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Upstate take to the streets and they want you to be involved

Upstate Theatre Project launch the third part of The Shared
Heritage Programme on Wednesday night 30th November in the Barbican Centre at 7.30pm. With a working title of ‘Ship Street Revisited’ the project will be part of the Drogheda Arts Festival 2012.

The aim of the evening is to inform all those who would like to be involved about the project.  As well as looking for the performers, the project will need a number of volunteers to act as assistants to both set and costume design, stage managers and stage hands.

The show will be one of the biggest undertakings in the company’s history and its ambitious nature has already attracted attention and support. Upstate’s Director, Declan Mallon, said ‘The idea for this project has been well received by a lot of people. I think we cherish local history in this town more so than others and peoples’ history is still held in high regard.’ Upstate aim to transform Ship St. back to the 1940’s and need your help and ideas to do so.

Ship St. was the residential heart of south side industrial area of Drogheda port and housed a tight knit community. While the project will include the wonderful oral testimonies that reflect the street it will also seek to include a greater spectrum of  stories from Drogheda Local Voices’ archive.

Upstate Theatre Project have been working with Drogheda Local Voices’ archivist Liz King over the last eighteen months researching the oral history testimonies collected over the years. The first project from this research, ‘Come Forward to Meet You’, was realized in May 2011 in Oldbridge House to critical acclaim.

Ship St. Revisited will be directed by Paul Hayes and scripted by Aidan Harney.

If you can’t make it on the night but would still like to learn more contact us by email, dmallon@upstate.ie or phoning 041 9844227.