The Sign of the Whale
by Jimmy McAleavey
Photography by Ciaran Bagnall
March 2010
Tinderbox presents a new pitch black comedy by Jimmy McAleavey.
Belfast 1977. Dermy, a headline writer neurotically compelled to remember every victim of violence, is on the brink of a breakdown. Tony, a Belfast teenager, is meanwhile on the brink of life amid a conflict that might never end.
Into their world of violent stalemate sails something preposterous, absurd and magical. A killer whale is seen in Belfast Lough. Has it come to be butchered itself, bring luck or bring further disaster to the city?
When the whale suddenly disappears, tragic circumstances bring Dermy and Tony together in a search to find it. Maimed by experience, their search becomes much more than for a hunt for the whale.
It’s their search for a future.
DIRECTOR
Michael Duke
DRAMATURG
Hanna Slattne
SET AND LIGHTING DESIGN
Ciaran Bagnall
COSTUME DESIGN
Diana Ennis
STAGE MANAGER
Tracey Lindsay
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Damien Cox
LIGHTING OPERATOR
James Kennedy
CAST
Miche Doherty
John Travers
Michael Condron
Mary Moulds
