Summer Events Programme - Bitly

Summer Events Programme May - August 2018

seamusheaneyhome.com

Chair’s Foreword When I looked at the new season’s programme for HomePlace, I was struck by the strength of its beginning – could you say otherwise when the opening event is a performance by the internationally renowned pianist, Barry Douglas? – and then equally struck by the artistic momentum which is maintained right across the spring and summer months. The Ulster Orchestra makes a very welcome return to The Helicon and the musical line-up includes the legendary Kieran Goss and the father and daughter duo Eliza and Martin Carthy whose voices will finally be heard after they were ‘snowed off’ earlier in the season. New writing is prominent, from the showcase of work which has emerged as a result of the creative writing course delivered at HomePlace by Maria McManus to Ground Work, a new anthology of commissioned work from some of our finest writers, including Tim Dee, John Burnside and Tessa Hadley. And I cannot talk about new work without mentioning Essex Clay, the latest collection from the esteemed poet, Andrew Motion. It is a huge privilege and pleasure to have the distinguished former poet laureate with us for the first time. 2


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

The three new fellows from the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s will also make their debut at HomePlace Peter Wilson, Jo Baker and Doireann Ní Ghríofa - and Bruce Clark, a journalist who also has his roots in common with Seamus Heaney as well as his fascination with Greece, will explore The Hellenic Connection. Our programme always reflects a national and international dimension and this one is no different, with a group of Santa Barbara’s Poets Laureate visiting, while the amazing Indian performance poet, Tishani Doshi, will also be with us. And in the final month of this season’s programme, we’re all ‘About The Place’ and a series of events inspired by the work of Seamus Heaney and WB Yeats, combining music, conversation, books and theatre. I told you there was momentum until the end! Whatever you choose to experience at HomePlace in the months to come, enjoy! Councillor Kim Ashton Chair Mid Ulster District Council

3

Step into HomePlace Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of Seamus Heaney’s poetry, and explore through his words and imagination the people and place that so inspired him. Described by Michael Longley as ‘an echo chamber for the poet’s beautiful lines’, Seamus Heaney HomePlace features an interactive exhibition over two floors, filled with personal stories, images and the voice of the poet himself. An interpretation of his Dublin study will transport you back to 1995, when Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Previously unseen artefacts, transcripts and books kindly donated by the Heaney family are also on display, ensuring a truly unique and illuminating experience for all.

Derry Donegal

Bellaghy Belfast

Galway Dublin Limerick

You can also explore our gift shop, featuring bespoke ranges by local craftmakers influenced by the surrounding landscape and, of course, the work of Seamus Heaney. For more information and to book tickets contact the Box Office on 028 7938 7444 or visit www.SeamusHeaneyHome.com Ticket Prices: Adult £7, child £4.50, concession £4.50, family £19

Only 45mins from Belfast and Derry, 2hr 30mins from Dublin 54.8077° N, 6.5213° W Free car and coach parking. Café serving delicious, locally sourced food. Gift shop.

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

5

The Homeplace Café During your visit to Seamus Heaney HomePlace, why not drop into the HomePlace Café? Open seven days a week, the HomePlace Café serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon treats, using locally sourced ingredients, making it the perfect spot to begin or end your visit. Serving everything from homemade quiche to Irish stew, the café also stocks speciality teas and coffees to have in or take away. The HomePlace Café can also cater for larger bookings and for groups of 15 people or more you can pre-book any refreshments to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. The HomePlace Café is open for 30 minutes before and after our events in The Helicon, so why not enjoy a coffee or a glass of wine in relaxed surroundings before taking your seat.

Foreword from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland It’s a pleasure to welcome another outstanding programme of events at HomePlace. The quality of the HomePlace experience and the excellence of the programming have established this venue in a remarkably short time as an integral part of the network of venues and organisations which are collectively delivering the widest possible opportunities for people and communities to enjoy the arts. Taking inspiration from the life and work of Seamus Heaney, a sense of exploration and curiosity pervades the event programming, making connections across art forms, across cultures, across nationalities. This season, the customarily strong gathering of leading national and international poets, including Andrew Motion and Indian performance poet Tishani Doshi, sits invitingly alongside a world-class line up of artists representing other areas of the arts, such as musician Barry Douglas, crime writer Val McDermid and performer Mikel Murfi. HomePlace also plays an important role in supporting the emergence of local writing talent, and we will have a welcome opportunity to hear readings by the participants on the creative writing course and to witness a very special showcase event featuring words, poetry and music by the first fellows of Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s University, Peter Wilson, Jo Baker and Doireann Ní Ghríofa. The Arts Council is proud to contribute, through our National Lottery funds, to the continuing success of HomePlace. Congratulations to Mid-Ulster Council and the HomePlace for another great season of poetry and the arts to inspire everyone.

6


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

7

May

ULSTER ORCHESTRA: ON YOUR DOORSTEP

BARRY DOUGLAS

Members of the Ulster Orchestra make a welcome return to Bellaghy, as part of their On Your Doorstep series of concerts seeking to bring the Orchestra to audiences across Northern Ireland.

Saturday 5 May at 3pm I Tickets: £20 Barry Douglas has established a major international career since winning the Gold Medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow. As Artistic Director of Camerata Ireland and the Clandeboye Festival, he continues to celebrate his Irish heritage and the music from his home place whilst also maintaining a busy international touring schedule. We are delighted to welcome Barry to HomePlace as he performs a selection of pieces from Schubert, whose work featured in Seamus Heaney’s choices for Desert Island Discs.

‘an enthralling mix of chiselled brilliance and melting lyricism’

Saturday 12 May at 8pm I Tickets: £10/£8 concession Associate Leader Ioana Petcu-Colan will direct an ensemble of players in a performance of Schubert’s much-loved Octet in F major; an irresistibly kaleidoscopic journey showing the composer at his most exuberant! On Your Doorstep is an Ulster Orchestra initiative, founded in its 50th anniversary season, which sees the orchestra play in as diverse a range of venues as possible across Northern Ireland.

Belfast Telegraph 8


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

9

Credit Fraser Rice

June

VAL McDERMID IN CONVERSATION

FREE UNDER THE SKIN: SILENCE

With Declan Burke

Val McDermid has been keeping readers on the edge of their seat for the past 25 years, presiding as one of the UK’s top crime writers, elevating suspense to high art. Saturday 2 June at 2pm I Tickets: £8

A SHOWCASE EVENT

Saturday 19 May at 3pm I Tickets: Free, but pre-booking is advised For the last six months, writer Maria McManus has been leading a creative writing course at HomePlace for new and emerging local writers who wanted to develop their writing voice and produce new work. We are delighted to present this showcase event, where participants from the course will read from the work they have produced exploring the theme of ‘Silence’, in the inspiring atmosphere of The Helicon.

Her endless reinventions of the genre have drawn both shock and plaudits from critics across the world. Crime writer and former tabloid reporter Val has written 30 books, including recently one for children. But it is for the novels featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, adapted into ITV’s Wire in the Blood series, that she is best known. Often included under the umbrella of ‘tartan noir’, Val is deeply interested in the ways in which place affects the literature that comes from it. Val will be in conversation with writer Declan Burke to discuss murder, mystery and ‘Celtic Crime’!

10


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

11

‘This astute anthology is a reminder to communicate with nature in a way that forces us to inhabit the present’ The Guardian

ESSEX CLAY: ANDREW MOTION Andrew Motion was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009 and is co-founder of the online Poetry Archive; in 2015 he was appointed a Homewood Professor in the Arts at Johns Hopkins University. Monday 4 June at 7.30pm I Tickets: £12.50

GROUND WORK: WRITINGS ON PLACE With Tim Dee, John Burnside and Tessa Hadley

His prose memoir, In the Blood (2006), was widely acclaimed, praised as ‘an act of magical retrieval’ (Daily Telegraph) and ‘a hymn to familial love’ (Independent). Now, having left UK shores and the bounds of his laureateship, Motion looks back once more to create a stunning biographical sequel – but this time, in verse. His new collection Essex Clay rekindles, expands and gives a tragic resonance to subjects that have haunted Motion throughout his writing life. The wealth of physical detail and its narrative momentum make it as compelling as a fastpaced novel: a settling of accounts which admits that final resolutions are impossible. Andrew Motion has received numerous awards for his poetry, including most recently the Ted Hughes Award (2015), and has published four celebrated biographies, a novella, The Invention of Dr Cake (2003) and a memoir, In the Blood (2006). He was knighted for his services to poetry in 2009.

12


Saturday 16 June at 3pm I Tickets: £10 We are living in the ‘anthropocene’ – an epoch where everything is being determined by the activities of just one soft-skinned, warm-blooded, short-lived, pedestrian species. How best to make our way through the ruins that we have made? Ground Work – a new anthology of commissioned work tries to answer this as it explores new and enduring cultural landscapes, in a celebration of local distinctiveness that includes new writing from some of our finest authors This panel will feature Tim Dee, the writer, BBC radio producer, birdwatcher and editor of Ground Work. He will be joined by Scottish poet and novelist John Burnside – one of only two poets to have won both the TS Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book – and by writer Tessa Hadley, whose novel The London Train was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

13

SO SING ON with ELIZA AND MARTIN CARTHY HomePlace is delighted to welcome Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza, as they join forces to perform songs steeped in place and tradition.

THE WONDER TALES

Written by Jane Talbot, author of The Faerie Thorn and Other Stories. Songs co-written by Jane Talbot and Noel Harron. Friday 22 June at 7.30pm I Tickets: £6

Wednesday 20 June at 8pm I Tickets: £15 Martin is a legendary ballad singer and guitarist who has influenced a generations of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, while Eliza has been twice-nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and is a multiple-award winner at the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards. In May 2014 they released their first duo album, a CD of traditional material entitled The Elephant and together they are figureheads for the English folk tradition and the English folk revival. With their shared love of songs handed down through generations and their complementary musical styles, Martin and Eliza Carthy promise an unforgettable evening.

‘Seriously Impressive’

From Beowulf to the Aeneid, Seamus Heaney knew the power of good storytelling. The Wonder Tales is a timely reminder that storytelling is for adults too, and that we live in times in which we’ve never needed storytelling more. Join spectacular storytelling duo Jane Talbot and Noel Harron for a rambunctious evening of story and song! The stories in this show are original, dark faerie tales or quirky, radical re-tellings, and they’re all set on the north coast of Northern Ireland and Donegal. If you’re into Victorian steampunk, if the idea of ‘The Good Old Days meets The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ raises a wry smile, or if you’re a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, The Wonder Tales will be a perfect night’s entertainment! This show is suitable for those aged 12 years and upwards.

Telegraph

14


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

15

‘DIG WITH IT’: THE CHANGING NATURE OF WORK With David McWilliams, Carlo Pizzati and Sandra McNally Chaired by Dr Renee Prendergast Friday 29 June at 7.30pm I Tickets: £8

SO SING ON with KIERAN GOSS ‘one man, one guitar and a voice sent express mail from heaven’ Time Out Magazine Saturday 23 June at 8pm I Tickets: £17.50 Long hailed as one of Ireland’s leading songwriters and performers, Kieran Goss’s music has won him fans across the globe. But if his songs have made him a star, his live shows have made him a legend. Live on stage is where Kieran Goss really shines. Kieran will perform the first half of the show solo and will be joined on stage in the second half by harmony singer Annie Kinsella. As Time Out magazine wrote of their performance together: ‘Individually, they are both gifted singers but when they sing together, magic happens… the harmonies, the chemistry… just sublime’ Kieran and Annie are currently recording an album together which is scheduled for release in Ireland in February 2019. Their show in HomePlace will feature new songs from that album.

16


When Seamus Heaney wrote the immortal line ‘I’ll dig with it’, he was choosing the work of the pen over the work of the spade, at a time when the world of work was in flux. The world of work is once again in flux as pundits across the globe forecast the growing obsolescence of human workers. As computers take over the workplace and robots replace manual labour, can the indomitable entrepreneurial spirit evolve? And what new opportunities and new skills will foster the way forward in this new age of work? This fascinating panel features some of world’s leading voices in economics. David McWilliams is an economist, author, journalist, documentary-maker and broadcaster and is ranked 10th most influential economist in the world. Carlo Pizzati is a Swiss-born writer and journalist whose latest book, Edge of an Era, explores globalism and geopolitics. He has been a special correspondent for La Repubblica in the US, Mexico, Argentina, Spain and Italy.. Sandra McNally is a Professor of Economics at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for Vocational Education Research at the London School of Economics.

‘the aim of poetry and the poet is finally to be of service, to ply the effort of the individual into the larger work of the community as a whole’ Seamus Heaney

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

17

July

MEET THE FELLOWS

With Peter Wilson, Jo Baker and Doireann Ní Ghríofa This year, the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s University announced the appointment of Jo Baker, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, and Peter Wilson, who performs as Duke Special, as the first Seamus Heaney Centre Fellows. Friday 6 July at 7.30pm I Tickets: £15

GIRLS ARE COMING OUT OF THE WOODS: Tishani Doshi in Conversation

Tishani Doshi is a remarkable performance poet from India who is fast becoming one of the most acclaimed and talented new voices in literature. Saturday 30 June at 2pm I Tickets: £6

Place plays a large part in her new collection, which will be published in the UK in May. In Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods Doshi inhabits many different homes: her childhood, the body, cities and cultures. These are poems of celebration and homecoming, of decay and discovery, with the title poem giving voice to the unheard victims of domestic violence. Tishani Doshi is a poet, journalist and dancer based in Chennai. Her first poetry collection, Countries of the Body, won the 2006 Forward Poetry Prize for best first collection. Her first novel, The Pleasure Seekers, was published by Bloomsbury in 2010. It was long-listed for the Orange Prize and shortlisted for The Hindu Best Fiction Award. In this unique event, Tishani will perform several of her poems and talk about her work as a dancer and writer with Gail McConnell.

18


The fellowships will enable three writers annually to contribute to the activities of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry within the university and the wider literary community and HomePlace is delighted to host this special showcase event. Jo Baker - who is the author of six novels, including Longbourn and, most recently A Country Road, A Tree - said the fellowship represents a kind of homecoming, calling the Centre for Poetry ‘a wonderful place to start from’. Doireann Ní Ghríofa writes in Irish and English and won the 2016 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, and is delighted to be adding to the literary vibrancy of Northern Ireland. Songwriter and performer Duke Special’s latest release on CD and vinyl – Hallow – is based on the poetry of Michael Longley and his recent work has explored the places where art forms collide and the inspiration that can come from that point. Featuring words, poetry and music, this will be a wonderful introduction to the work of three fantastic artists supported by the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s.

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

19

SEAMUS HEANEY AND THE HELLENIC CONNECTION

WHAT BREATHES US: SANTA BARBARA’S POETS LAUREATE

With Bruce Clark

The landscape and heritage of Greece held a profound fascination for Seamus Heaney, and his Greek friends were an important influence on his thinking. Saturday 7 July at 3pm I Tickets: £5 Some of his best-known works are reinterpretations, with a modern twist, of ancient Greek drama. He was travelling in Greece with his Greek-American sculptor friend Dimitri Hadzi when his Nobel Prize was announced in October 1995.

Following on from last summer’s visit by a group of Canadian poets, this summer three of Santa Barbara’s Poets Laureate will be visiting HomePlace. Saturday 21 July at 3pm I Tickets: £5 Participating poets are David Starkey (2009-11), Paul J. Willis (2011-13), and Chryss Yost (2013-15). The poets will take part in readings throughout Ireland and we are delighted that they will be visiting HomePlace on their trip, which is supported by Gunpowder Press, who published What Breathes Us: Santa Barbara’s Poets Laureate, 2005-2015, including work by all of the traveling poets, in 2015.

As Hadzi later recounted, visits to ancient sites like the Parthenon and Mycenae were a stirring experience for the poet. In this lecture, Bruce Clark, a journalist who shares the poet’s South Derry roots and fascination with Greece, explores Seamus Heaney’s Hellenic connection.

20


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

21

August

THE ODYSSEY: ‘FIND THE BEGINNING’ EMILY WILSON IN CONVERSATION With Dr Martine Cuypers

Sunday 22 July at 3pm I Tickets: £10

‘a new cultural landmark ... The first version of Homer's ground-breaking work by a woman will change our understanding of it for ever’ The Guardian

The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality and the yearning for home. In her critically acclaimed version - the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman - Emily Wilson has allowed this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters and magic to come alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter and a vivid, contemporary idiom, this engrossing translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus striding at Homer’s sprightly pace and singing with a voice that echoes Homer’s music. Wilson’s Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this ancient poem as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative. In this fascinating discussion she will explain what drew her to the story and how her life experience brings a very different perspective to this well-known tale. This event is presented in conjunction with the West Cork Literary Festival 22


‘ABOUT THE PLACE’ –

A SERIES OF EVENTS INSPIRED BY THE WORK OF SEAMUS HEANEY & WB YEATS

Seamus Heaney HomePlace and Mid Ulster District Council are delighted to be working with Sligo County Council, Tread Softly Festival and the Yeats Summer School to present a fortnight of events celebrating the work of two of Ireland’s Nobel Prize winners – Seamus Heaney and WB Yeats. This cross-border working provides a great opportunity not only to connect our great literary works but also the people and places of Sligo and Mid Ulster. This project has been support by the EU’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) in partnership with Mid Ulster District Council and Sligo County Council.

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

23

WHAT TO BRING WHEN WE LEAVE With Tom French and Danny Diamond

A Solstice Arts Centre commission creatively produced by Belinda Quirke Thursday 2 August at 7.30pm I Tickets: £10

What To Bring When We Leave is a unique continuous live performance by Tom French (word) and Danny Diamond (fiddle). Each artist stretches the other’s narratives, finding solace in the unexpected places between the spoken and the unspoken. Tom French's poetry draws on the traditional arts, folklore and rural Irish life; he writes vividly about traditional music, the people who play(ed) it, and the context in which it lives. As a traditional fiddle player, music archivist and researcher, Danny Diamond’s compositions share with French’s work an unconventional sensitivity, and are informed by a similar sphere of experience. Featuring images, poetry and music, What To Bring When We Leave is an evocative portrait of traditional, rural life.

‘Maple against his collarbone transforms clavicle into a musical term’ Tom French 24


TIME:TELL EXCAVATIONS IN THE RECORDED SOUND OF SEAMUS HEANEY AND WB YEATS With Christine Finn Creative archaeologist and writer Christine Finn presents an audio work made while on a creative award at the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, where Seamus Heaney often read and worked. Friday 3 August at 7.30pm I Tickets: £5

Inspired by the analogue recording of Heaney's 1986 poem for Harvard, ‘Villanelle for an Anniversary’, Finn has created this aural excavation, Time:Tell. It continues her interest in the past as it surfaces in the work of Heaney and WB Yeats (her Oxford DPhil thesis was published as Past Poetic in 2004) and she will also discuss Yeats' 1930s recording of ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’. Christine Finn is a journalist and broadcaster and has made several BBC radio programmes on Yeats, Heaney, and archaeology. Her books include Artifacts: an archaeologist's year in Silicon Valley and she is the biographer of poet and archaeologist, Jacquetta Hawkes. As an artist, she has made site-specific work in the UK, US, Jersey and Italy.

Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

25

VIV ALBERTINE IN CONVERSATION With Stuart Bailie

With Eugene Kielt

Every memoir is a battle between reality and invention, but in her followup to 2014’s Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys, Viv Albertine has reinvented the genre with her unflinching honesty.

Saturday 4 August at 11am I

Saturday 4 August at 7.30pm I

Cost: £12

Tickets: £10

SEAMUS HEANEY LIFECYCLE TOUR

To Throw Away Unopened is a fearless dissection of one woman's obsession with the truth about family, power and her identity as a rebel and outsider. It is a brutal exposé of human dysfunctionality, the impossibility of true intimacy, and the damage wrought upon us by secrets and revelations, siblings and parents. Yet it is also a testament to how we can rebuild ourselves and come to face the world again. It is a portrait of the love stories that constitute a life, told with the inimitable blend of humour, vulnerability and intelligence that makes Viv Albertine one of our finest authors working today.

(tour lasts approximately two hours)

This guided coach tour of the landscape made famous by Seamus Heaney’s poetry is led by local man, accredited tour guide and Heaney specialist Eugene Kielt. This is a wonderful way to explore the ‘home ground’ in which Heaney was rooted and which so influenced his poetry.

26

Songwriter and musician Viv Albertine was the guitarist in cult post-punk band The Slits. She was a key player in British counterculture before her career in TV and film directing. Her first solo album The Vermilion Border was released in 2012, and her memoir, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys was a Sunday Times, Mojo, Rough Trade and NME Book of the Year in 2014, as well as being shortlisted for the National Book Awards.


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

27

‘Murfi’s performance is a miniature masterpiece’ The Times

THE ILIAD, IRISH WAKE GAMES AND HOW THE IRISH TEACH US TO LIVE, LOVE AND DIE With Kevin Toolis For decades Kevin Toolis hunted death in Ireland‘s Troubles and across the Middle East before finding the answer to his quest in the ancient funereal rites of the Irish wake at his father Sonny’s wake on Achill Island, Co Mayo, the island of his forefathers. Sunday 5 August at 7.30pm I Tickets: £8

THE MAN IN THE WOMAN’S SHOES Presented by Loco & Reckless Productions A one man show written and performed by Mikel Murfi Friday 10 August at 8pm I Tickets: £10

Toolis’ talk based on his critically acclaimed book My Father’s Wake, explores how Western society has lost its way with death and what lessons the wake can still give us in how to live, love and die. Kevin Toolis is a BAFTA-winning filmmaker and author. He is the writer of an acclaimed chronicle of the Troubles, Rebel Hearts, and has written and reported on conflicts for the New York Times and The Guardian. He is the founder of Many Rivers Films and made a number of Emmy-nominated documentaries in the Middle East. He won a Single Drama BAFTA in 2014 for Complicit. His family has lived in the same ocean side village on Achill Island off the coast of Mayo for the last 200 years.

A lifetime, then the deathtime: reticence Keeping us together when together, All declaration deemed outspokeness.

Pope John Paul I is not long dead, autumn is closing in and Pat Farnon has ‘some business’ to do in town. Set in Ireland in October 1978, The Man In The Woman’s Shoes follows Pat as he walks to into town and back again and meets all manner of eccentric characters along the way, recalls old customs such as notifying the bees of a death, and considers whether Pope John Paul I could become an organ donor. Funny, tender and at times downright daft, this beautifully observed piece has toured across the USA and Ireland, including a sell-out run at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and now finds a natural home on The Helicon stage.

Seamus Heaney, ‘The Lift’ 28

Just as Seamus Heaney’s work was firmly rooted in local small-town life, Mikel Murfi’s captivating play, The Man in the Woman’s Shoes, is a work of great charm and affection for rural Ireland and its people.


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

29

August

‘ABOUT THE PLACE’ POETRY BRUNCH With Alice Lyons, Iggy McGovern and Kerrie O’Brien For this unique poetic experience the audience will be transported to a secret location in the landscape surrounding HomePlace for a special afternoon of poetry readings and music. Saturday 11 August I Tickets: £10 Bus to the secret location will depart from HomePlace at 12 noon

Originally from New Jersey, but now living in Sligo, Alice Lyons has published three collections of poetry and works across artistic disciplines and with filmmakers, visual artists and other creative thinkers/makers. She has been awarded the Patrick Kavanagh Award and the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary. Iggy McGovern is a poet and a Fellow Emeritus in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin; he has published three collections of poetry with Dedalus Press, including his most recent collection The Eyes of Isaac Newton (2017). They will be joined by Kerrie O’Brien, one of the brightest new poetry voices in Ireland. Her debut collection of poetry, Illuminate, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2016 and made possible by a Literature Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland. Featuring harp music performed by Maria McGowan, this promises to be an unmissable afternoon.

SO SING ON with DECLAN O’ROURKE Saturday 11 August at 8pm I Tickets: £18

Declan O’Rourke is a highly successful Irish artist, whose five albums to date have earned many plaudits from audiences and critics alike. His soulful music, rooted in folk and traditional, has attracted the praise of countless industry giants, including John Prine and Paul Weller. O’Rourke’s song-writing style moves faultlessly between impressionism and story-telling, and he is at home in almost any form. A dynamic performer, he is as comfortable fronting a 50-piece orchestra as playing solo with a guitar. Rooted in a strong sense of place, his most recent album Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine takes musical storytelling to new heights and this promises to be a very special solo show in the intimate surroundings of The Helicon.

‘compassion, romance, a sense of mortality and a sense of history run through the songs of Declan O’Rourke. His calling is a balladeer, proffering re-assurance in the face of inevitable sorrow’ The New York Times

30


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

31

CINEMA DAY 2018 In conjunction with Film Hub NI Seamus Heaney HomePlace is delighted to be taking part in Film Hub NI’s annual celebration of film, Cinema Day, on Bank Holiday Monday 27th August. Cinema Day is a celebration of all things film as organisations across NI host fantastic film events, both acknowledging the rich film heritage we have and celebrating the strength and diversity of all those involved in making and showing films, from commercial venues to small film clubs and all everything in between! The full programme, with details of the screening at HomePlace will be announced in July 2018 so check back with us to join in the silverscreen fun! Film Hub NI is part of the BFI Film Hub Audience Network, which aims to put film at the centre of cultural life across the UK though investment, audience development, training and networking for film exhibitors.

THE HOMEPLACE BOOK CLUB With Carol O’Doherty and Patricia Broderick

A story is always better if you have someone to share it with. Time: 3pm - 4.30pm I Cost: £3

What better spot to meet and share stories than HomePlace? Join Carol and Patricia for this relaxed and friendly book club. Meeting monthly, the club chooses accessible and entertaining books relating to themes found in Seamus Heaney’s work. Come along for some entertaining conversation and the shared love of a good book! Dates and books for the Spring/ Summer season are: Sunday 6 May – Days Without End by Sebastian Barry Sunday 3 June – Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty Sunday 1 July – The Sinister Student by Kel Richards Sunday 5 August – Longbourn by Jo Baker 32


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

33

Workshops IQ (‘I Question’) for Creative Writers With Sean Hillen

REVIEW WRITING With Jane Coyle

GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE With Vanessa Drew

CAPTURING THE LANDSCAPE With George Gourley

Questions. Asking questions has been the basis of Sean Hillen’s entire professional life, as a foreign journalist for over 30 years in the US, Ireland and eastern Europe, covering pivotal events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wars in Iraq and former Yugoslavia. Using slide presentations and his novel Pretty Ugly, as an illustrative example, Sean demonstrates how the classic five W’s of journalism – ‘who, what, where, why, when’ – can be combined with a sixth W, the allimportant ‘what-if’ factor, to strengthen creative writing skills.

Whether you want to write for a publication, a website or a blog, this course will teach you the basic skills involved in effective review-writing. Focusing mainly on theatre reviewing, Jane will cover ideas that can be used when writing any type of review.

Everyone wants a neat and tidy garden where hedges are trimmed or removed and weeds don't get a look in. However, weeds, ivy and wild flowers support a lot of wildlife, so how can we strike a balance to keep everybody happy?

Jane Coyle is an established arts journalist, critic and playwright. She has worked in print, radio, television and film in Ireland, the UK and France. For many years she has been a regular contributor and critic for The Irish Times, The Stage, Irish Theatre Magazine, Culture Northern Ireland and BBC Northern Ireland. Her play Both Sides toured Northern Ireland in September 2017 and was performed at Seamus Heaney HomePlace.

If everyone allowed a small area to go wild, it would make all the difference to our natural world.

Join experienced watercolour tutor George Gourley in this hands-on one day watercolour course where you will explore the derelict home places of the area. Bring along your own photograph of a home place or use one of George’s examples to create a stunning piece of watercolour art using only two colours!

In this practical, hands-on workshop, Sean shows, through participatory exercises, the importance of questions in the development of strong story-lines and intriguing characters. Saturday 12 May Time: 10am – 1pm Cost: £20

34

If you have an interest in gardening and would like to know how to do your bit for local wildlife, then this is the workshop for you! Saturday 2 June Time: 10am – 4pm Cost: £20

This course is suitable for beginners or more experienced artists and is for participants aged 16 years and upwards. All materials will be provided. Saturday 30 June Time: 10am – 3pm Cost: £25

Saturday 19 May Time: 10am – 4pm Cost: £20


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

35

At a Glance MAY

SAY HELLO TO HAIKU! A Poetry Workshop for Families With Colin Dardis and Geraldine Dardis O’Kane Seamus Heaney and WB Yeats both had a fascination with the Japanese poetic form haiku. A typical haiku is a three-line poem, often featuring an observation about a fleeting moment involving nature. In this fun and accessible workshop, parents/ carers and their children can work together to create their own haiku exploring a variety of topics. Saturday 4 August Time: 11am – 3pm Cost: £5 (adult), £3 (child)

Saturday 5 May 3pm Barry Douglas £20

PLAYWRITING MASTERCLASS With Rosemary Jenkinson Do you want to write for the stage? This is the ultimate how to/how not to rule-ripping guide from one of the top playwrights around. Find out how to transform ideas into eye-catching plays; how to take conversations and adapt them into inspiring dialogue; how to navigate the world of contemporary theatre. Rosemary Jenkinson is a poet, shortstory writer and playwright. She has recently completed a year as Writerin-Residence at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and her acclaimed works include Here Comes the Night, Love or Money and May the Road Rise Up. She will offer unmissable practical tips along with opportunities for Q & A. Saturday 25 August Time: 11am – 1pm Cost: £15

36


Saturday 12 May 10am – 1pm IQ for Creative Writers with Sean Hillen £20 Saturday 12 May 8pm Ulster Orchestra: On Your Doorstep £10/ £8 Saturday 19 May 10am – 4pm Review Writing with Jane Coyle £20 Saturday 19 May 3pm Under the Skin: Silence Free: Tickets must be pre-booked

JUNE Saturday 2 June 10am – 4pm Gardening for Wildlife with Vanessa Drew £20 Saturday 2 June 2pm Val McDermid in Conversation £8

Monday 4 June 7.30pm Essex Clay: Andrew Motion £12.50 Saturday 16 June 3pm Ground Work: Writings on Place £10 Wednesday 20 June 8pm So Sing On with Eliza and Martin Carthy £15 Friday 22 June 7.30pm The Wonder Tales £6 Saturday 23 June 8pm So Sing On with Kieran Goss £17.50 Friday 29 June 7.30pm ‘Dig With It’: The Changing Nature of Work £8 Saturday 30 June 2pm Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods: Tishani Doshi £6 Saturday 30 June 10am – 3pm Capturing the Landscape with George Gourley £25

37

At a Glance JULY Friday 6 July 7.30pm Meet the Fellows £15 Saturday 7 July 3pm Seamus Heaney and the Hellenic Connection £5 Saturday 21 July 3pm What Breathes Us: Santa Barbara’s Poets Laureate £5 Sunday 22 July 3pm Emily Wilson in Conversation £10

Saturday 4 August 11am Seamus Heaney LifeCycle Tour with Eugene Kielt £12 Saturday 4 August 7.30pm Viv Albertine in Conversation £10 Sunday 5 August 7.30pm How the Irish Teach us to Live, Love & Die with Kevin Toolis £8 Friday 10 August 8pm The Man in the Woman’s Shoes £10

AUGUST

Saturday 11 August 12 noon ‘About the Place’ Poetry Brunch £10

Thursday 2 August 7.30pm What to Bring When We Leave £10

Saturday 11 August 8pm So Sing On with Declan O’Rourke £18

Friday 3 August 7.30pm Time:Tell £5

Saturday 25 August 11am – 1pm Playwriting Masterclass with Rosemary Jenkinson £15

Saturday 4 August 11am – 3pm Say Hello to Haiku! £5/ £3

Monday 27 August Cinema Day NI Details to be announced

38


Box Office +44 (0)28 7938 7444

35

Seamus Heaney HomePlace 45 Main Street Bellaghy BT45 8HT T: +44 (0)28 7938 7444 E: [email protected]