The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has revealed the casting for Rory Mullarkey’s new play Even These Things, set to premiere next month as part of the theatre’s 50th anniversary season. The drama, which explores pivotal moments in Manchester’s history, features performances from Elaine Cassidy and Katherine Pearce in leading roles.

Elaine Cassidy and Katherine Pearce will headline the cast of Even These Things, which runs from 15 May to 15 June 2026 at the Royal Exchange Theatre. The play spans three key moments in Manchester’s past, including the day the IRA bomb exploded in the city centre in 1996, with the final performance marking the 30th anniversary of the attack.

Irish actress Elaine Cassidy takes on the dual role of Annie Donovan/Kaz. Her screen credits include Disco Pigs, which earned her an Irish Film and Television Award, Felicia’s Journey, and The Wonder alongside Florence Pugh. On stage, Cassidy’s extensive credits include Aristocrats, Fathers and Sons, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse, plus work at the National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, and Royal Shakespeare Company.

Katherine Pearce returns to the Royal Exchange as Jenny after recent appearances in Our Pals and No Pay? No Way! in 2023. She previously performed at the venue in the National Theatre’s production of Husbands and Sons in 2016. Pearce’s wider theatre experience includes Shakespeare’s Globe, the RSC, and Edinburgh Fringe, and her screen work features the BAFTA-winning BBC drama Three Girls.

The cast also includes Fionnuala Dorrity playing Helicopter pilot/Queen Victoria. The production notably incorporates a community cast comprising 108 participants from across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.

Directed by James Macdonald, the creative team features designer Laura Hopkins, lighting designer Charles Balfour, sound designer Ian Dickinson, and movement and intimacy director Georgina Lamb. Amy Ball is the casting director, with dramaturgy by Emily McLaughlin.

Even These Things arrives amid the theatre’s 50th anniversary season, combining local history with a broad creative collaboration across Greater Manchester’s communities.