Crowded Kitchen Players presents the world premiere of “The Revolution: The Irish War of Independence 1919-1921,” March 13 - 17, The Charles A. Brown Ice House, Bethlehem.

“The Revolution,” written and directed by Ara Barlieb, is second in a planned trilogy of plays about Ireland’s fight to end British rule after 700 years of suppression and colonization by England.

The first play, “The Rising” staged last year by Crowded Kitchen Players, recounted Ireland’s tragic Easter Monday uprising in 1916, which was crushed by British troops after six days and ushered in a new era of British suppression.

“The Revolution” follows the Irish War, also known as Cogadh na Saoirse, a savage guerilla war that lasted from early 1919 until a truce in mid-1921.

The story of the brutal conflict between the Irish Republican Army, representing the newly-elected Sinn Fein parliamentary government, and British police, is told through a series of dramatizations and personal accounts, says Barlieb.

‘“The Revolution” unearths long-forgotten depredations of Ireland by the British that range back to the Middle Ages, along with the smothering Penal Laws they imposed that reverberate in Irish culture, politics and society to this very day,” Barlieb says.

The story is accompanied by traditional songs of the war years, including “Valley of Knockanure,” “The Bold Fenian Men” and “Boolavogue,” performed by Joey Mutis III of The Electric Farm.

Barlieb says the play “colorfully recounts the self-sacrifice and heroic deeds of such luminaries” as Michael Collins (Dan Ferry), Eamon de Valera (David Oswald) and Countess Markiwiecz (Sharon Ferry).

Collins was the head of the Irish Republican Army and creator of The Death Squad of IRA assassins; de Valera was a survivor of the Easter Uprising who became president of Sinn Féin, and Markiewicz was the first woman ever elected to British Parliament.

Barlieb says the play explores some of the conflict’s unsung heroes such as Dan Breen (Joe Grahek) and Sean Treacy (David Oswald), whom many credit with igniting the war through violence when diplomatic strategies were falling short; Brighid O’Mullane (Trish Cipoletti), who secretly recruited thousands of women to join Cumann na mBan, the paramilitary organization that supported the Irish Republican Army, and Tom Barry (Sharon Ferry), whose Kilmichael Ambush of Royal Irish Constabulary troops led to talks of a truce.

Other historical figures in the play include Colonel Gerald Smyth (David Oswald), the British military officer who implemented a new policy of ruthless reprisals against the Irish; Lily Mernin (Pamela McLean Wallace), the secretary at British headquarters whose spying helped Michael Collins identify his targets on Bloody Sunday; Winston Churchill (Bruce Brown), who sent in the notorious Black and Tans with orders to kill any Irish man, woman or child who resisted British occupation, and Brigid Ryan (Colleen Popper), the shop girl whose coded telegram to Michael Collins helped trigger the Knocklong Rail Station shootout and rescue of captured IRA officer Sean Hogan.

Additional cast members include Denise Shelton, Mary Pat Lemass and Fiona Sweeney, whose grandfather, Peter Paul Galligan, a survivor of The Rising was elected as a member of Sinn Fein’s parliament.

“The Revolution” run time is approximately 90 minutes.

Barlieb says the third part of the trilogy will cover The Civil War of 1922 and The Troubles that raged in Northern Ireland until 1998.

“I never expected to be able to teach a class on Irish history before I started researching and scripting this trilogy four years ago,” Barlieb says.

“The Revolution,” 7:30 p.m. March 13, 14, 15, 16; 2 p.m. March 17, Crowded Kitchen Players, Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Bethlehem. 610-704-6974, https://www.ckplayers.com/

“Curtain Rises” is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com