Brónagh Diamond: Forget political drama - I cast my vote for stage and screen

NOW that the elections are all wrapped up, many young people are focusing on much awaited A-level results. It may sound dramatic juxtaposing these two things but I find they are intrinsically linked, given that both relate to detached institutions making executive decisions on issues that determine the course of people’s lives.

At eighteen I agonised over whether to pursue a career in theatre or politics. After hearing my da declare that politics was “Hollywood for ugly people”, I decided it would suit me down to the ground and so I embarked upon a degree in government and criminology.

I was on a mission to learn about the inner workings of the system that reflects who we are as a society and change the world. After all, I was one of the lucky ones who could do this, given that the year I applied for university was to be the last when applicants from ‘underprivileged’ backgrounds could avail of a degree without hefty tuition fees.

My enthusiasm waned with each passing day as I came to the conclusion that manifestos are as fanciful as play-texts, and so I followed my passion for playwriting instead, because at least that way I may actually see some of my ideas come to fruition.

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I was probably far too young to feel so jaded by politics and on reflection I believe I was just tired of the adversarial nature of it all, especially in ‘this here province’ where the government broke down more often than my granda’s old car.

My enthusiastic friends and I rallied against wars in Afghanistan, we marched to Stormont to protest tuition fees and painted posters while we sang and chanted ourselves hoarse – to no avail.

So off to Derry I went to study drama practitioners like Augusto Boal, the Brazilian dramatist who created ‘the theatre of the oppressed’, a form of interactive theatre which intends to transform lives by getting spectators to become performers acting out solutions to social problems.

After graduating I went straight back to the community centres of west Belfast to work with young people, write plays and make change with all the naivety and optimism of the freshly minted graduate.

Whether I actually made an iota of difference, who knows? I regret nothing because I loved it and I learned so much from the kids that I worked with. One of the young people I chanced upon was called Brendan Quinn, a lad who always showed up to workshops with a smile and a can-do attitude.

I was probably far too young to feel so jaded by politics and on reflection I believe I was just tired of the adversarial nature of it all, especially in ‘this here province’ where the government broke down more often than my granda’s old car

I wrote a short comedy called Room For One More as part of Belfast Fringe Festival in 2010 about changing attitudes toward Polish immigrants in Belfast and cast Brendan, whose stage presence and talent had the audience both rapt and in stitches. I remember talking to his dad after the show and seeing how proud he was of his son, a memory which only made me tear up even more as I watched that very same young man accepting a National Film Award this month for best supporting actor in the Netflix series One Day. If I feel proud of him, I’m sure his family are fit to burst.

Seeing Brendan on the television gives me hope for the future because although the talent in this country is abundant, the disparity in representation of working-class people in theatre and TV borders on criminal given the social appropriation used to sell shows about our struggles; shows mainly cast and produced by people who could afford to work an unpaid placement for a year while living at their parents’ spare property.

But there I go again, sounding fatalistic and just a tad bitter. Now is the time for renewed optimism. The English have finally extricated themselves from a long and toxic relationship with the Tories and a seismic shift has occurred over here with long-seated politicians searching the classifieds to find another way to pay the mortgage on the holiday home in Donegal. At least some can depend on free holidays to Sri Lanka while the rest of us cross our fingers and pray for some respite from the cost-of-living crisis.

Part of me regrets not sticking to politics and having a fat cheque to spend with expenses to boot but I chose the path of the starving artist, who incidentally looks like she could do with going on a diet. Now get to work, MPs, and take those election posters down while you’re at it. Some of them are scaring the kids.