The Gown. » Hanging in there http://thegown.org.uk A free, fortnightly independent student newspaper at Queen's University Belfast. Wed, 23 May 2012 14:31:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 ARTS: ‘Hanging in There’- A New Perspective on the Peace Process in Northern Ireland http://thegown.org.uk/2009/11/02/arts-%e2%80%98hanging-in-there%e2%80%99-a-new-perspective-on-the-peace-process-in-northern-ireland/ http://thegown.org.uk/2009/11/02/arts-%e2%80%98hanging-in-there%e2%80%99-a-new-perspective-on-the-peace-process-in-northern-ireland/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:40:53 +0000 Martin http://www.thegown.org.uk/?p=583 Continue reading →]]> On Friday 23rd of October The Gown met up with ‘Hanging in There,’ an internationally acclaimed act appearing at the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s. A number of journalists gathered to interview the pair of performers on the steps of Stormont. This was a symbolic location in many respects as the man-to-man dance duet, devised and performed by Nick Bryson and Damian Punch, see their act as a parody of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

BY JANE BROWN

Perceptive, and as the Irish Times has described “hilarious” on many levels, both men take delight in an almost finished peace process in Northern Ireland. Growing up in Northern Ireland they were exposed to the language of politics and both felt they wanted to be a part of the ongoing peace process. They take a balanced approach to the process and believe that their act embodies the language of politics and also helps it to become more accessible.

They have taken their act worldwide, gaining a positive response in Europe and the United States. They see themselves as cultural ambassadors and they make the point that similarities can be drawn from the troubles in Northern Ireland to other places in the world. The language of negotiation, they reiterate, is a world issue.

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