Trespasses star Lola Petticrew: ‘I’m an artist because I’m an activist – I can’t separate it’

Lola Petticrew is part of a new wave of actors from Northern Ireland who are taking on big stories about their home. And when they get the chance, they speak out.

Check out Petticrew’s barnstorming speech at the Irish Film and Television Academy awards (IFTAs) last year after winning Best Actress for Say Nothing. Visibly shaking with nerves, the actor said: “Gutless politicians kick about ideas like painting over murals while working-class people on both sides of the green and orange land cry out for investment in social housing.”

Petticrew tells Big Issue, “I can’t really separate art and making art from advocacy and activism. I think I’m an artist because I’m an activist. And I’m an activist because I’m an artist. Those two things are very deeply connected. Watching Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows and Ken Loach growing up was influential on me wanting to be an actor. So the two things are very intertwined for me.”

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Petticrew wanted to star in Trespasses the moment they began reading the book. Louise Kennedy’s novel, set in Belfast at the height of The Troubles and published in 2022, is a bleak masterpiece – a love story set against a backdrop of poverty and violence. Petticrew found instant connection with Cushla. 

“I ate the book. I devoured it really quickly and fell in love with it,” says Petticrew.

“I immediately called my agent and said, they’ll probably make this into a series because it’s so good. And when they do, I want to play Cushla. Five months later, I had my first audition.”

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Cushla is a young, Catholic primary school teacher and part-time barmaid whose dangerous secret relationship with Michael Agnew, a married Protestant barrister making waves for defending young Republicans who have been unjustly prosecuted. Gillian Anderson plays her hard-drinking mother. It’s a heady mix. 

“It was such a different story to what we’ve seen around The Troubles, which is very often a very male lens and very often an incredibly violent lens,” says Petticrew. 

“This was a romance, which was something I hadn’t really done before. So just as an actor, it felt exciting to flex this new muscle. 

“But as somebody from Belfast, I thought it was a really interesting way to talk about that period of time – in the same way that Derry Girls is so great because it was watching a bunch of teenagers be teenagers to the backdrop of this really horrendous war. We have such a big, rich tapestry of stories to tell from that period of time. And we’re just starting to pull at the thread.”

Anyone who has read the book will recognise Ailbhe Keogan’s adaptation as very loyal to the source material. And Petticrew and co-star Tom Cullen have captured the irresistible urge to be together, despite all the risks, described so vividly on the page. 

“It was important to show they are very deeply in love. There’s an ineffable connection, there’s this lust between these two incredibly hot people!” says Petticrew. 

“The intimacy comes from a need to be on and in each other’s skin – because of the understanding they find in each other, because they both have views and ideas that are different for the times and culture they exist in.”

While Michael is making a name for himself, and enemies within his own community, through his work, so is Cushla – albeit in a less high-profile way.

“Cushla thinks Michael is incredibly brave. He’s taking on the RUC. It’s massive, especially for someone from the background he is from,” says Petticrew. “Cushla also has that same bravery. It’s just that her way of battling it is much smaller. He’s taking on the RUC, she’s taking care of Davey McGeown and
his family.”

Petticrew won huge acclaim, as well as that IFTA award, for starring alongside childhood friend Anthony Boyle in Disney’s 2024 adaptation of Say Nothing, journalist and writer Patrick Radden Keefe’s bestselling work of non-fiction looking at the conflict in Northern Ireland over decades. 

“I’ve been friends with Anthony Boyle since we were around 11. He’s like a brother to me. We’ve come up in the industry together, which is crazy when you think about it being two kids from where we are from,” says Petticrew.

“People from our communities grew up within an insane amount of intergenerational trauma to begin with, and then you combine that with poverty – state sanctioned poverty – and a lot of people don’t really stand a chance to do this sort of thing. So it’s amazing to have somebody to experience it all with and lean on.” 

With Channel 4 bringing Say Nothing to terrestrial television for the first time soon after Trespasses airs, Petticrew’s performance as Dolours Price – an IRA volunteer jailed for her role in the bombing of the Old Bailey in 1973 – will reach a far wider audience. “We were a bit worried when we heard about Say Nothing [the series was made by FX Productions] that it would be, like, Disney does The Troubles. But they were open to listening to our voices throughout the process.” 

This is clearly important to Petticrew, who is already looking forward to returning home to their dog after completing work on serial killer series Furious in New York. “I still live in Belfast. And I feel a massive responsibility any time I take on a job that’s about home,” Petticrew adds. 

“It’s about making sure you do the best job possible so people feel seen and heard and respected. I want to make sure when I’m doing something that I’m going to be proud walking down the street back home. I feel a massive responsibility to my community. Because communities and community work will save us all!”

Trespasses is available to stream at Channel 4.

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