New BBC radio show 'The Roar of the Greasepaint' puts spotlight on NI am-dram

In ‘The Roar Of The Greasepaint’ beginning on January 22 on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster at 6.30pm, Lata Sharma celebrates Northern Ireland’s great tradition of amateur dramatics.
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Amateur means ‘to perform simply for the love of it’. That includes theatre groups, dance groups, amateur dramatic societies, ethnic groups celebrating their culture, musical theatre schools and educational groups.

Words and music will reveal the extraordinary popularity of musical theatre societies, their background, the passion of the members, the shows and the many thousands of fans and families.

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Members of a range of societies all over Northern Ireland will share memories of triumphs, failures, anecdotes and special performances.

Lata SharmaLata Sharma
Lata Sharma

Apart from the on-stage performers, Lata will also meet the ordinary society members and the parents on ‘chauffeur duty’ who take more than 1,000 children all over Northern Ireland to attend numerous theatre schools. She’ll also meet some of the countless thousands of people involved in every aspect of the productions.

There’s an overview of what the public see, but each programme will also have contributions from people behind the scenes - the directors and producers, choreographers, sound engineers, lighting designers, musical directors, costume, PR, the admin, and membership teams.

Lata, who took part in amateur dramatics, meets accountants, plumbers, civil servants, electricians, teachers, doctors, nurses, shop assistants, mothers, fathers, children, people from every walk of life, every age group, all over Northern Ireland who love to be part of the world of theatre.

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Following Covid, the message is clear that ‘performance’ is back as Lata discovers there’s an enthusiasm that hasn’t waned in the slightest over the past two years.

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