The BBC Partners With Theatres in Northern Ireland to Help the Industry

The Irish Times has reported on the ways that the BBC has helped theatres in Northern Island make it through the difficult times brought on by the health crisis, specifically Culture in Quarantine. The project linked up BBC Northern Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to commission six new, five-minute theatre pieces delivered by some of the region's leading creatives.

Check out the full story HERE.

Stephen James Yeoman, commissioning executive at BBC Arts shared:

"Theatres are facing what must be the biggest challenge in their history. There are gargantuan difficulties in staging a production with social distancing. Imagine watching Romeo having to stay a sensible two metres from Juliet.

"[But] while the theatre curtains remain down, the talent is no less creative. One of the things that has, figuratively, brought us together while being apart is world-class theatre brought into our living rooms."

Paul McClean, executive editor at BBC Northern Ireland shared:

"This whole project has been conducted in an extraordinary spirit of 'let's blitz it'," he says. "From the start, we took the decision to throw out all corporate restraints and logistical obstacles - apart from health and safety measures - and go for broke. Shooting took place in the actors' homes and gardens, in their natural environments. The results portray a whole variety of human experience - humour, sadness, loneliness, conflict, joy.

"At BBC Northern Ireland we have been looking at various ways of developing partnerships with live theatre for a long time so there was something serendipitous that these unprecedented times have given us the opportunity and impetus to do just that. There'll be much more to come."

Read the full story HERE.

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