Those you Pass on the Street

Overview

Those you pass on the Street explores the complexities of dealing with the legacy of a conflict that was very personalised and local. It contrasts party political positioning on any agreed way to deal with the legacy of that conflict with the individual needs and human interaction that has already begun at a personal level. Most importantly it challenges the view that any mechanism for dealing with the past is simply about ‘whose side gets what’ and shows that there is a need not just for inter-community but also intra-community engagement and reconciliation.

Those you pass on the street toured to almost 50 venues across Ireland and in July 2016 was selected as part of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown – the largest and oldest arts festival in South Africa. In 2016 South Africa celebrated a number of anniversaries: the 20th anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising; and the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Freedom Charter. As part of the theatre section of the festival programme there was a focus on the theme of ‘dealing with the past’ and looking at how various countries had approached this. The festival also wanted to explore the role that the arts had played in that process. Those You Pass on the Street was the only play chosen from Ireland. The play then went on Rwanda to be performed as part of the Ubumuntu Arts Festival at the site of the monument to the victims of genocide in their country. In June 2017 it was performed as part of the Dresden Arts Festival, Germany.

Lead creatives

Laurence McKeown – playwright
Paula McFetridge – Artistic Director

Particpating or target groups

Cross Community,Protestant,Unionist and Loyalist,Catholic,Nationalist and Republican,Victims and Survivors,Ex-Combatants,Police,Wider Society,Prisoners & Ex-Prisoners

Funders

Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI)

Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)

Key aims and rationale behind the project

To show that dealing with the past has personal, family, community, and political repercussions but that if people can inititate contact and dialogue then there can be hope for finding some way of dealing with the legacy of the conflict.

Key peace-related issues

Conflicted Histories,Violence and Trauma

Linked or legacy projects

A Cold House – play written by Laurence McKeown and Brian Campbell, directed by Pam Brighton, and produced by Dubbeljoint Theatre
The Official Version – play written by Laurence McKeown, directed by Pam Brighton, and produced by Dubbeljoint Theatre
Two Roads West (Belfast) – play written by Laurence McKeown, directed by Paula McFetridge, and produced by Kabosh Theatre
Two Roads West (Derry) – play written by Laurence McKeown, directed by Paula McFetridge, and produced by Kabosh Theatre
Green and Blue – play written by Laurence McKeown, directed by Paula McFetridge, and produced by Kabosh Theatre
Life as an Interface – documentary film written and directed by Laurence McKeown
The Aftermath Project – using film, photography, creative writing, and music to engage participants. Created and delivered by Laurence McKeown
From Oriel to Brexit – using creative writing, music, and theatre to engage participants. Created and delivered by Laurence McKeown
In The Shadow of Gullion – multi-media performance written and directed by Laurence McKeown
You Were Never Big On Luxuries – documentary film looking at the use of the arts to deal with the legacy of conflict