26 April 2001 Edition
Hunger Strike play to tour Ireland
The H-Block hunger strike is brought to vivid life in Peter Sheridan's controversial play, Dialann Ocrais/Diary of a Hunger Strike, which goes on national tour from 4 May until 19 June.
Starting off in Belfast's prestigious Waterfront Hall and finishing on Garvaghy Road, with a two-week stint in Dublin in the middle, the play will for the first time bring to the stage the drama of the H-Block hunger strikes, which have already been the subject of several books and are to be featured in film in the autumn.
Dublin playwright Peter Sheridan travelled to Belfast in August 1981 to find out for himself what was happening with the hunger strike. So dissatisfied was he with the reporting of the event in the South that within months of the end of the hunger strike he wrote this play which, through the eyes of prisoners, relatives, warders, and governor takes us from the blanket protest, through the futile last minute attempts to avoid a hunger strike up to the death of the first prisoner.
``What struck me so much when I went to Belfast at the time was the depth of anger in the nationalist community, it was so profound'' says Peter Sheridan. ``You couldn't help but be enveloped by it. My position on the hunger strike was that Thatcher commited the crime by not conceding to the five demands. But I didn't write a piece of propaganda. I've never written a propogandist play. What I did was sat and tried to write a play that was balanced, to get inside the life of the characters and show why they made the decisions that they did.''
Daithí Adams, former H-Block prisoner, takes the main role in the play and brings his own personal experience of the H Blocks to the role.
``Emotionally it's a very difficult play for me to do because of the feelings and recollections it brings to mind, donning a blanket and reliving the situation that Bobby Sands and his comrades had to endure,'' says Adams.
``At the same time it's a very well written play which puts us inside the heads of the charachters as they make life or death decisions. It's good for me to be able to help to bring this to people throughout the country at this time and also to the hundreds of thousands of young people throughout Ireland who weren't even born at the time of the hunger strike.''
Gear—id Ó Cairealláin of Aisling Ghéar drama group says that Dialann Ocrais/Diary of a Hunger Strike is ``an incredible piece of drama. The great Greek plays revolved around the question of life and death, and the choices which people made. That's exactly what we have in this play.
``It has very rarely been seen in Ireland because of the climate of censorship which existed before now but the amount of interest already shown from venues throughout the country suggests that more people are interested in finding out about the hunger strike now than ever.''
The play is bilingual, the prisoners speak in Irish, the wardens, governor and the British diplomat all speak in English, which is how it actually happened in real life.
Anyone wanting tickets or info can contact Aisling Ghéar at Belfast (04890) 208040.
National Tour
Dialann Ocrais / Diary of a Hunger Strike
By Peter Sheridan
Performed by Aisling Ghéar Drama Group
Belfast - Roddy McCorley Club, Glen Road - 4 May
Belfast - Waterfront Hall - 7 May
Dungiven - 8 May
Derry - Foyle Arts Centre 9/10 May
Donegal - Amharclann Gaoth Dobhair, 11/12 May
Dublin - Theatre Space @ The Mint, Henry Place. 14-26 May
Limerick - Halla Ide, 28 May
West Cork - Halla an Phobail - Cúl Aodha, 29 May
Kerry - Dingle, 30 May
Galway - An Taibhdhearc Theatre, 31 May/1 June
Conamara, Conamara, 2 June
Mayo, Ceathrú Thaidhg - 4 June
Sligo - The Factory Performance Space, 5 June
Leitrim - The Cornmill Theatre 6/7 June
Armagh - The Market Place, 8 June
Omagh - St Josephs Hall, 9 June
Tyrone - Carrickmore 11 June
Tyrone - Donaghmore 12 June
Tyrone - Strabane - 14 June
Portadown - Garvaghy Rd - 16 June
Starting off in Belfast's prestigious Waterfront Hall and finishing on Garvaghy Road, with a two-week stint in Dublin in the middle, the play will for the first time bring to the stage the drama of the H-Block hunger strikes, which have already been the subject of several books and are to be featured in film in the autumn.
Dublin playwright Peter Sheridan travelled to Belfast in August 1981 to find out for himself what was happening with the hunger strike. So dissatisfied was he with the reporting of the event in the South that within months of the end of the hunger strike he wrote this play which, through the eyes of prisoners, relatives, warders, and governor takes us from the blanket protest, through the futile last minute attempts to avoid a hunger strike up to the death of the first prisoner.
``What struck me so much when I went to Belfast at the time was the depth of anger in the nationalist community, it was so profound'' says Peter Sheridan. ``You couldn't help but be enveloped by it. My position on the hunger strike was that Thatcher commited the crime by not conceding to the five demands. But I didn't write a piece of propaganda. I've never written a propogandist play. What I did was sat and tried to write a play that was balanced, to get inside the life of the characters and show why they made the decisions that they did.''
Daithí Adams, former H-Block prisoner, takes the main role in the play and brings his own personal experience of the H Blocks to the role.
``Emotionally it's a very difficult play for me to do because of the feelings and recollections it brings to mind, donning a blanket and reliving the situation that Bobby Sands and his comrades had to endure,'' says Adams.
``At the same time it's a very well written play which puts us inside the heads of the charachters as they make life or death decisions. It's good for me to be able to help to bring this to people throughout the country at this time and also to the hundreds of thousands of young people throughout Ireland who weren't even born at the time of the hunger strike.''
Gear—id Ó Cairealláin of Aisling Ghéar drama group says that Dialann Ocrais/Diary of a Hunger Strike is ``an incredible piece of drama. The great Greek plays revolved around the question of life and death, and the choices which people made. That's exactly what we have in this play.
``It has very rarely been seen in Ireland because of the climate of censorship which existed before now but the amount of interest already shown from venues throughout the country suggests that more people are interested in finding out about the hunger strike now than ever.''
The play is bilingual, the prisoners speak in Irish, the wardens, governor and the British diplomat all speak in English, which is how it actually happened in real life.
Anyone wanting tickets or info can contact Aisling Ghéar at Belfast (04890) 208040.
National Tour
Dialann Ocrais / Diary of a Hunger Strike
By Peter Sheridan
Performed by Aisling Ghéar Drama Group
Belfast - Roddy McCorley Club, Glen Road - 4 May
Belfast - Waterfront Hall - 7 May
Dungiven - 8 May
Derry - Foyle Arts Centre 9/10 May
Donegal - Amharclann Gaoth Dobhair, 11/12 May
Dublin - Theatre Space @ The Mint, Henry Place. 14-26 May
Limerick - Halla Ide, 28 May
West Cork - Halla an Phobail - Cúl Aodha, 29 May
Kerry - Dingle, 30 May
Galway - An Taibhdhearc Theatre, 31 May/1 June
Conamara, Conamara, 2 June
Mayo, Ceathrú Thaidhg - 4 June
Sligo - The Factory Performance Space, 5 June
Leitrim - The Cornmill Theatre 6/7 June
Armagh - The Market Place, 8 June
Omagh - St Josephs Hall, 9 June
Tyrone - Carrickmore 11 June
Tyrone - Donaghmore 12 June
Tyrone - Strabane - 14 June
Portadown - Garvaghy Rd - 16 June