A LOVE story is always a good bet when it comes to gripping an audience, but when the lead character is married in a prison chapel and executed a day later, it sets the emotional stakes at a whole new level.
Add to that religious fervour and fearless defiance in the face of illness and battle and you have, as Armagh playwright Gerry Cunningham discovered, the beating heart of a timeless, tragic romance.
He compares his new musical to the doomed relationship of Jack and Rose from blockbuster film Titanic, but even that ill-fated affair sinks when set against the real-life relationship of 1916 Easter Rising 'chief strategist' Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford.
Now their little-known story, tucked away in the bigger picture of the most significant period in Irish history, has been resurrected and brought vibrantly to life in original musical drama Blood Upon the Rose, opening at the Waterfront Hall in June.
A number of pre-Christmas dates in regional theatres across the north sold out and a second date has now been added to the Waterfront showing. The musical – one of only a small number of amateur productions to be staged at the Belfast venue – will run on June 9 and 10.
For the man behind Blood Upon the Rose, its precocious success to date has been more than a little "overwhelming".
"The story seems to have struck a chord with people who are familiar with the history surrounding the Rising, but not so much the personal lives of those behind it," says the professional musician and retired drama teacher who has just turned 60 and lives near the village of Loughgall outside Portadown.
"I think the passion, the power and the loss have all connected with people. It certainly makes you look at the personal consequences of what was an iconic but flawed event in history.
"You can't help but be struck by the tragedy of all. There was no wedding night – after they married in prison, Grace was sent away and allowed back the next day for 10 minutes before her new husband was shot by firing squad.
"What makes the story even more poignant is the fact Plunkett, who never fully recovered from tuberculosis he suffered as a child, was going to die anyway. He had risen from his sick bed to take part in the Rising and doctors had not given him long to live."
Although the musical – which includes original songs written by Gerry and performed by members of his Celtic rock band More Power to Your Elbow – pivots on the love story of the two Dublin-born protagonists, fighting and looting scenes are faithfully recreated and some surprising, lighter moments are woven into a rich historical tapestry.
"I discovered that Joseph Plunkett had a real passion for roller skating, of all things, so that provides some light relief," he says. "There was a craze for roller skating sweeping across Dublin at the time and rinks were opening all over the place. It's important for a story to be emotionally entertaining, but to have a little humour as well."
A touching scene where Grace, a Protestant from Rathmines, in the south of the city, is taught to skate is a figment of imagination for Gerry, mainly due to a dearth of historical detail surrounding the relationship.
"I stuck as closely to the facts as I could, but have embellished them here and there," Gerry, who also directs the musical, says. "There's not a lot in history books about the actual courtship and although research gave me a good insight into Plunkett's character, Grace, who worked as a caricature artist, was not nearly as complex.
Plunkett, whose father was a papal count, "never looked a like a soldier", says Gerry. "He was the chief strategist and was as eccentric as he was brilliant. He conducted an old-fashioned courtship and love was always guided by deep religious convictions."
A history buff with several school and amateur theatre productions behind him, Gerry, who is also chairperson of the Robert Emmet Gaelic Football club in Armagh – "my other great passion" – felt it time to strike out and write something of his own.
It took two months of research, two months writing the script and two months writing the score, then a few more months of rehearsals – with a "fantastic" cast from River Tall community theatre group and also musicians from his own band – before curtain-up at the Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown, last November.
"I was asked initially by the Mid-Ulster Council to write something in tandem with the centenary anniversary for the Battle of the Somme," Gerry explains. "It was a bit daunting as so many plays were being created about the Easter Rising at this time, so you wonder how your own will be received.
"I suppose that was my biggest fear – especially, since some history books weren't always on the same page over certain things, including where and how Joseph and Grace first met. There was a fear of getting out of your depth.
"But it has been the most fabulous journey – and, for me, a dream come true."
:: Blood Upon the Rose is on at the Waterfront Hall on June 9 and 10.
