Play about the Shipyard comes to the Portrush stage

The well known actor has fulfilled a lifelong ambition and written his first stage play, The Boat Factory (All The Queen’s Men), celebrating the people, history and achievements of the Belfast shipyard where his father worked as a joiner.

Dan has spent years researching the subject matter, talking to many shipyard workers and their families: “I’ve lived in the shadow of those big yellow cranes all my life and I wanted to tell their story because they are so much a part of me and our collective heritage. Harland & Wolff built Titanic, the greatest ship in history, but there is a great deal more to the achievements of the thousands of Yardmen. They built over 1700 ships with pride and skill unmatched anywhere else in the world, and we need to celebrate that.”

The play will be peformed on Friday, March 11, at the Playhouse, in partnership with Millstrand Primary School.

Principal Phillip Reid, told The Times:” This is a unique and exciting event for the Triangle.

“It is to the best of our knowledge the first piece of professional theatre to be performed in this venue in living memory. As a school in the heart of the local community we are striving to bring events such as this back into the community and revive Portrush as a centre for the arts and drama.

“As a school we are trying our best to support and promote this event. We have been supported by the Playhouse who are providing the venue free of charge. I would ask for your support by helping us promote the event through the local press as the success of this first performance of live professional theatre may determine whether we can attract similar performances in the future.

Tickets for the show, priced at £7 are available from the Playhouse or from Mill Strand.