A MOVING new work that blends poetry and traditional music will receive its British premiere at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith this month.
BOY is a collaboration between acclaimed poet and playwright Damian Gorman and celebrated uilleann piper Leonard Barry.
Across sixteen poems and musical responses, the performance tells the story of Damian’s late brother Gerard Gorman, who was abused as a child and spent much of his adult life fighting for justice.
It was Gerard Gorman who, in publicly naming Malachy Finegan — a priest accused of decades of child sexual abuse in Northern Ireland — helped to inspire other survivors to come forward.
Finegan, who worked at St Colman’s College in Newry and died in 2002, was never prosecuted but has since been linked to one of the most disturbing abuse scandals in the Irish Catholic Church.
In interviews, survivors have spoken of how Gerard’s courage in telling his story helped them to share their own experiences. “Though it might seem odd language to use, his story has been a blessing to me,” one man reflected.
Gorman says that he and Barry were conscious of the need to balance the gravity of the subject with the ability of audiences to bear witness:
“Our aim was to make the telling clear and truthful, but also bearable,” he explained.
The result is an hour-long performance that fuses spoken word and the haunting sound of the pipes, in support of Gerard’s wish that the honest telling of his story might “save someone, anyone, from harm”
The show has already played to acclaim at Hawk’s Well Theatre in Sligo and Belfast’s Linen Hall Library. Its London appearance will be followed by an on-stage Q&A with Damian Gorman and Leonard Barry, chaired by journalist Dorothy Allen.
For Irish communities in Britain, many of whom carry memories of both silence and survival, BOY promises to be a rare opportunity to witness art used not only as expression, but also as testimony.
‘BOY - An Unforgettable Life in Words and Music' is on at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, on Friday, September 19 at 8pm.
Tickets £18/ £16 from www.Irishculturalcentre.co.uk
