Entertainment

The Train rolls into Belfast at The MAC

The Train is based on the true story of the 47 women who challenged the Irish State in 1971 by taking a train to Belfast before returning to Dublin with forbidden contraceptives
The Train is based on the true story of the 47 women who challenged the Irish State in 1971 by taking a train to Belfast before returning to Dublin with forbidden contraceptives The Train is based on the true story of the 47 women who challenged the Irish State in 1971 by taking a train to Belfast before returning to Dublin with forbidden contraceptives

ROUGH Magic Theatre Company have announced that their musical The Train will open at The MAC in Belfast this April following its season at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin.

Directed by Belfast-born Lynne Parker, the play is a fictional celebration of a remarkable media coup, when 47 women challenged the restrictive laws of the Irish State in 1971 by taking a train to Belfast before returning to Dublin with forbidden contraceptives.

Simon Magill, Creative Director at the MAC, said: "We always strive to offer our audiences the best in homegrown Irish drama and we are delighted to welcome back Rough Magic to present their fantastic musical, The Train, at The MAC.

"Direct from its run at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin, it is fitting that we re-trace the steps of 47 trailblazing women from Dublin to Belfast."

Director Lynne Parker says: "To take The Train – literally – to Belfast is a hugely exciting prospect, mirroring the original journey and giving us a tremendous platform to raise awareness of the issues in the piece.

"It was a time, as the women of '71 said, 'when the world turned on its axis'. We are living through such a time now and this history has real currency."

Featuring book and lyrics by Arthur Riordan and music composed by Bill Whelan,with a live band under the musical direction of Cathal Synnott, The Train is at The MAC from April 19 to 23.

:: See The MACLive.com for tickets and times