireland’s debut play, first performed in 2009 at Òran Mór, Glasgow, as part of its legendary A Play, A Pie and A Pint season. Robbie Martin plays Eddie, a celebrity footballer, in this two-hander about two ex-classmates waiting for the Stranraer ferry back to Belfast.

Hello Robbie, delighted to have this opportunity to get an insight into WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY. Firstly, we’d like to know how you got involved?

I was looking for a play to put on. I’ve been a big David Ireland fan since I saw Cyprus Avenue, and while reading one of his early plays I noticed What the Animals Say mentioned in the introduction. I read a bit more about it and was hooked. To be honest, it seemed almost too good to be true, so I feel very fortunate to be performing David’s first ever play.

Please give us a brief overview of the play from the perspective of your character, Eddie.

Eddie is at a transitional point in his life. He’s past the peak of his playing career and uncertain about what comes next. He’s still a young man, but football is all he’s ever known and he isn’t really qualified for anything else. Meeting Jimmy comes at a moment when he’s searching for what his future might look like.

As Eddie is a well-known football player, does this mean you’re a Celtic fan? Please tell us about your own background in the beautiful game.

In Belfast, saying you support Celtic or Rangers can be quite a statement. I’m a Manchester United fan and grew up going to Windsor Park to watch Northern Ireland. I think when you come from a small country there can be an “us against the world” mentality, and Eddie definitely has some of that in him.

How far do you think the play is about football and how far about division? Are these used as parallels to talk about politics?

Football can be a space where men feel uninhibited enough to release whatever is going on in their lives, and sometimes that spills over into something more unsavoury. In Northern Ireland, there are attitudes and prejudices that have been passed down through generations, and we’re seeing signs of some of that resurfacing. A lot of it comes from people feeling left behind and not knowing how to express that frustration.

Are you willing to tell us just how far your own experience overlaps with those of your character?

My experience growing up was very different from Eddie’s, but I knew plenty of Eddies and went to school with them. My granny lived on the same estate he’s from. There can be something intimidating about men like Eddie, but there can also be a real decency to them, and I think David captures that contradiction brilliantly.

A David Ireland play summons up violence and comedy. Could you share your thoughts on how they go hand in hand in WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY?

For me, that combination makes for the best kind of theatre: the audience leaves arguing about what they’ve just experienced rather than feeling indifferent to it. It also feels like an apt way to write about Protestant culture in Northern Ireland. We do gallows humour better than anyone, but there’s also the potential for unresolved situations to tip very quickly into violence.

As an actor, how much do you feel you owe to the theatre training you received at The Poor School for this role?

I loved The Poor School. I met my wife there, who is also our stage manager on this production. It was a gritty training, and I think anyone who went there would probably say something similar. I remember the director Paul Caister telling us that you have to find the role only you could play. I’ve always remembered that, along with the simpler lessons: be on time, don’t take acting for granted and always be prepared.

We’ve come across director Harry Burton before, well known for his knowledge of Pinter, so David Ireland is a departure for him. Can we expect Pinteresque pauses and confusion?

David has spoken in interviews about his love of Mamet and Pinter. Both Harold Pinter and David have talked about beginning with an image in their head and allowing that image to shape the writing, so I do think there’s a connection. Anyone who knows The Dumb Waiter might see some parallels, combined with David’s much rawer style. It also makes Harry the perfect director to push us as actors right to the edge of the material.

Have you met David Ireland personally? If so, please tell us how that conversation went.

We had a Zoom, which was quite humbling. He’s been incredibly encouraging and has backed the production all the way through. Considering his last play, The Fifth Step, starred Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden, he has absolutely no ego, which is very Belfast. I’m really looking forward to meeting him during the run.

Please tell us about the language used in Ireland’s play and how you will approach it as an actor?

It’s like music. There’s a rhythm to David’s writing, and the dialogue really crackles when you honour it. As for the vulgarity of some of what comes out of Eddie’s mouth, it feels completely authentic to the character, so I try not to judge or overthink it.

Also, we’re interested to know how you work up a rapport with your co-actor Matthew Blaney. Are there special techniques for this?

I’ve known Matthew for a while and have always admired his work, although we’d never worked together before. I think we found a rapport quite naturally during rehearsals. So much of the play depends on the person opposite you being completely present. Harry’s MO as a director is essentially: whatever you’re doing, do it to the other person. That’s helped both of us enormously.

You’re no stranger to pub theatres, having worked in Lion and Unicorn and White Bear theatres. Will either of these experiences feed into your work on WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY?

Definitely. When you’re performing above a pub there are always a few more variables in how you prepare. You have to be able to really focus in those ten minutes before you go on, even if there’s chaos happening around you - someone’s spilt a drink, you can hear someone complaining at the box office, whatever it might be. You learn to shut everything else out and go on.

Finally, which is your favourite scene or line in the play, so that we can look out for it?

There’s a moment when Eddie describes the possibility of moving to LA Galaxy to join David Beckham. It’s my favourite scene not just because it’s funny, but because Eddie genuinely believes this is the thing that will finally make him happy. There’s something funny and quite sad about that at the same time.

Robbie Martin will be co-starring in WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY by David Ireland, directed by Harry Burton, at Finborough Theatre, 29 September – 24 October 2026.

Image: Robbie Martin with co-actor Matthew Blaney / image copyright of Gavin Watson - https://www.gavinwatsonarchive.com/