Neeson plea to save theatre

Actor said theatre had served as a powerful, unifying force

Hollywood star Liam Neeson has pleaded with politicians in Belfast to save one of the city's oldest theatres.

The Star Wars actor said such groups were "the lifeblood of any community".

Neeson, from Ballymena in County Antrim, made the plea in relation to the Group Theatre in Bedford Street which is under threat of closure.

He is currently involved in the filming of Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto in Bray, County Wicklow.

Many of Northern Ireland's leading actors started off at the Group Theatre, which is based at the Ulster Hall.

In an email obtained by the Belfast newspaper, the News Letter, Neeson implores Belfast councillors to keep it open.

Theatre has the capacity to touch our lives in extraordinary ways and for over 70 years the Group has been an indispensable part of NI's cultural life: inspiring, engaging and entertaining Liam Neeson

"I grew up hearing about the Group Theatre," he is reported to say.

"Jimmy Young, JG Devlin, Margaret D'Arcy, Kitty Gibson, Stephen Boyd (aka Billy Millar), Harold Goldblatt and my theatrical hero, the great Colin Blakely, to name but a few.

"These actors inspired me and continue to inspire me. To me, the Group Theatre represented NI in all its wonderful, colourful diversity.

"Theatre has the capacity to touch our lives in extraordinary ways and for over 70 years the Group has been an indispensable part of NI's cultural life: inspiring, engaging and entertaining."

The actor said the theatre had served as a powerful, unifying force which provided "a safe and neutral space in which people from different backgrounds could come together to share and explore their creativity and rich cultural diversity".

"I implore you to keep the Group open and help it prosper.

"We must nurture these theatres, I believe they are the lifeblood of any community."