Joe Armstrong Fansite

National Youth Theatre

Joe also performed in several National Youth Theatre Productions, including:

Dancing at Lughnasa (3-19 September 1998, The Arts Theatre), produced by Edward Wilson, in which Joe played Jerry Evans, the absent father of the narrator. James Christopher wrote in The Times, "Michael's hopeless Welsh father, Gerry (Joe Armstrong), dances by like Fred Astair with his annual empty promise that one day he will come back for Chris." Sarah Hemming, in the Financial Times, said, "This time I was struck by how much dancing there is in the piece altogether, how often it replaces language as a means of saying something too complex for words: Christina (Caoimhe Harvey) and Gerry (Joe Armstrong), for instance, cement their relationship by dancing, and she is transformed as she floats in his arms."

They Shoot Horses Don't They? (7-16 September 2000, Apollo Theatre), also produced by Edward Wilson, in which Joe played Lieutenant James Stedna. This play developed from a novella by Horace McCoy focuses on the 1930's dance marathons. You can still read a review of the play on swingtime.co.uk and several of the newspaper reviews note the promise of the young cast.

Nicholas Nickleby (2002?) , in which Joe played Squeers. The NYT records show that this play was performed in 2001 and 2002, but reviews of the 2001 performance list Rafe Spall in the role of Squeers. (Note: Joe's father, Alun Armstrong, played the same role in the 1981/82 RSC production. Alun's production is available on DVD in the UK and the US.)

*Photo is from Dancing at Lughnasa and belongs to starstock.com*