An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reforms and protest against rising levels of poverty.
Direction
Leigh builds dread through mundane bureaucracy before the blood
Production
Meticulous 1819 Manchester rebuilt with obsessive detail
Acting
Rory Kinnear's Henry Hunt: pompous, principled, doomed
Director
Mike Leigh
Rory Kinnear
Henry Hunt
Maxine Peake
Nellie
Pearce Quigley
Joshua
David Moorst
Joseph
Rachel Finnegan
Mary
Tom Meredith
Robert
Simona Bitmate
Esther
Robert Wilfort
Lord Liverpool, the Prime Minister
Karl Johnson
Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary
Sam Troughton
Mr Hobhouse
Roger Sloman
Mr Grout
Tom Edward-Kane
Mr Cobb
Lizzy McInnerny
Mrs Moss
Alastair Mackenzie
General Sir John Byng
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Leigh's ancestors were present at Peterloo; he grew up knowing the family shame and silence around it.
The name 'Peterloo' was coined mocking Waterloo — 15 died vs 20,000 at Waterloo, but both were British state violence.
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