Saturday, 13th August. Edinburgh Fringe
I finally took the plunge and decided to head east on the train to get a flavour of The World Biggest Arts festival. The Edinburgh Festival is now celebrating its 75th year, so it really needs no introduction from me – the platform it provides for up and coming, random, well established and controversial entertainers, actors and comedians is a multi-million pound industry that depending on who you speak to doesn't always seem to find it’s way back into the pockets of the performers.
With Scotland in the midst of yet another heatwave ( we really shouldn't complain) the capital was at its sparkling best as hundreds of thousands festival goers zigzagged across the world famous streets to take in the atmosphere as well as a trying to find a few hidden gems performing in the many quirky venues dotted throughout the city. Thankfully my wife & I had made plans earlier in the week and had a couple of shows booked. First up was In the Name of the Son – the Gerry Conlon Story
The one man stage show was a real masterclass in performing arts from Downpatrick born actor Shaun Blaney. Fresh from a recent run at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Shaun delivered a breath-taking non-stop masterpiece for the senses. With only a short table and stool for company on stage Blaney had the audience transfixed from beginning to end. His portrayal of the troubled and turbulent life of Gerry Conlon was a gripping rollercoaster of a ride.
Starting in the Lower-Falls road in Belfast, Shaun painted the very vivid scene of a young Conlon caught up the midst of the troubles on the streets of Belfast before being forced to move to London where he would be framed and centre stage in one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history. Arrested, brutally tortured – physically and mentally, forced to confess to the Guilford pub bombings, Conlon was convicted along with Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson and sentenced to life imprisonment. The plot by the British establishment also pushed for the trial of the Maguire Seven, which saw Conlon wrongly sent to prison with his father Patrick Guiseppe Conlon.
The story continues with Shaun Blaney visiting the moment the “Guilford four" had their sentences quashed in 1989 by the UK court of appeals, the moment of triumph Conlon family had been working hard for over the previous 14 years. The true cost of spending 14 years in prison is then played out as Blaney depicts the incredible highs and desperate lows of a man known the world over, but who had never truly dealt with his brutal incarceration.
From The Oscars to scraping together food from the bins on the streets of London, Blaney painstakingly conveys the spirit of a man broken by drug addiction, loss and grief, while enlightening us with the redemption of Conlon in his later life as he returned to his family and reunited with Paul Hill to work tirelessly with the miscarriages of justice organisation.
This is a must see production, Shaun Blaney delivers an energetic, powerful all consuming performance that will have you completely mesmerised.
