With both Féile an Phobail and EastSide Arts Festival coming up this month, we thought we’d do a round up of theatre featuring in Belfast throughout the two festivals.
We’re delighted to see many of our member’s shows appearing on the calendar; it’s a great chance to get out and see some incredible work by our talented NI artists.
DEAF AS A POST
CULTÚRLANN MCADAM Ó FIAICH, FALLS ROAD – Fri 2nd – Sun 4th August 7.30pm, £7
Rehearsed reading with audio soundscape. Join Dandelion Productions for a live reading of ‘Deaf as a Post’, written by award-winning actor Shaun Blaney and directed by Emma Copland. With a custom soundscape by Garth McConaghie and creative captions, DAAP is an action comedy about hearing loss which premiered in 2024 at the Baron’s Court Theatre, London.
Enquires: dandelionproductionsuk@gmail.com or @dandelionproductions (insta)
THREE PAY DAYS
THE FELONS, FALLS ROAD – Fri 2nd August 7.30pm £10-12
THE SANCTUARY THEATRE – Weds 31st July, £10
From the producer of NOT ON OUR WATCH, and the writer of The Half Moon, Three Pay Days is new theatre production and a searing portrayal of the human cost of austerity within a rigged social security system.
Enquires: lizzie@kabosh.net or www.kabosh.net
WHISK(E)Y WARS
ANDERSONSTOWN SOCIAL CLUB PD, BELFAST – Thurs 1st August 7.30pm, £15
‘Tam Tully fights tragedy and treachery to save her family distillery from ruin by crafting that Holy Grail of whiskey, the perfect single malt.’ Love dry wit? Raw emotion? Whiskey? Book now. Written & performed by Joyce Greenaway. ‘Hypnotic enough to stop time itself’, 5 star EdFringeReview. Content warnings: Some swearing, reference to violence and some distressing themes.
‘ANTHEM FOR DISSATISFACTION’
RODDY MCCORLEY HERITAGE CENTRE, GLEN ROAD – 1st-11th August 8pm, £12
‘Irish Twins’ Jamie and Sarah are about to hit 30… but before they do, they’re reliving their greatest hits; ‘Credit crunch’, ‘Austerity’ and ‘Free School Meals…’ Benefits Britain never sounded so good!
Join us for this euphoric working-class celebration of the power of live music, teenage angst and sibling rivalry in this electric and hilarious coming-of-age anthem for the ages!
Enquires: Lyndsay@brassnecktheatrecompany.com
GUY MITCHELL’S DOG’S DEAD, PASS IT ON
THE SANCTUARY THEATRE, EAST BELFAST, 2nd & 3rd August 7.30pm, £14-16
A joyous slice of Protestant working class Belfast life during the good old, bad old days. 10- year-old Sammy Robinson guides us through the hilarious minefield of puberty, paramilitaries, strange characters and head lice that is the 1970’s Ballybeen estate. About growing up, never having enough, and laughing all the way.
Enquires: 07565855878 or kmca.work@gmail.com
LOVE ON THE RADIO
THE SANCTUARY THEATRE, EAST BELFAST, Thurs 1st August 7.30pm, £12
Prolific East Belfast playwright Stewart Love died in 2021. He wrote 20+ plays for TV, radio and stage. This event celebrates his radio plays as part of a year-long retrospective of his work. The event includes a recreation of one of his radio plays by a Bright Umbrella cast.
Enquires: articticdirector@brightumbrella.co.uk
THE WORST CAFÉ IN THE WORLD
49-51 ROYAL AVENUE, BELFAST, 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th August 3-5pm, £5
Book a table at Big Telly’s Worst Café in The World —not a meal in sight, but a menu of theatrical bites to amuse your bouche – music, mystery, magic, masks and mayhem.
From Shakespeare to sci-fi the stories come well-done and rare, but the waiters have a lot on their plate and may meltdown any minute. This may be the Worst Cafe for food but it’s the best for craic, specially created for people who like their theatre fresh.
Enquiries: crissy@big-telly.com
UPPA DUFF…
CULTÚRLANN MCADAM Ó FIAICH, FALLS ROAD, 6th-8th August 6.30pm, £10
‘Uppa Duff’ is a new female led play, which centres around three sixth year girls in a school in West Belfast. And Kyla thinks that she might just be…uppa duff! Filled with Irish humour, you won’t want to miss it!
Enquires: aoifekane2005@gmail.com
KABOSH PRESENTS ‘GREEN & BLUE’ BY LAURENCE MCKEOWN
BLACK MOUNTAIN SHARED SPACE, SPRINGFIELD ROAD – Tues 6th August 7.30pm, £5
An officer from the Royal Ulster Constabulary in his green uniform and Eddie from An Garda Síochána, resplendent in blue, communicate via crackly radios until an explosive incident forces them to meet across a field only farmers know the location of.
What is it like to be hunted when you’re protecting a man-made line on the ground?
The performance will be followed by a discussion.
Enquires: lizzie@kabosh.net
KABOSH PRESENTS ‘THOSE YOU PASS ON THE STREET’ BY LAURENCE MCKEOWN
BLACK MOUNTAIN SHARED SPACE, SPRINGFIELD ROAD, Weds 7th August 7.30pm, £5
Those You Pass on the Street explores the complexities of dealing with the legacy of conflict, especially when that conflict is localised and personal. It contrasts party political positioning with individual needs. It challenges the view that any mechanism for dealing with the past is simply about ‘whose side gets what’.
The performance will be followed by a discussion.
Enquires: lizzie@kabosh.net
KABOSH PRESENTS ‘FEVER’ BY NICOLA MCCARTNEY AND ‘THIRD PERSON IN OUR MARRIAGE’ BY LAURENCE MCKEOWN
BLACK MOUNTAIN SHARED SPACE, SPRINGFIELD ROAD – Thurs 8th August 7.30pm, £5
Two explosive short dramas. Fever examines the devastating impact of anti-social behaviour, challenging perceptions of class and the role of community justice.
In Third Person, a husband and wife are having a seemingly domestic conversation but there is a third person in the room – it asks if there is a timeline to victimhood.
The performance will be followed by a discussion.
Enquires: lizzie@kabosh.net
UNRECONCILED
CULTÚRLANN MCADAM Ó FIAICH, FALLS ROAD, 9th, 10th August 7pm & 11th August 2pm, £10-15
This solo play tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who dreams of becoming an actor, and a predatory priest who uses the theatre to abuse his victims.
Enquires: sinead@culturlann.ie or unreconciled@gmail.com
THE PICTURE HOUSE
CONNSWATER SHOPPING CENTRE – SAT 3rd August, 12 noon, 2.30pm & 5pm. £6
In this enchanting new show, an old cinema finds its voice, regaling audiences with tales of yesteryear. This light hearted and energetic piece will have you reminiscing about cinema-going and singing along to ‘golden oldies’.
Join us for a nostalgic journey through the magic of cinema’s past. Let “The Picture House” transport you to a time when every frame held a story, and every seat held a dream.
Written, Directed and starring Christina Nelson