First Response - The true Stories from the Front Line

What happens when your professional duty requires you to run towards the scene of the horror, at a time when everyone else is running away?
By Claire Cartmill
Published 24th Jan 2020, 08:18 BST
Firefighters training, foreground is drop of water springer, Selective focusFirefighters training, foreground is drop of water springer, Selective focus
Firefighters training, foreground is drop of water springer, Selective focus

The Playhouse Theatre and Peacebuilding Academy has announced its latest production, created and performed by those who worked the front lines of some of the most difficult experiences of The Troubles.

Directed by Japanese-American artist Ailin Conant, and devised by the cast and individuals who were first at the scene of the shootings and atrocities during The Troubles, ‘First Response’ will open at The Playhouse Derry.Londonderry next month.

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The cast, who also devised the piece, will be supported by an ensemble from University of Ulster drama.

Directed by Japanese- American artist Ailin Conant.Directed by Japanese- American artist Ailin Conant.
Directed by Japanese- American artist Ailin Conant.

Ailin is the latest artist to be announced for the two-and-a-half-year EU PEACE funded Theatre and Peacebuilding project, which will work with a range of internationally based artists with significant experience of utilising arts activity in conflict and areas of social breakdown throughout the world.

The production will run at The Playhouse from Wednesday, February 26 to Saturday 29 before traveling to The Riverside Theatre, Coleraine on Wednesday, March 4.

Director Ailin Conant’s vast experience using theatre as a platform for post-conflict dialogue includes work with former adult and child combatants, refugees, war orphans, and survivors of genocide.

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Her London-based devising company, Theatre Témoin, is a supported company of The Lowry, an associate company of The Everyman Cheltenham, a Without Walls Portfolio company, and has held residencies with The Salisbury Playhouse and others.

Delivered in partnership with Holywell Trust, Thomas D’Arcy McGee Foundation and Queens University Belfast, the project aims to use theatre as a tool to promote healing and reconciliation in a healing and transformative way.

The PEACE IV Programme is an EU funded Programme designed to support peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border region. It is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Executive Office and the Department for Rural and Community Development.

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Tickets are free but booking is essential. Contact The Playhouse Box Office on (028)71268027 or online at www.derryplayhouse.co.uk or The Riverside Theatre, Coleraine Box Office: 02870 123123 or www.riversidetheatre.org.uk.