As rehearsals are set to get underway for Stewart Parker's masterpiece Pentecost at the Lyric Theatre, two of the cast are taking part in an evening of war poetry to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.
Actors Roisin Gallagher from Belfast and Paul Mallon, originally from Strabane, will open the poetry reading event on Friday, 22 August from 6pm at the Belfast city centre branch of Waterstones. This will be followed by an open mic session where members of the public are invited to read their own works on the subject of conflict. A poetry wall has been installed in the shop and original work is invited to be put on display.
The Belfast playwright Stewart Parker was also known as a poet having studied an MA in Poetic Drama at Queen’s University. His last play Pentecost makes reference to a WW1 veteran but is mainly about a group of people in Belfast grappling with their lives during the strife of the Ulster Workers’ Council Strike of 1974.
Actress Roisin Gallagher (Demented; Weddins, Weeins & Wakes) plays the part of Ruth who is fleeing from an abusive husband; while Paul Mallon (Macbeth; Shameless) plays Lenny her friend’s estranged husband and musician.
Pentecost is directed by Jimmy Fay, the Lyric’s newly appointed Executive Producer. The full cast are: Roisin Gallagher as Ruth, Will Irvine as Peter, Paul Mallon as Lenny, Carol Moore as Lily and Judith Roddy as Marian.
Pentecost runs on the Danske Bank Stage at the Lyric Theatre from 20 September to 18 October. (Previews on Sat 20th Sept, Sun 21st Sept, Tues 23rd Sept & Wed 24 Sept). Tickets range from £10 - £24.50.