Another first for the Alley!

For a venue which is not based in a city, the Alley Theatre certainly punches above its weight in terms of quality, style and marketing. This week the Alley once again scooped other Northern Ireland venues with the recording of a podcast in Irish, another first! The podcast was recorded in the Falls Road in a wonderful cultural centre, which is home to Aisling Ghear Theatre group. This groundbreaking theatre group will be performing at the Alley on November 18th as part of our celebration of the life and work of Flann O'Brien, one of Ireland's leading literary figuires and a famous son of Strabane .

The play, "The Poor Mouth" will be perfromed in Irish, and relates to the story of one, Bonaparte O'Coonassa - ‘son of Michealangelo, son of Patrick, son of Owen, son of Sarah, son of Thomas, son of Maire, born in a cabin in a fictitious village called Corkadoragha in Western Ireland. From the front door of this ‘small lime-white house situated in the corner of the Glen’ you could (allegedly) see - Gweedore, Connemara, Galway, the island of Aran and The Great Blaskets!!! Famed as much for its beauty as the abject poverty of its residents, the daily fare consists of potatoes which they shared with a horse called Charlie, a bunch of sheep ‘a slim thighed cow’, a clutch of chickens and Ambrose the pig!! Ambrose has now been immortalized for future generations by the Alley Theatre sculpture, “Where Dreams Go”, the 8 ft bronze pig outside the Alley, which is known lovingly as Ambrose by locals.

“The play will be performed in Irish, offering a wonderful opportunity for fluent Irish speakers and those learning the language to immerse themselves in the wit and humour of Strabane’s most favourite literary son” commented Nathan Flatman from the Alley. “For non-Irish speakers like myself, the Alley will be providing Irish translation headsets, allowing the patron to follow the play in English, breaking down language barriers for those interested in seeing a fantastic Flann O’Brien play performed live on stage.”

“To highlight the forthcoming play, Flann’s background and the superb cast, including actors from television’s “The Tudors” and hit Irish film’s, the Alley has produced a free podcast at http://alleytheatre.podbean.com/ in both English and Irish for patrons looking to get the inside scoop.”

The Alley podcast site is now working really well and is not only providing a service to our local patrons, but also web broswers around the world interested in Flann himself. Why not check it out for your self at http://alleytheatre.podbean.com/

The Alley shouts from the roof tops about new Winter Events Guide, assisted by the Quiet Men of Strabane!

The Alley launched the new events guide this week, wonderfully assisted by In Your Space and their cracking John Wayne inspired characters "The Quiet Men".

This season the Alley will be hosting the Flann O'Brien's play "The Poor Mouth" which has several links not only to Strabane, the also the Alley and the site upon which we are based. Flann O'Brien is now seen as one of the leading authors in Irish literary history, compared to the likes of Joyce, Yeats and O'Casey. In "The Poor Mouth" O'Brien tells the tale of the farmer and his pig, Ambrose, who eats the farmer out of house and home, literally. The Alley Theatre in 2008 erected a statue called "Where Dreams Go", a 8ft bronze pig, which is now more affectionly known as Ambrose. Not only does the statue celebrate Strabane's literary history, but also highlights the history of the Alley site itself, which use to be a old pig and cattle market, one of the largest in the North West.

We therefore brought the "Quiet Men" from In You Space to the Alley to recreate the scene of Ambrose the Alley Pig being taken to market. The photography was by local artist Raymond McCarron, who did a fantastic job in finding new shots and angles within a building which has hosted numerous shoots over the last 3 years.

This season the Alley will be hosting The Ulster Orchestra, The Hothouse Flowers, PJ Gallagher, Cinderella, European Ballet and The Johnny Crampsie Traditional & Bluegrass Festival. To see a copy of the new guide click here.