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A few thoughts as I ramble home from Belfast after a great couple of days @lyricbelfast @qubelfast for @performingartsforum The Gathering 2026 brilliantly curated by @ruth_mc_gowan. Head is full with conversations, listened to and partook in. The @belfastensemble set the tone and the bar. Conor Mitchell & his collaborators are world class artists deeply imbedded in the soil from which they came. This island has world class artists, companies and institutions that not only are deeply imbedded but also deeply probing & hungry to change the environment in which they work in the way they speak to each other & to the public, the audiences. In a democracy, theatre functions not only as an art form, but as a critical civic tool. Theatre plays foundational roles in sustaining / challenging democracy. Democracy relies on the fundamental belief that truth is not absolute or held by a single ruler; instead, truth emerges from a clash of differing perspectives. Theatre mirrors this democratic paradigm. But both the quantum & infrastructure of funding is holding this back. This is not an ‘arts’ problem this is a democratic issue, one that needs urgent resolution. In 1998 the Good Friday agreement came into existence, a process that had been so driven through culture, through art, finding a space for identity, collaboration, dreaming & ambition to be explored. The north of the Island is blooming with exceptional art & artists but it is happening in a desert of support while the rest of the island also blooms albeit with more support but an intrinsic need for a strategy for & the urgent resourcing of theatre and the performing arts. Both these contexts need to be addressed, for how can we share an island culturally when there is such extraordinary imbalance in the investment into theatre and the arts on either side of what we want to avoid becoming a ‘cross 😡’ border one where it is impossible to have parity of collaboration or a strategic pathway. (Continues in comments)
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We’ve been hosting a series of focus groups as part of our Creating Safer Spaces programme, facilitated by Olwen Dawe. This session was with the QUB Players, led by their President, Bridget Salaja — who is also completing her internship with us as part of her QUB MA Arts Management course. It was a valuable and thoughtful conversation, with generous contributions from everyone involved. Thank you to Bridget and the QUB Players for engaging so openly as we continue shaping this important work together.
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FREE WORKSHOP: Co-Designing Change. If the theatre industry in Northern Ireland worked for women and non-binary people, what would look different? This workshop is for those who want to move beyond discussion and into action. Through practical exercises and facilitated table discussions, participants will identify shared barriers to success for women and non-binary people in the theatre industry, co-design realistic interventions for change, and leave with concrete ideas for both personal and sector-wide action. Grounded in lived experience and focused on systems rather than individuals, this is a space to think strategically, creatively, and collectively about how we reshape theatre in Northern Ireland. Free but ticketed. About your workshop leader: Ciara McAllister (she / her) is a postdoctoral research fellow in Drama at the University of Galway. Her research centres on representations of the working class in Irish theatre and fiction, and her first book on this topic is currently under contract with Routledge. She holds a PhD from Queen’s University Belfast, where she has also lectured in Drama and English, including modules on post-conflict theatre in NI and Northern Irish literature and culture. Ciara is prizes officer for the Irish Society of Theatre Research.
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Thanks to @derryjournal_ for publishing this article on the festival! Have you got your tickets booked yet? We can’t wait to welcome you to the @playhousederry Follow the link in our bio to book - but be quick to avoid missing out!
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As part of Front & Centre’s IWD Playwriting Festival @playhousederry will host a series of FREE talks, panels, key notes and provocations aimed to incite discussion, seek solutions and bring the community together. The event kicks off with: Welcome Address & Mapping the landscape With an opening address from Olwen Dawe of Front & Centre and SAFE TO CREATE / CREATING SAFER SPACES. Goal setting, establishing the culture & reflections on progress: Followed by Karis Kelly of Front & Centre in conversation with Gemma Walker Farren and Soso Ní Cheallaigh: Where are we now? What are the distinct challenges facing women and non-binary makers within the theatre sector and, more specifically, within the theatre sector in Derry? How can we create a thriving new-writing theatre ecology for the women and non-binary writers of Derry? How do we better collaborate and navigate the terrain between Belfast and Derry?
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SPOTLIGHT ON DAY ONE: Rebellious women. We couldn’t come to Derry without paying homage to rebellious & revolutionary women. We’ll look to the past whilst discussing how we can currently collaborate better, all the while empowering you with the tools to advocate. Friday’s plays pertinently consider - how much does it take for normal people to take action? Ticket link in bio! You can book individually or get a GOLDEN TICKET, which is a third cheaper and gives entry to all events. But be quick - there’s a limited number!
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Front & Centre is back with our yearly festival of writing by women and non-binary playwrights from the North of Ireland! This time, we’re taking Derry! We’re really grateful for the generous support of @playhousederry in staging this festival. Over International Women’s Day weekend (6 - 8 March) we’ll be bringing you free panels, keynotes, workshops and discussions, performances, readings and scratches! The festival culminates in the launch of our first ever production (yes, we’re a production company now!) : HELLO CHARLIE, by Caoimhe Farren, which we’re co-producing in Autumn 2026 with SkelpieLimmer, An Grianán Theatre and Pavilion Theatre, in association with Fishamble. This will be followed by a post show chat with the brilliant Lisa McGee! Tickets are now on sale via the Playhouse’s website. Like last year, they’ll be a golden ticket. Just £40 gives you access to all events, saving you a third - but hurry, tickets are limited! Link to book in bio!
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BTS 2025 BEST YEAR YET ❤️ Love to everyone who made it so special 1. January on Crawfordsburn Beach 2. Cyndi!!! At Belfast Arena 3. Homeowner in Brighton 4. Siblings and the LOML 5. Springtime in Brighton 6. @frontandcentreni 7. Double rainbow by mum’s house in the Dee 8. Model box for Consumed 9. Banana and Lauren at the beach 10. Two strangers dancing 11. Both tired out 12. Brighton girls beach day 13. Drag in the park 14. Mummerations over the Lagan 15. Carrie and Marina Abramovich 16. Dunboyne Diana 17. Little bruv 18. On the steps at Edinburgh post press! 19. Post show chat 20. Our album cover
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Really beautiful @poetryireland & @libraries.dlr event last night in @dlr.lexicon remembering and in honour of the life and work of the much missed Gerald Dawe. Wonderful readings and music. And great to see the man himself on the big screen. @thegallerypress - @dearbhailish was a super chair.
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Flashback to Front & Centre’s Symposium at @qubelfast in May. A stunning weekend, showcasing Northern Ireland’s brightest and best. We debated, we discussed, we provoked and we performed. The F&C team has had a busy summer - between touring award winning shows, birthing actual human babes and doing our day jobs! But rest assured, we’ve been busy behind the scenes planning ours next steps… Brilliant updates to announce soon… so watch this space! 👀
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We are so excited to announce the full programme of talks, panels and brilliant theatre as part of Front and Centre. Three days that will provoke and inspire… If you haven’t booked yet, you know what to do! 🎟️
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Exciting news update! 📢 Check out the line-up of brilliant speakers, panelists and AMAZING WORK! Scan the QR for more info ℹ️
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