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

The funny people in question are the residents of West Belfast, the Northern Irish capital where Petticrew grew up, which is dramatized in the new series. Don’t say anything, streaming now on Hulu. The series shows this humor – “gallows humor,” notes Petticrew – but doesn’t leave out the trauma.

Say nothing is based on The 2018 bestseller by Patrick Radden Keefewhich focuses on the true story of the Troubles – the name given to the 30-year conflict which ended in 1998 in what is known as a “cold peace” – and more specifically the disappearance of a woman named Jean McConville. It follows two real-life sisters, Dolours and Marian Price (Petticrew and Hazel Doupe), who join the Irish Republican Army and find themselves at the center of not only sectarian conflict, but also an attempt to understand an evolving home front fast.

“I’m from west Belfast, so it’s a story that’s rooted in my home country and the people around me; it’s my story,” says Petticrew, who has previously starred in projects such as Amber Dating And Tuesday. “I would say I was aware of it, but ‘aware’ is probably a stupid word: it’s in me. It’s such a recent story and it still permeates my entire home country.

That’s not to say that Petticrew didn’t initially hesitate to tell this story. “When I first read the scripts, I thought they were incredible,” they say. “And then I read Patrick’s book, and I didn’t expect to be touched so emotionally, especially because I already knew the story and because he’s an American writer. Sometimes with things like this it feels like other people don’t quite understand, but Patrick’s book is just phenomenal. I cried so much while reading it that I had to leave the cafe I was in.

Instead of feeling like the book offered an outsider’s perspective on issues Petticrew already understood, the actor said, “Mostly, I felt like the questions he landed on at the end were questions I asked myself as a young adult from there. he still lives there and wants a future there. So, immediately, I said to myself: I want to participate in this.”

The public should feel the same way. Petticrew’s Dolors is at the heart of the series (an older version of the character is played by Maxine Peake) and we are drawn into a deep and complex conflict alongside Dolors and Marion, who go from being optimistic activists to one of seasoned soldiers. A strong supporting cast, including Josh Finan as Gerry Adams and Anthony Boyle as Brendan Hughes, among others, helps create the sense that the characters we’re watching are true believers fighting the battle of their lives .

“I had known 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. That’s not to say other people couldn’t have played him, but you get such rawness and truthfulness, and their lived experience is brought out in the role – you can’t fake it.

Part of that truthfulness for Petticrew is simply discussing the Troubles and the people who disappeared during them.

“It’s incredibly scary for me to see this come out because I feel a sense of responsibility to get it right,” they say. “I want to do good for the people where I come from. I love Belfast so much, especially West Belfast, and I still live there for a reason. Still, there are huge questions weighing on us and I wanted to be part of a healing conversation. I definitely think the show can achieve that, but healing is scary and complicated, it’s not easy, and it’s not linear.

It’s also something Petticrew sees becoming increasingly important. The actor’s next project, a series titled Intrusionsmight tell a different story but is also set in Ireland during the Troubles.

“It’s weird that I shoot Intrusions now because I read the book at the start of filming Say nothing», they say. “Then, four or five months later, the audition happened. When I read it, I didn’t even know they were doing anything with it. It wasn’t that I wanted to feature in another article about the Troubles, I was just a huge fan of the book – and although the subject matter is similar, they are very different stories.

Besides, Petticrew says, there is more than one story to be told in a time and place. “When people say to me, ‘Oh, are you doing a Troubles thing again?’ I figure, (Hollywood) can release seven World War II movies a year and no one says anything. It’s also nice to see that there is a huge interest in Irish stories. I think we all have Girls of Derry thank you for that, to be honest.

And while Petticrew is eager to embark on subsequent projects based on different times and places – “maybe I’ve been living in trauma for a little too long and it would be nice to do a buddy comedy next,” they say – there is no doubt that Say nothing is a major step. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Petticrew says of the series. “I don’t think I’ll ever get a job like that again.”

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