Calgary's Liffey Players
Tackle Real-Life Courtroom Drama With a New Production
CALGARY - Real-life drama will take to the stage this coming March when the Liffey Players tackle their most dramatic and controversial production to date, Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry.
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| THE CAST OF BLOODY SUNDAY: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry - (L-R) Front row: Paul Power, Roxanne Conway , Alwyn Price , Chris Kane , Brian Walsh. Second row: Gayl Veinotte , Ian Bamford , Joni Lang , Paul Ledaire , Margaret Sherry. Back row: Gordo Blakhart , Jim Currey , Kevin Rich , Ian Fitzgerald , John Murray. |
On January 30, 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland, 26 civil right protesters were shot by members of the First Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the Bogside area of the city.
Thirteen people, six of whom were minors, died immediately, while the death of another person four and a half months later has been attributed to the injuries he received on the day. Five of those wounded were shot in the back.
Over the years the horrific day has been the subject of much debate and remains a controversy, due in part to a tribunal held in the immediate aftermath of the event which was described by many as a "whitewash" when the outcome largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame.
At the request of Prime Minister Tony Blair, a second commission of inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville, was established in January 1998 to re-examine "Bloody Sunday." The hearings were concluded in November 2004, and the final report is yet to be written. The Saville Inquiry is a more comprehensive study than the Widgery Tribunal, interviewing a wide range of witnesses, including local residents, soldiers, journalists and politicians.
In mid-2005, the play Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry, a dramatisation based on the Saville inquiry, opened in London, and subsequently travelled to Derry and Dublin. Written by journalist Richard Norton-Taylor, Norton Taylor managed to distill four years of evidence into two hours of riveting stage performance.
Beginning March 15, the Liffey Players will be performing Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry, at the Pumphouse Theatre in Calgary.
"The Liffey Players has a long history of impressive productions with a special focus on plays by and about the Irish," said Artistic Director Chris Kane. "It only makes sense we should tackle this dramatic piece. It's an important and extraordinary piece of theatre not just for those with ties to Irish history but for our overall global community."
"This recreation of a major inquiry that still instills such strong feelings in many people is sure to be a memorable dramatic experience for audiences," continued Chris. "Because the text comes directly from the inquiry transcripts the devastation and sense of horror is heightened when you take into account this is not fiction - this is history on stage."
The production will also offer impressive technical aspects such as actual images from the civil rights march shooting will be incorporated.
The Liffey Players Drama Society was established in Calgary in 1986 and has staged over 35 productions. The plays produced by the society read like a who's who list of Irish theatre - from Beckett, Synge, and O'Casey, to Brian Friel, Martin McDonagh, and Seamus Heaney.
Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Enquiry will run March 15-17 and March 20-24 at the Pumphouse Theatre, 2140 Pumphouse Avenue, Calgary, Alberta.
To book tickets for Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Enquiry contact the Pumphouse Theatre, 2140 Pumphouse Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta. Box office: (403) 263-0079, or visit: www.pumphousetheatres.ca. For more on the Liffey Players visit their website at: www.liffeyplayers.com.
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