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On saturday night I went to Lisburn's Island Arts Centre to hear new writingÌýby 5 local playwrights, Richard Dormer, Martin Lynch, Rosemary Jenkinson, Stacey Gregg and David Ireland.Ìý

The piecesÌýwere all about 10 minutes long, and were on the themeÌý"Come to where I'm from". ItsÌýpart of a UK wide projectÌýcreated by the EnglishÌýtouring new writing company Ìý Their only visit to Northern Ireland was hosted byÌýRansom Theatre Productions.

What made this new writing event a bit different wasÌýtheÌýwriters had to read the material themselves. AndÌýthey were nervous. Even the professional actors among them,ÌýRichard Dormer and David Ireland (who later confessed to me thatÌýhe wasÌýthe mostÌýnervous he has ever been).

I was asked to contribute to aÌýfeedback form afterwards. I started out usingÌýwords like "enjoyable" "thought provoking" and then, as I warmed to the theme, at the same timeÌýthe space ran out on the piece of paper, I realised that there was something elseÌýmuch more critical to new Northern Irish writing thatÌýhad impressed me.ÌýHere wasÌýcontemporary writing, and when I say contemporary I mean written in the last 2 to 3Ìýweeks, that didn't seek to fall back on the old stereotypical "Troubles" voice.

It was hard hitting. talking about his mixed reaction, as a ProtestantÌýfrom East Belfast,Ìýto the recent scenes of jubilation in Guildhall Square the day the Saville Report was published.Ìý

It was funny and poignant.Ìý,Ìýwearing an "I Heart Belfast" tee-shirt,Ìýchose to make "home" an ex lover who she keeps going back to again and again and who starts seeing someone else more trendy when she's away living in England. Ìý

It was dry and understated. ,Ìýfor whom home is also East Belfast, wryly noted thatÌýshe had travelled to broaden her horizons, a spell teachingÌýin Poland andÌýRussia, only to come back home and Polish and Russian peopleÌýhave moved into her street.

Disturbing and divided. remembered a night whenÌýhe wasÌý14 years old.ÌýAÌýLisburn Protestant, heÌýhad stood beside a Catholic friend as aÌýmob of nearly 50 young men came to beatÌýupÌýhis friend for getting aÌýProtestant girl pregnant.But,Ìýin something out ofÌýa movie, as the crowd loomed closer, the scene was paused byÌýthe pregnant girlÌýappearing out of nowhere and standing betweenÌýthem and the crowd.

And introduced us toÌýa neighbour of his from the docks area of Belfast, Mrs Baker, whoseÌýstraight talking thoughts on everyone from Ian Paisley to Gerry Adams to Barack Obama can't be written down here.Ìý

Here's hoping the work getsÌýa stage again. ÌýÌý

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