Collapsing time: LGBTQ+ rights in Northern Ireland, A Queer Céilí at the Marty Forsythe

This article examines Kabosh Theatre Company’s production of DominicMontague’s A Queer Céilí at the Marty Forsythe, in Belfast, Northern Ireland,during its first run in March 2019. Based on archival research and personalaccounts of a weekend surrounding the October 1983 National Union of StudentsLesbian and Gay Conference in Belfast, the play depicts a moment of lesbian andgay activism largely neglected in critical and popular historical accounts of theperiod known as the ‘Troubles’ (1968–98). Through observation of rehearsals andperformances as well as in-depth interviews with audiences and artists, we arguethat the play’s situation in the venue, where many of the events portrayed originallytook place, and the use of archival and found photographic imagery as keyscenic elements create a sense of ‘collapsed time’ that brings the past into dialoguewith the present and future, particularly regarding the relationship of LGBTQ+rights to societal reconciliation.