The Liffey Players Stage a Powerful Recreation of Scenes
from the Saville Inquiry
By MAURA McCAY
VANCOUVER - On March 23 I flew down to Calgary along with a group of women to attend the Liffey Players Drama Society production of Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry.
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THE CAST OF Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inqury which was presented in Calgary by the Liffey Players Drama Society.
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This was the North American debut of a play which is based on scenes of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate. It was an extremely powerful play with eyewitnesses recounting the events of January 30, 1972, when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march held by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.
Directed by Christopher Kane and produced by Alwyn Price, the show was supported by a dedicated cast and crew who must be commended for their hard work in bringing this exceptional production to life on the stage at the Pumphouse Theatre.
Supported by a backdrop of actual photographic footage of that fateful day in Derry City, the cast portrayed some of the major figures in the Northern Ireland Troubles who appeared before the Saville Inquiry, along with solicitors representing the various parties.
The cast included: Paul David Power who played chairman Lord Saville; Gayl Veinotte played witnesses Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and Geraldine McBride; Paul Ledaire played witness Bishop Daly; Ian Bamford played witness Colonel Derek Wilford and Soldier F; John Murray played Reg Tester; Kevin Rich played witness General Sir Robert Ford; Mike O'Reily played witness Michael Bridge; Gordo Blakhart played witness William Patrick McDonald; and Denise Vaille played witness Alice Doherty; Jim Currey played witness Andrew MacLellan and Soldier S; Ian Fitzgerald played Christopher Clarke QC; Perry Burton played Edwin Glasgow/P. Clarke QC; Alan Weller played Michel Mansfield QC; Rosemary Dytham played Cathryn McGahey QC; Joni Lang played Ms MacDermot QC.
After the show, I had an opportunity to speak with Director Chris Kane about the production. He said, "When I read it, I was very moved by the story. It was the first time I had any insight into what was actually said at the civil inquiry, because it's not exactly information that is widely available. You don't read it in the newspapers here and when I read it in production form, I though we just have to tell this story.
"The truth has to be told and I got together with the board of the Liffey Players and we all agreed this was what we wanted to do.
"A lot of people wouldn't touch this. It's not politically correct to do this sort of production any more. The truth holds many different aspect for many different people and this is the truth of what was said at the inquiry.
Dublin-born Alwyn Price said that although she was not born at the time of Bloody Sunday, she learned about the events of the day at school.
"This was the debut production in Canada and I think it's a story that needs to be told. I think it opened a lot of eyes."
Actor John Murray is himself a native of Belfast and he said the production was a very emotional experience for him. "I was very young at the time of Bloody Sunday, I was about 13 years of age at the time but I remember it very vividly.
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DIRECTOR Christopher Kane is shown above with Alwyn Price who produced the play Scenes from the Saville Inquiry.
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"This play brought it all back but I think it's very important that we put it out there. Richard Norton-Taylor has done an excellent job of condensing what was actually four and a half years of testimony into a two and a half hour production and I think it was his aim to give a general overview and let the audience themselves decide as to what actually happened on Bloody Sunday."
The Liffey Players Drama Society is a community theatre company located in Calgary, Alberta. Established in 1986, the company has a rich history of staging popular and critically acclaimed productions with a special focus on plays by and about the Irish. For more information about the Liffey Players, write to P.O. box 23006, Connaught RPO, Calgary, Alberta, T2S 3B1, or e-mail: info@liffeyplayers.com.
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