New play about flute bands at Waterside Theatre

The production was commissioned by The Pride of the Orange and Blue Flute Band from Newbuildings and went into rehearsals at the start of the summer. The show looks at what goes on when the band is not on the street and is being produced to give the opportunity for those from outside the culture to appreciate and understand what being in a flute band is actually like.

“The Pride” tells the story of what goes on in any band – what goes on behind the uniform – the highs and lows, the comradeship, the laughter and the tears. The story is set in the living room of Robbie, one of the band leaders, who is continuously tussling with the problems of sustaining the band.

Does the money raised from the night at the races go on new uniforms or new flutes? And all this with the bands 25th anniversary approaching fast and the May Rally in Glasgow just around the corner! All these issues are made no simpler for him, with the not-so-helpful opinions of his father-in-law, Dessie, who thinks the band is a waste of time and the fact that the pipes have burst in the community centre and the band is now using Robbie’s front room for practice, is doing nothing to improve Dessie’s mood!

This, coupled with the formation of a new colour party that has been vastly oversubscribed with young women looking to be flag-bearers, is not making Robbie’s wife Amanda particularly comfortable.

“From the band’s perspective the play is very accurate and we are delighted with the script that Jonathan has written”, said Kenny McFarland who has been a member of the band since it was formed over 30 years ago.

“He came and did a lot of research and spent time talking to the band to get their stories. Whenever he finished the script he submitted it to us, as he wanted to make sure that everybody felt that it represented the band properly. Everybody in the band was delighted with how it turned out and can’t wait to see it go on next week”.

Jonathan Burgess, the writer said: “This is a project I have been looking forward to for a long time. A band has a big presence when it is on the street, but the voice of the people in it doesn’t always get heard. That was why I wanted to write it. There is a lot of comradeship and positive aspects to be taken from being in or being associated with a band. The show really just tells the human story behind, which a lot of the time, is a misconceived, stereotypical view of what bands are.”

The play has a cast of 24, with the central roles being held down by local professional actors, with the remainder of the parts being played by people from the band or local community and is supported by The Arts Council for Northern Ireland, Community Relations Council and The Waterside Theatre.

“The Pride” will be staged at The Waterside Theatre from Thursday 26th – Tuesday 31st August (excluding Sunday 29th) at 8pm. Tickets are priced at 8 and 5 concessionary and are available from The Waterside Theatre Box Office – 7131 1005 and Newbuildings Community Centre – 7131 2252.