Local playwrights Dan Gordon, Jimmy McAleavey and award-winning broadcaster Peter Curran were revealed today by Titanic Belfast as part of the line-up for the opening festival to celebrate the launch of the new visitor experience next month.
As part of the ‘Titanic Belfast Festival 2012’, a two-month long city-wide festival, highlight events taking place at Titanic Belfast were previewed today (Feb 15th) at the former Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices where Titanic and her sister ships were designed.
Among the events taking place at Titanic Belfast will be a new play, ‘Titans’, written by Jimmy McAleavey, a musical evening hosted by Peter Curran celebrating 100 years of music and words by local artists, and Dan Gordon’s acclaimed play ‘The Boat Factory’. The full festival programme will be launched at the end of February by Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
Ali Curran, Titanic Belfast’s festival coordinator, said:
“These are just three events of many which will be taking place throughout April and May as we celebrate the opening of Titanic Belfast and commemorate Titanic’s centenary year. There’ll be something for everyone from dramas to exhibitions, talks and music, indoor and outdoor events. This is a unique year for Belfast and we want to showcase the best of local and international talent for the many tens of thousands of visitors from home and abroad who we expect to come to the city.”
Dan Gordon’s popular and critically-acclaimed play ‘The Boat Factory’, which celebrates the people, history and achievements of Harland & Wolff where his father worked as a joiner, will be staged in the Titanic Suite overlooking the slipways where Titanic was built. The production, presented by Happenstance Theatre Company and Titanic Foundation, is a two-man show set in 1947, directed by Philip Crawford and performed by Dan and Michael Condron.
Speaking at the Drawing Office Dan said:
“I’ve lived in the shadow of the boat factory all my life. I wanted to tell the story of the heritage and history that has all but disappeared and with it, the skills, the memories and the men who made it.
“Titanic Belfast has re-found that spirit and brought it back – look closely and you can see the faces of my grandfather and my father grinning back at me, reflected in the skill and artistry of the building. ‘The Boat Factory’ is a personal experience that will, for the first time, be located on the very spot where Titanic and her sister ships were built and designed.”
‘Titans’, a new play by the award-wining Belfast writer, Jimmy McAleavey, and directed by Paula McFetridge from Kabosh theatre company, is described as a haunting, provocative and humorous drama. Set in various parts of Titanic Belfast, the play will take its audience on a theatrical trip behind the scenes of the new visitor attraction.
Also speaking at the Drawing Office, Jimmy McAleavey added:
“This is a unique play for a unique venue. The inner secrets of Titanic Belfast will be explored as the triumph and tragedy of the Titanic story comes to life in the most surprising ways. Set in an ancient context of sea journeys from Irish myth and Belfast folklore, people should expect the unexpected as we explore the confines of this remarkable building.”
Award-winning broadcaster Peter Curran will also be remembering a century of music from the days of Titanic to the days of Titanic Belfast with ‘Songs to The Siren 1912-2012’, presented by Titanic Belfast and Titanic Foundation. With performances from some of the great Northern Irish songwriters and musicians, it’s being billed as an unmissable evening for lovers of words, wit and song.
Talking about the show, Peter said:
“The amount of musical talent to come out of Northern Ireland from 1912 until now is remarkable. A century of brilliant words and music that have helped people through the tough times and the unexpected joys will be recalled during a musical journey which includes some very special guests, recording artists, authors and cultural icons.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime gathering that will provide spine-tingling moments along with wit and laughter. Nowhere else will you find the traditional music icon Andy Irvine of Planxty fame sharing a stage with the king of eloquent anger Cathal Coughlan, and the million pound Scottish poet and humorist Murray Lachlan Young.”
Kicking off celebrations on March 31st when Titanic Belfast opens will be an Edwardian-style Titanic Tea Party accompanied by a musical programme led by Belfast Community Gospel Choir and City of Belfast Youth Orchestra. The finale of the festival will be ‘Theater Titanick’, a theatrical outdoor spectacle from Germany which has been enthralling audiences for years. Eccentric characters, magnificent live music and amazing fire and water atmospherics will celebrate Titanic’s legend.
Tickets to events featured in Titanic Belfast’s opening programme are available from Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau from Thursday 16th February – visit www.titanicbelfast.com or call 028 9024 6609 for further details. Tickets will be limited for each event, including those with no admission charge.
Why not leave a response?