Agreement: play and panel affirm arts in remembering Belfast/Good Friday Agreement

Agreement: play and panel affirm arts in remembering Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
by Laura RODRIGUEZ-DAVIS
1 April 2023

“Hope is a creative act,” declared Hilary Copeland, director of Fighting Words NI during a panel discussion hosted by the Irish Association at the Lyric Theatre Belfast prior to the matinee performance of Agreement. Introduced by the association’s president, Brian Walker, the panel was chaired by BBC radio presenter Kathy Clugston, and included Liam Hannaway (chairman of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland  (ACNI)), Dr Mark Phelan (senior lecturer in Drama at Queen’s University Belfast), and Dr Éimear O’Connor (director of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre). The discussion focused on artistic and cultural engagement in Northern Ireland following the passing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA). 

Phelan, paraphrasing his piece featured in the Agreement programme, began the conversation by discussing the imperative of artists to intervene where politicians often fail to do so. “I think [politicians] could learn enormously from our artists, who I think have consistently shown a much greater imagination and generosity in dealing with our peoples here, our history, our heritage,” the Lyric Theatre trustee asserted. He considered the B/GFA an artistic document, due to its visionary power and generous language. [At a recent talk at the Linen Hall Library, Professor Marilynn Richtarik made a similar remark about the B/GFA as a form of creative writing. — Ed.]

O’Connor continued by affirming the value of cross-border artistic cooperation because everyone reads books and goes to plays without concern about the identity of the artist. She noted that the arts inspire use of imagination and creativity, regardless of where on the island one may be: “That is what the arts encourage us to do: rise above, use our imagination, be creative.”

Copeland discussed her work at Fighting Words NI, where youth are empowered to believe they have the ability to tell a story. She affirmed the role of imagination in allowing people to envision a world different from the present reality and connected this ability to the character of the B/GFA: “That, to me, was so intrinsic in the ethos of the Good Friday Agreement… [The future] doesn’t have to be this way [of the past].”

Hannaway shared the priority of cross-border collaboration in the arts at the ACNI: “On the island of Ireland, we are an ecosystem, an artistic ecosystem.” He reviewed the cross-border projects that the arts council supports and also pointed out the disparity in funding in Northern Ireland compared to the south. Still, Hannaway praised the creativity and innovation of artists who do much with very little. 

O’Connor agreed, listing the ways the lack of funding hinders artists. Often, theatre scripts will be sent to the Republic of Ireland rather than staying in Northern Ireland because there is more funding in the south, she reported. “So, the arts sector in Northern Ireland is actually in danger of imploding,” O’Connor warned. She pointed to politics, not the ACNI, as the ultimate barrier to funding. 

Phelan articulated scepticism about encouraging his students to pursue the arts professionally due to poor funding, which he called “a political failure”. He recalled that Queen Elizabeth II and Martin McGuiness met at the Lyric because it was a shared space, which is what the arts can create. Phelan resolved, “The arts are the breathing space for society here.”

He warned that the Lyric Theatre would close without further funding because its budget was unsustainable for all the programmes the theatre offers. He also discussed the failure of the B/GFA — despite being a miraculous achievement — to address the needs of victims and survivors of the Troubles, provide a mechanism for dealing with the past, or promote reconciliation. Phelan emphasised artists and theatre makers have been the ones to address these needs, not politicians. 

O’Connor reminded the audience that artists who are not famous also need to be heard and funded, but are often discouraged by those who do not consider the arts a valid career. Copeland echoed this sentiment, and contributed by noting the valuable skills the arts provide, such as critical thinking, self-efficacy, and confidence building. Even those who do not become professional artists still benefit from artistic skills, she argued. “We are all artists because we are all humans,” Copeland remarked. 

She also shared that all-island agreements are rare among arts organisations in the south:  “The border is psychological as much as it is political or geographic.” Copeland discussed the challenge of overcoming exclusionary practices, but reported that there are initiatives to find points of contact. 

The issue of funding continued to be a primary focus throughout the panel discussion, particularly in considering money provided to the arts in the south and other parts of the United Kingdom compared to Northern Ireland. Copeland contended that the decision to not fund the arts is a political one, which denies opportunities to reach across divides. To those who feel that the health service deserves more funding than the arts, Phelan argued that the arts often focus on public health issues that the health service is attempting to address — such as suicide and addiction — and that the arts have a great economic benefit. Additionally, Hannaway and O’Connor pointed to how the arts also intersect with education. 

When asked about the inclusion of diverse voices in the arts, Phelan cited the Lyric’s writing showcase [New Playwrights Programme] as a demonstration of the inclusion of new voices, particularly of a younger generation. Copeland talked about Fighting Words in Dublin hosting events for Ukrainian refugees. 

To conclude the discussion, Hannaway described the great writing and vibrant arts scene that is happening in Northern Ireland as evidence of what is working. O’Connor stated she finds hope in the rich arts scene in Northern Ireland and reiterated the importance of affirming the intrinsic value of the artist. 

The Q&A portion of the panel sparked a discussion about the absence of Northern Ireland arts coverage in the media and the need for politicians to engage with art. 

Patrons then transitioned from the Lyric’s black box studio to the main theatre for the afternoon performance of Agreement, written by Owen McCafferty and directed by Charlotte Westenra. The play follows the final 72 hours of negotiations prior to the signing of the B/GFA. The cast includes: Richard Croxford as George Mitchell, Dan Gordon as John Hume, Andrea Irvine as Mo Mowlam, Ronan Leahy as Bertie Ahern, Packy Lee as Gerry Adams, Patrick O’Kane as David Trimble, and Rufus Wright as Tony Blair. 

The audience was transported back to April 1998, as Hume, Adams, Trimble, Ahern, Mowlam, and Blair faced mounting pressure to reach an agreement, under the watchful scrutiny of Senator Mitchell. The drama of the negotiations was well balanced with moments of levity and humour, all performed expertly by a talented cast. Obvious attention was paid to details that augmented the immersion into the story, from ‘90s fashions to Mowlam’s often bare feet. 

On a circular stage that amplified the time-bound tension of the narrative, the story unfolded with precision and clarity, beginning with George Mitchell’s famous line, “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” The audience held witness to Trimble’s dogmatic devotion to principle clash with Adams’s unwavering conviction over issues of disarmament, prisoner release, and strand two of the proposed agreement. Hume’s long-suffering endurance in attempting to wrangle compromise and understanding on both sides was on full display while Mowlam brought a grounded voice of reason, perfected with a dry wit and subtle exasperation of being the only woman in the room. 

As heads of state, Ahern and Blair carried themselves with the charm and charisma required in the most visible office, but it was evident that they did not bear the weight of the conflict equally, as Ahern attempted to make clear what was at stake to an often self-important Blair. 

The dynamic set helped illustrate the often informal nature of negotiations, with venues such as corridors, frequently being the preferred site of diplomacy. Frequent breaks in the fourth wall from the characters kept the audience raptured as the quick pace heightened the sense of urgency. 

The play’s ending, while certainly not surprising, felt no less monumental and profound as a moment many doubted would ever come. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the B/GFA,  Agreement invited viewers to remember and appreciate the miracle of the peace accord and all that led to the creation and development of a shared future in Northern Ireland. 

Agreement runs at the Lyric Theatre until 22 April.