A scene from the Lyric production King of the castle (1971)
Lyric centre stage in another fine festival
Friday, May 09, 2008
As the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival approaches its end, organiser Sean
Kelly and his team can once again congratulate themselves on a job well done.
One of the undoubted highlights of this year's event has been The Parker
Project — the joint production between the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and
Rough Magic Theatre in Dublin, which has revived two of Stewart Parker's
best-loved plays.
Performances of Parker's earliest work — Spokesong — and his final prayer
for Belfast, Pentecost, have been alternating on the stage of the old
Northern Bank building in Waring Street. And on Saturdays, audiences have
been able to see both plays back-to-back, with a break for a theatrical
supper in the middle.
The project has been an undoubted success, and has brought Parker's plays to
a new generation of theatre-goers. And the occasion has allowed the Lyric to
display some of its fascinating archive material alongside plans for its new
theatre.
The exhibition is called Look Up Into the Sun's Eye: the bricks and mortar
of vision, and looks at the Lyric's evolution through its buildings. Some
members of the public will already have taken part in the Lyric Lives
Heritage Project, which is collecting oral history about the theatre, from
its modest beginnings in Derryvolgie Avenue to its final days in Ridgeway
Street.
Heritage officer Jackie Doyle has already been inviting key players —
actors, writers, directors — to recall their favourite times at the theatre.
Through the Lyric Lives Project she will also be collecting stories from the
company's most treasured asset: its audiences.
You can write your memories on line at the Lyric's website, or, while
visiting the Parker Project, you can slip into the theatre's memory booth,
and record your thoughts there — it's available until May 17, when the plays
finish. All oral histories will be lodged with The Linen Hall Library for
future generations to study and enjoy.
And while we're thinking about the past, this year, Queen's University is
celebrating its centenary, and this week it's marking the occasion in
dramatic style.
Lives and Times: A Journey Through Queen's is a dramatic and musical
performance, which guides audiences through the iconic Lanyon building to
some of the most important times in the university's past. Some ingenious
time travel will take us back to both world wars, then through the golden
age of the 1950s, the turbulent 1960s and back to the present day.
The Lanyon building provides a magnificent stage for the promenade-style
performance, which is also marking the tenth year of drama studies at
Queen's.
Lives and Times brings many current and former students together for the
first time, along with some of Northern Ireland's leading actors and
dramatists.
The production is directed by Rachel O'Riordan and designed by Stuart
Marshall. There's a cast of 50, led by Gordon Fulton and Maggie Cronin.
David Johnston, Mick Duke, Richard Dormer, Declan Feenan, Emily DeDakis and
Lisa Keogh have written the worlds, and the music is by Conor Mitchell and
Nick Gillian.
A leisurely stroll around Queen's while watching its history unfold sounds
like a pretty nice way to spend an evening. Last show is tomorrow night, so
get strolling!
grania.mcfadden@googlemail.com
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