Twins Nuala and Niamh McGowan who performed at the Island Hall this week. US1608-5250

THE depth of theatrical talent in the City of Lisburn is no better demonstrated than in the achievements of Nuala and Niamh McGowan.

The 18 year old twins have been rehearsing with the National Youth Theatre (NYT) at Canary Wharf in London, but have returned home to take part in Fusion Theatre's production of 'Pirates of Penzance' in the Island Hall this week.

The girls joined NYT last summer by taking part in a two week 'boot camp' in Greenwich, and this made them eligible to apply for NYT projects this year.

"Last year's induction course was amazing," said Niamh. "We made so many friends. When Fusion Theatre performed Jesus Christ Superstar in September last year, some of our friends even came over to watch the show."

Nuala and Niamh have been members of Fusion Theatre for six years, since Niamh played the part of the Tin Man in 'The Wizard of Oz'. This year, Nuala takes centre stage, playing Ruth opposite Michael Down's Frederick, Joanna Hyndman's Mabel and Chris Milford's Pirate King.

"The music is very different from Jesus Christ Superstar, our last production," said Nuala, "and the comedy in both the lyrics and the choreography is hilarious. It's also a pleasure to be in a show where no-one actually dies!"

Once the run is finished, the girls will be preparing to go back to Canary Wharf for the NYT production, which is a live, interactive bilingual performance between the UK and China, taking place exactly 100 days before the start the Beijing games.

So what did the girls think of the demonstrations that are taking place concerning China an Tibet? "Well, when we were in London", said Niamh, "we went to a Tibet awareness meeting on morning, then in the afternoon we followed the Olympic Flame as it passed by Canary Wharf. Then were some demonstrators shouting as the flame passed, but generally there was great excitement and anticipation about the Olympics."

Ulster Star
18/04/2008