On Sunday 30th January 1972, 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead and another 13 wounded when British soldiers opened fire during an anti-internment civil rights march in Derry. The initial 1972 inquiry by Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery suggested that the soldiers had been fired on first. However, after a sustained campaign by the families of the victims and in the light of new material collected by the Irish Government, a new Inquiry was set up as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
In partnership with the Dublin Theatre Festival, the British Council is co-presenting Richard Norton-Taylor’s brilliant editing of the evidence of over 1000 witnesses from the Saville Enquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday : Scenes from the Saville Inquiry is the latest in the series of Tricycle Tribunal Plays and will run for 7 performances only at the Abbey Theatre as part of this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival.
In 1994, the Tricycle Theatre produced Half the Picture – the Scott Arms to Iraq Inquiry, which was the first play ever staged in the Houses of Parliament. This was the first of a series of plays that subsequently became known as the Tricycle Tribunal Plays. Since then, they have produced a number of plays based on a variety of inquiries including Nuremberg, based on the 1946 War Crimes Tribunal, The Colour of Justice, based on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Justifying War – Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry and most recently, Guantanamo ‘Honour Bound to Defend Freedom’.
The achievement in taking this story into the wider public domain where it belongs offers a rare opportunity for audiences to step inside the tribunal and hear for themselves the remarkable testimonies of some of those directly affected by this important event in Irish history.
Directed by Nicholas Kent and Charlotte Westenra, Bloody Sunday : Scenes from the Saville Inquiry is an immensely moving and genuinely thought provoking production.
Abbey Theatre, Nightly 7.30pm
Tuesday 11th to Saturday 15th October 2005
Matinees 2.30pm Wednesday 12th and Saturday 15th October 2005
Booking 01 878 7222
11am – 1pm Saturday 15th October 2005
Abbey Theatre
Booking 01 878 7222
‘Fascinating and even thrilling. Theatre such as this is beyond price’ - Financial Times
‘As rich as anything dreamed up by dramatists’ - The Observer
A panel of leading thinkers and commentators including Richard Norton-Taylor (Security Correspondent, The Guardian), Eamon McCann and Ronan Bennett, reflect on and discuss the Tricycle production of Bloody Sunday and the power of political theatre as a platform for social and cultural change. Presented by Dublin Theatre Festival and the British Council in association with Theatre Forum.
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