Formed in 2002, Green Shoot has accumulated a significant body of work and continues to create work on a regular basis.

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The Company has worked with many of the leading arts practitioners in N. Ireland, in particular commissioning new plays from key writers such as Ron Hutchinson, Marie Jones, Sam Millar, Sam McCready, Brenda Murphy, Gary Mitchell and Martin Lynch.

 

All GSP productions are accompanied by extensive community engagement programmes which include arts training, creative writing workshops and performance-based activities. 

 

2002

 

Our inaugural production saw Green Shoot make its entrance on to the stage with the spectacular The Belfast Carmen at the Grand Opera House. Written by Mark Dougherty & Martin Lynch, The Belfast Carmen was the centrepiece of the Belfast Festival @ Queen’s. It uniquely and innovatively combined the Ulster Orchestra, The Community Theatre Association of Belfast, professional actors and professional opera singers and attracted an audience of over 5,000 people. 

 

2003-05

 

Coole Lady by Sam McCready – a play about Abbey Theatre founder, Lady Gregory, co-produced by Martin Lynch & Sam McCready. It toured N Ireland 3 times, playing at 28 venues and being seen by 2,500 people. It ended with a 4-week run at a venue off-Broadway (Theatre 315, West 47th St., New York. 

 

2006        

 

In a co-production with The Lyric Theatre, we produced Holding Hands at Paschendale by Martin Lynch, directed by Hannah Eidinow and starring Ciaran McMenamin for a 3 week run at the Lyric and a two-week tour of N Ireland venues.

 

2007

 

GPS produced another new play, New York State of Mind by veteran Ulster actor/director Sam McCready. Directed by Roland Jaquarello and starring veteran Ulster actor, Harry Towb, it successfully ran for 10 performances at the Baby Grand, Grand Opera House and completed a six-venue tour of Northern Ireland.

 

2009

 

GSP produced a new play by Martin Lynch. Chronicles of Long Kesh for a World Premiere at The Waterfront Hall, Belfast, playing to sold-out houses and nightly standing ovations over a 4-week run. A 14-date Northern Ireland Tour followed with similarly enthusiastic audience responses.

 

2010

 

Realising that Ulster’s most controversial play Sam Thompson’s Over The Bridge was 50 years old, GSP decided to mount a 50th-anniversary production – an adaptation by Martin Lynch, directed by Rachel O'Riordan. It turned out to be hugely successful, playing at The Waterfront Hall to packed houses for 3 weeks.

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In August, the Company took the brave decision to bring Chronicles to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a month-long run at the Assembly Rooms. It took the city by storm. Again, full-house notices went up, standing ovations were the order of the day and the National critics raved, handing out a clutch of 4 and 5-star reviews. The cast also received Best Ensemble from The Stage Newspaper’s Edinburgh Awards.

 

2011

 

On the back of its success at Edinburgh, we accepted invitations to tour Chronicles in the UK and Ireland, North & South.

 

The show then embarked on it most intrepid venture yet and after completing a very successful week at the Belfast Grand Opera House, we toured to Tasmania, Australia to perform in the prestigious 10 Days on An Island Festival. This was followed by a successful week long run in the Illawarra Arts Centre, Merrigong, New South Wales.

 

2012

 

The Company launched its most ambitious project yet – The Ulster Trilogy. The Trilogy aimed at presenting three plays that would provide a state-of-the-nation audit on Northern Ireland today. In January, the first of these, Brothers in Arms by ex-republican prisoner Sam Millar ran for three weeks at the Waterfront Hall, followed by a successful two-week tour of Northern Irish venues. The show was seen by over 5,000 people and featured on the BBC’s The Nolan Show.

 

In September we accepted an invitation from The 1st Irish Theatre Festival and the 59East59 Theatre, off-Broadway, New York to bring a new play Fly Me To The Moon by Marie Jones to New York. Whilst GSP didn’t commission this play, in another capacity Martin Lynch had been its original producer and proposed that the Company take up this opportunity to create a profile for the Company in New York. The enterprise was a huge success with the Company producing successfully in New York and making a raft of very important contacts.

 

In October, Paisley & Me by Emmy-award winning Ron Hutchinson - the second instalment of The Trilogy - opened at the Grand Opera House on 30th October 2012 as part of the 50th Belfast Festival at Queen’s. Over 3,000 people attended the show during its short run and on tour across 6 venues in N Ireland.

The third and final instalment of The Ulster Trilogy is Martin Lynch’s Standing At Menin Gate, which was Green Shoot’s debut at The MAC in Sept 2013.