Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan, have teamed up with the brilliant Green Shoot Productions of Belfast to bring you the first ever Welsh tour of Chronicles of Long Kesh, a hugely energetic and entertaining production which tells the tale of Northern Ireland’s infamous prison ‘Long Kesh’.
The tour, which visits six Welsh venues during the week of 14th February, comes to Cardigan on 18th February at 7.30pm, and will be Theatr Mwldan’s 37th touring production in six years.
Chronicles of Long Kesh tells the story of the prison – also known as The Maze – from its opening in August 1971 to its closure in July 2000. For three decades Long Kesh prison was home to both Republicans and Loyalists, in an era of riots, hunger strikes and “The Troubles”. Martin Lynch’s dramatic portrayal of life on the inside tells a painful, shocking and poignant story of the day-to-day reality of history in the making.
The story concentrates not on the big politics of the day or those who became well known as a result of their time in prison, but on the experiences of ordinary prisoners, prison officers and their families. Audiences will be confronted with a rich assortment of republicans, loyalists, prison officers, chancers, escapers, wives, Smokey Robinson-imitators and hypochondriacs! It is a tale marked with acapella Motown classics, where prison breaks are conducted under the cover of Smokey Robinson, and stories which are at the same time angry, devastating, and, at times, hilarious.
Martin Lynch’s smash-hit play Chronicles of Long Kesh, produced by Green Shoot Productions, Belfast, has been taking audiences by storm since it first premiered at the Belfast Waterfront Studio Theatre in January 2009. International audiences and critics alike went mad for Chronicles at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009 and January 2011 marks the beginning of the production’s World Tour, beginning in its home city of Belfast, before going on to tour to Wales, England, Australia and North America.
Chronicles of Long Kesh, co-directed by Martin Lynch and Lisa May, features a strong cast of Northern Ireland’s finest actors including Marty Maguire, Andy Moore, Packy Lee, and Jo Donnelly and London actors Chris Corrigan and Billy Clarke. This powerful cast is garnering terrific reviews and standing ovations after every nearly every performance.
“The response to the play has been overwhelming”, says playwright Lynch. “Dozens and dozens of audience members have sent emails saying how powerfully the play affected them. Some folks have a personal experience with the prison, but others, with no personal connection to the Troubles, have explained how this play has caused them to look at the men involved in the decades-long conflict in a slightly different manner. It’s humbling and extremely gratifying to see how Chronicles of Long Kesh is impacting audiences.”
Playwright Lynch interviewed dozens of ex-prisoners from both sides of the 35-year conflict in Northern Ireland (IRA & Loyalist UVF/UDA paramilitary groups). The ex-prisoners revealed many personal stories about the experience in the conflict and in the prison. Many of the stories were heart-breaking, shocking and also hilarious. These stories have made their way into the play woven into the lives of the characters. Whilst the play deals with major developments such as the 1974 burning of Long Kesh, the hunger-strikes and the Big Escape, it also contains more than its fair share of hilarity, black humour and plenty of Motown songs!
Tickets for Chronicles of Long Kesh at Theatr Mwldan on 18th February are £12 (£10 concessions) and are available from Theatr Mwldan box office on 01239 621200 or book online at www.mwldan.co.uk. PLEASE NOTE: this production contains strong language and themes of an adult nature and as such is deemed unsuitable for those under the age of 16.
THEATR MWLDAN 18 FEB, 7.30pm
Touring Wales 14 – 19 February 2011
