IT’S a scorching hot day in west Belfast when we visit Terry George at Brassneck Theatre Co HQ during rehearsals for The Tunnel, a revival of his debut play which was staged in New York for the first and - until now - last time nearly 40 years ago.
Written in 1986 and set 10-years beforehand, the play is based on the Oscar-winner’s experience of being imprisoned in Long Kesh.
George (72) served three years for possession of a weapon - a charge he has always denied.
The Tunnel centres on a group of republican prisoners plotting a jailbreak under the wire of the prison camp as the possibility of losing their ‘political status’ looms, along with the construction of new maximum security H-Blocks.
The writer/director followed up his play by embarking on a successful film career, working with Oscar-winning actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Dustin Hoffman, Brendan Fraser, Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale, along with winning his own Academy Award in 2012 as writer/producer of The Shore, a short film directed by daughter Oorlagh (who also received an Oscar) and shot at the family’s cottage at Coney Island in Co Down.
Now, New York-based George is looking forward to bringing The Tunnel back to the stage in the city of his birth.
“Having written it 40 years ago, it’s really interesting to look back at what the dynamic [of the Troubles] was around 1976, 1977,” he tells me as we shelter from the sun in the cool of Brassneck’s canteen.
“I realise now that within the story of these men is the fundamental change that took place in the Troubles during those years.
“By ’76, the IRA had gone to what became known as the ‘long war’ strategy. The British suddenly realised the same thing and the criminalisation policy came in.
“Everybody was sort of settling down for the long haul - although none of us fathomed that it would be 20 years long.
“So it’s really interesting to look at The Tunnel now, because I have barely changed a word. I decided to leave it as a snapshot of a moment in history.”
Following his release from Long Kesh in 1978, George moved to New York and eventually found his way into journalism, working for top publications including New York Magazine and Rolling Stone during the early 1980s.
Originally staged in 1986 at the Hell’s Kitchen-based Irish Arts Center (IAC), The Tunnel marked George’s transition from fact-based print to fact-inspired drama: it was also the catalyst for perhaps his most significant professional relationship.
The Tunnel was directed by Jim Sheridan, the Dublin-born writer/director then serving as artistic director of IAC, with whom he would go on to make three major films between 1993 and 1997.
The first, In The Name of The Father, was directed by Sheridan and starred Daniel Day-Lewis as Guildford Four man Gerry Conlon. Based on Conlon’s memoir, it saw both film-makers co-nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
Starring Helen Mirren, the Hunger Strike-themed Some Mother’s Son marked George’s debut as director, with Sheridan co-writing and producing.
Next, the pair teamed up to co-write The Boxer, again directed by Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
However, before all that, there was The Tunnel.
“This was my first dabbling in drama,” recalls George as the current cast of The Tunnel - which includes Martin McCann, Chris Corrigan and Ciaran Nolan - run through scenes in preparation for opening night at the Lyric theatre on July 31, where the play is running as part of Féile an Phobail.
“At that time I was a fact-checker for New York Magazine and doing research for some pretty famous writers like Pete Hamill, Jimmy Breslin and Shana Alexander.
“I was lucky enough to meet Jim Sheridan and persuaded him to direct the play. Then, in the middle of rehearsals, the lead actor dropped out - so as well as directing, Jim took over as one of the lead characters, Harry.
“That became the start of our relationship.”
Despite garnering decent reviews, The Tunnel’s inaugural production proved to be its last - until now.
“It ran for about six months through ’86 and into ’87,” recalls George.
“Towards the end of its run, Noel Pearson [famous Irish producer, then director of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre] had actually come to see the play, and at one point wanted to bring it to the Abbey - but apparently the Abbey found it politically incorrect or too political.
“Then Jim went off to write what became My Left Foot.”
Of bringing The Tunnel back to the stage in Belfast, he observes: “Actually, the only new thing I’ve brought to the play is a better understanding of drama.
“Obviously, having now spent 40 years in television and film, I can better see what’s kind of universal in stories and how to sell that, you know?
“So I’m really interested in the audience’s reaction and how it plays as a piece of drama outside the Troubles.”
I’m really interested in the audience’s reaction to The Tunnel and how it plays as a piece of drama outside the Troubles
— Terry George
Along with reviving The Tunnel, George will also be introducing a special 20th anniversary screening of his film Hotel Rwanda at the Féile.
Set in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide, it’s based on the true story of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (portrayed by Don Cheadle) who saved over 1,500 Tutsi refugees from being slaughtered by the rampaging Hutu militia.
“From the moment I wrote Hotel Rwanda, I wanted Don Cheadle,” says George of the film which earned him his second Oscar nod.
“I saw him playing Sammy Davis Jr in an HBO TV thing about the Rat Pack and thought ‘this guy is a genius’.
“Don wanted to do it, but the studios were like ‘we’ll only do it if Denzel [Washington] will do it’. And then there was a big push for Cuba Gooding Jr.
“Luckily, [Hollywood producer] Bingham Ray, God rest his soul, really believed in the script and was willing to get behind it with Don.
“All of the cast, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin [Phoenix] and David O’Hara, were just great.
“And the vibe of the thing - it’s very strange that how much joy you have in making a film is often in direct opposition to how horrific the story is.
“That was certainly true with Hotel Rwanda, In The Name of The Father and Some Mother’s Son, which were joyous experiences, for sure.”
On the subject of joyous experiences, the Oscar-winner has loved reviving The Tunnel with a local cast.
He enthuses: “What I love about coming back to theatre is that it lives and breathes with each performance, whereas a film is a glorified corpse that’s been dead for six months or a year.
“Theatre is a visceral thing, so it’s been great to come back to basics here working with these fantastic actors.
“I’m happy and anxious and looking forward to just sitting at the back of the theatre on opening night.”
The Tunnel, July 31 to August 16, Lyric theatre, Belfast. Tickets via lyrictheatre.co.uk. Full Féile programme at feilebelfast.com
