A Northern Irish man behind new theatre company Dark Forest Theatre is hoping to create more diversity in the industry with a new hard-hitting play for LGBTQIA+ Awareness Week.
"Whilst living in China I joined a very amateur dramatic society in my second year, Powwow theatre. We wrote our own plays, directed them, acted in them, made the costumes, the set, the lighting was just lights on, lights off, no sound system. "I wanted to create a theatre company that was open to all levels and all experiences, it didn’t matter if someone hadn’t been to drama school or didn’t have an agent or didn’t have a large list of credits - it's about giving actors a chance to show what they can do and not what a resume tells me they can do.
A Filthy Dirty Rumour tells the story of a young married couple in 1950s Belfast, who have a new female lodger in their home. "1 out of 8 LGBTQIA+ individuals attempt suicide and 1 out of 2 transgendered individuals contemplate suicide. That’s a huge statistic and it is something that seems to get brushed over or made to be irrelevant when the media discuss LGBTQIA+ topics.
‘A Filthy Dirty Rumour’ will be performed from May 17-20 during LGBTQIA+ Awareness Week at The Sanctuary Theatre in Belfast and has been presented in partnership with The Rainbow Project.