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“We are incredibly funny people, but that probably comes from trauma, as it does for any good comedian,” says Lola Petticrew.

The funny people in question are residents of West Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, where Petticrew, dramatized in the new series, grew up. Don’t Say Nothing, is currently streaming on Hulu. Petticrew shows that this humor in the series is “gallows humor”, but he does not leave out the trauma.

don’t say anything is based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s bestselling book of 2018It tells the true story of the Troubles, the name given to the 30-year conflict that ended in 1998 with the so-called “cold peace”, and specifically the disappearance of a woman named Jean McConville. It tells the story of Dolours and Marian Price (Petticrew and Hazel Doupe), two real-life sisters who join the Irish Republican Army and find themselves at the center of not only a sectarian conflict but also an attempt to understand a rapidly changing home front.

“I’m from West Belfast, so it’s very much a story based on where I come from and the people around me; “This is my past,” says Petticrew, who has previously starred in projects such as: dating amber And Tuesday. “I would say I’m aware of the issue, but ‘aware’ is probably a stupid word; It’s inside me. This is very recent history and still permeates the whole of where I come from.

That doesn’t mean Petticrew doesn’t hesitate to tell this story. “When I first read the scripts, I thought they were incredible,” they say. “Then I read Patrick’s book and I didn’t expect to be so emotionally moved, especially because I already knew the history and he was an American author. “Sometimes when things like this happen, you feel like other people don’t quite get it, but Patrick’s book is truly extraordinary, I cried so much while reading it that I had to leave the cafe I was in.”

Rather than feeling like the book offered an outsider’s perspective on topics that Petticrew already understood, the actor says: “Most importantly, I felt like the questions at the end of the book were questions I was asking as a young adult coming from there still living there and wanting a future there. So did I.” I immediately thought: I want to get involved in this.”

The audience needs to feel the same. Petticrew’s Dolours is the heart of the series (an older version of the character is played by Maxine Peake), and we are drawn into the deep, complex conflict alongside Dolours and Marion as they transform from optimistic activists to battle-hardened soldiers. The strong supporting cast, including Josh Finan as Gerry Adams and Anthony Boyle as Brendan Hughes, helps convey the sense that the characters we are watching are true believers in the fight of their lives.

“I knew Anthony Boyle and Lola, and they are two of the best talents around,” says director and executive producer Michael Lennox. “They grew up in West Belfast. They know this world. I’m not saying others can’t play this game, but you get such a rawness and truthfulness that their lived experiences are reflected in the role; “You can’t fake that.”

For Petticrew, part of that honesty was discussing the Troubles and the people who disappeared during them.

“It’s incredibly scary for me to have this come out because I feel a responsibility to fix it,” they say. “I want to do the right thing by the people where I come from. I love Belfast, especially West Belfast, and there’s a reason I still live there. Still, there are huge questions plaguing our minds, and I wanted to be part of a healing conversation. “I really think the show can do that, but healing is scary and complicated and not easy and not linear.”

This is also something he sees Petticrew focusing on more and more. The actor’s next project is a TV series called intrusionsIt may tell a different story, but it is also set in Ireland during the Troubles.

“It’s weird that I shoot intrusions now because I read the book at the beginning of shooting don’t say anything“Then the auditions came four or five months later. When I read it, I didn’t even realize they were turning it into anything. It wasn’t that I wanted to do another piece about the issues, I was just a fan of the book, and while they have similar topics, they’re two very different stories.”

Additionally, Petticrew says there are multiple stories to be told from that time and place. “People ask me, ‘Oh, you’re doing another Troubles thing?’ I think they (Hollywood) can release seven World War II movies a year and no one says anything. It’s also great that there is such a great interest in Irish stories. I think we all are Derry Girls “Honestly, I want to thank you for that.”

And even as Petticrew looks forward to taking on subsequent projects set in different times and places—”maybe I’ve been living in trauma for too long, and it would be nice to do a buddy comedy next,” they say—there’s no doubt about it don’t say anything It is an important step. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Petticrew says of the series. “I don’t think I’ll ever get a job like this again.”

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