SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026

A Bomber's Moon

Glenn McGivern as Frank Warnock and Leah Williamson as Sadie 'Minty'
Murray in 'A Bomber's Moon'. Photo: Melissa Gordon

Solitary journeys, tough choices, saving grace and showing face are emotionally foregrounded and enticingly explored in Sam Robinson and Trevor Gill's tautly structured and very human A Bomber's Moon. Familiar in plot strands but distinctively high in levels of performance, Robinson and Gill's period piece poignantly and personably marks eighty-five years since the Belfast Blitz of April 1941 through the art of the insular survival story, where everything and everyone most vital is defined by proximity and immediacy. In that sense it is universally relatable to, as well as historically reminiscent of, times one thinks they leave behind but never do – a timely and timeless tale given new life.

With the "Bomber's Moon" of the title, you are introduced to or reminded of another way of saying "a clear night" or "a full moon", the kind of thing that relates to some enchanted evening for a true romance anytime, anywhere, anyhow. This is apparently on the mind of the colourfully linguistic but charmingly idealistic Sadie "Minty" Murray, played by Leah Williamson, as she smiles alongside Frank Warnock, played by Glenn McGivern, in 1941 Belfast. They're a couple with traditional not-so-similar-yet-not-so-different character arcs, united by quests for purpose and belonging together and individually but separated by how they search for that security and peace of mind. Security, and peace of mind, which you don't find in the demands of a war zone, Glenn's football life as a Glentoran fan and Minty's working life at the Belfast Ropeworks - the power of insular love, work and hobbies is such that nothing else can matter for prolonged periods of time, and when the shock and consequences of a battleground directly affect anyone, they can be thrown off or onto a desired track like nothing else.

That's exactly what happens to Minty, named after the famous boiled sweets, and Frank, with their places of work, places of recreation and romance set to be devastatingly lost. Frank, likely swayed by the solidarity, heroism and, perhaps worst of all, pride and "fear of missing out", volunteers for wartime "action" while the Ropeworks and Glentoran's Oval are destroyed – with his ambition, and these disasters, comes loss of innocence for he and Minty, an innocence which Minty believes she finds again amidst the ruins of the Ropeworks when fireman Sean O'Connor, played by John Travers, saves her life. Like Sandra Bullock's Annie did with Keanu Reeves' Jack in Speed, Minty develops a close connection with her "saviour", with no adherence, naturally, to that film's wisdom of intensely formed relationships never lasting. Therefore, is it love at first sight, or is it just getting carried away by finding and feeling a moment that seems to matter and trying to cling onto it for as long as possible? The war zone around Tony and Maria in either filmed version of West Side Story appears more relevant than ever.

Glenn McGivern as Rab Keenan and Andy Porter as Jamesy Murray in
'A Bomber's Moon'. Photo: Melissa Gordon

As the only woman in a man's world, with further support in the father figure of her boss Albert Smilie, played by Andy Porter, and volatile hindrance from her actual father Jamesy, also played by Porter, Minty feels the pressure and the pain, more than the pleasure, of being a worker, lover, daughter and ultimately a mother. Therefore Robinson and director Gill have the right idea in setting A Bomber's Moon in the past and future as well as its present, in addition to punctuating the script with fourth-wall-breaking monologues for Minty. It is just the right amount of reflection needed for a hugely demanding role, and Williamson, who previously impressed as part of Float's ensemble, is every bit its equal – she astonishes with aching physicality, mesmerises with admirable adaptability, delights with bubbly optimism and devastates with tragically expressed reality. I honestly don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that Williamson is the real deal, and she's surrounded by a strong, multiple-character-playing supporting ensemble of Travers, McGivern and Porter, with Sue Lawley's voice, Karl Smith's lighting, Emma Dawson's stage management and Beth Nicholl's props and costumes also contributing to the play's authentic humanity.

A Bomber's Moon is the truthful and the romantic in intimately theatrical form, a powerfully communicative illustration of beliefs, initiatives and personalities as a multi-faceted survivor's tale. It's about how what isn't said can be as harmful as what is, how too little activity can be as damaging to a soul as too much, and how everyone at any time in any place faces potentially irreversible impact from the most pressurised of backdrops. It raises the importance of grasping for moments of delicate beauty amidst a terrifyingly fragile beast – which makes it a most valuable piece of work.

Simon Fallaha

A Bomber's Moon concludes its sold out run at Belfast's Sanctuary Theatre on Sunday April 19. Three additional performances, which run from Friday May 1 to Saturday May 2, have since been announced. For tickets, click here.