Troubles men’s harrowing theatrical testimony on film

A FILM featuring testimony from a RUC man who picked up the pieces after Ballykelly, Coshquin and Teebane; a former UDA bagman whose activism soon became racketeering during the Troubles; and a former soldier who arrived at the scene 20 minutes after the Remebrance Day bomb in 1987; will air at the Playhouse next week.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Sep 2013, 13:03 BST
Teebane Bombing 17th January 1992. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb killing eight Protestant civilians who had been travelling in a minibus past Teebane crossroads between Cookstown and Omagh, County Tyrone. The men had been working at a military base in County Tyrone and were travelling home when the attack occurred. Kevin Kelly, a former RUC man who lives in Drumahoe, investigated the aftermath. His story features in 'Release,' which will air in the Playhouse next week.Teebane Bombing 17th January 1992. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb killing eight Protestant civilians who had been travelling in a minibus past Teebane crossroads between Cookstown and Omagh, County Tyrone. The men had been working at a military base in County Tyrone and were travelling home when the attack occurred. Kevin Kelly, a former RUC man who lives in Drumahoe, investigated the aftermath. His story features in 'Release,' which will air in the Playhouse next week.
Teebane Bombing 17th January 1992. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb killing eight Protestant civilians who had been travelling in a minibus past Teebane crossroads between Cookstown and Omagh, County Tyrone. The men had been working at a military base in County Tyrone and were travelling home when the attack occurred. Kevin Kelly, a former RUC man who lives in Drumahoe, investigated the aftermath. His story features in 'Release,' which will air in the Playhouse next week.

The documentary film ‘Release’ - shot and directed by Declan Keeney - explores the life stories of six remarkable men, told in their own words and in their own way through an original Theatre of Witness production of the same name which toured Northern Ireland and the border counties in 2012.

The film explores themes of forgiveness, remembering and the pain of living with our ever present past.

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With great courage and conviction, a former RUC detective, a former Prison Governor, a former British soldier, two ex-prisoners and a community activist who survived a car bomb as a child come together across the sectarian divide to create a group of men working for peace.

Their journey is at times heart-breaking, extraordinary, breathtakingly brave but ultimately transformational.

It is a story of survival, but most importantly it is their story and in their own words.

Kathryn Stone, OBE, Commissioner for Victims and Survivors Northern Ireland, has said of the documentary: “This film is so much more than a documentary of how this all came together.

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“It is an elegiac poem about the nature of interconnectedness, about suffering, about finding peace with one another and within yourself. “

The film will premiere at The Playhouse on Monday (September 9) at 7pm.

Pat Colgan the Chief Executive of SEUPB will be guest speaker at this prestigious event. The film will then be shown in Belfast’s Brian Friel Theatre on Thursday (September 12) at 7pm where the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, Kathyrn Stone, OBE will be a guest speaker.

Tickets for both events are free and can be booked through The Playhouse box office on 028 7126 8027.