“Cumbrian stories need to be told” – Eireann Devlin on The Farmer’s Wife

A new play by Hannah Khalil — inspired by the memoir by Helen Rebanks — it follows a day in the life of three women who are members of a Lake District farming family.

Eireann Devlin, aged 25, from Burgh-by-Sands, a farming village near Carlisle, said she was very excited ahead of opening night.

“It has been so collaborative, which I have really enjoyed,” said Eireann, who is joined in the cast by Christine Entwisle, who lives in Maryport, and Roberta Kerr, who last appeared on the TBTL stage in The Borrowers (2008).

“All three of us are basically in it all the time. We are trying to get something that is very natural and of the land on to the stage, which is always going to be a challenge. But it has been a very welcome challenge.

“We use a lot of movement to tell the story and it feels very theatrical. We have had such a nice time working together,” said Eireann.

She added: “There are a lot of laughs and it is also emotional. It definitely has its ups and downs, but it feels like once you are on the journey with the characters, you are on that ride with them until the end of the play.”

As well as throwing a spotlight on the pressure which farmers are under, Eireann said the process had opened her eyes to the fact that every farm is different and there was no ‘one size fits all’ for the way you can run it.

“It is not just a job, it is a way of life,” said Eireann, of farming.

“It is a really beautiful and important play. Having Cumbria on stage is an absolute joy and a privilege to be part of.

“Cumbrian stories need to be told and need to be out there — I am extremely passionate about that,” she added.

TBTL was one of the first theatres she visited as a child and performing there has been a goal ever since she started acting at 14 when cast as Nancy in a performance of Oliver! at Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton.

After sixth form at Trinity School, Carlisle, Eireann moved to London for university in 2019, attending the Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company, graduating in 2022. After moving to the capital, she felt homesick, so her boyfriend suggested she read The Shepherd’s Life, written by Helen’s husband, James.

“I was like, wow. I had never read anything that was so unapologetically Cumbrian. “I knew everything that he was talking about,” said Eireann.

She also read James Rebanks’ English Pastoral and, as soon as The Farmer’s Wife came out, she read that, long before she found out about the play inspired by Helen’s memoir.

“It takes a lot of the themes and has made a story out of certain things that happen in the book,” said Eireann, who added that in the play they also farm Herdwicks and Belted Galloways, just as the Rebanks do.

Eireann said her parents, Paul, who works in business, and mum Elaine, a registrar, have been very supportive of her acting journey. After graduation, her first job was at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, which is where Calander Girls has just transferred to following its run at TBTL.

Eireann is an actor and writer from Carlisle and a graduate of The Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company, having also trained with the National Youth Theatre. Her theatre credits include DNA at New Wolsey Theatre, while her screen work includes California Schemin’ (StudioCanal), The Dumping Ground (BBC), The B@it (Channel 4), and the Cumbrian-made short films Leaver’s Day and Landing Nowhere. As a writer, her work has also been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting.

Eireann has now written her own Cumbrian play, Hefted, continuing her passion for putting Cumbrian lives, voices and stories centre stage. She also appears in the main campaign image for The Farmer’s Wife by photographer Joanne Coates in the Cumbrian landscape near Helen Rebanks’ farm – bringing another personal connection between Eireann, the production and the place that inspired it.