Spanner in the Works Theatre Company was established in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September 1998. The company was created by combining the talents of four women who met during actor training at the Lyric Drama Studio Belfast based at the Lyric Theatre. It remains an all-female led theatre company today and is led by Artistic Director Patricia Downey – an accomplished director, writer and workshop facilitator with over fifteen years experience of working in theatre.
Although based in Belfast, Spanner in the Works Theatre Company (SITW) undertakes performances and workshops throughout Ireland. The company works with rural and urban communities as well as with both sides of Northern Ireland’s main religious traditions. SITW specialises in working with women and young people to explore a range of social concerns through the medium of drama.
Using drama workshops and devised pieces, SITW develops productions exploring contemporary social issues that aim to challenge and provoke the audience and performer. Often dealing with difficult, hard-hitting and at times controversial subject matter, the company takes its inspiration from the social environment of the people of Northern Ireland and the fragility of human life.
With the internet full of goblin cyber demons and trolls, do we really know who or what lies beyond the keyboard?
The internet has become a fundamental part of our daily lives - we communicate via Facebook, Twitter, chatrooms and dating websites. We use it to catch up with the latest TV shows and music releases. We play games, read the news, shop, and even bank online. But how safe can we really be on the World Wide Web?
Don’t feed the trolls. If you feed them, they grow. If you starve them, they wither up and die. Or do they? Join Calamity Jane, Optimus Prime and Queen Kong as they meet for the first time in a chat room where they navigate the darkest corners and complex tangles of the wonderful interweb.
'Control Alt Delete' is a funny and hard hitting play, but most of all, it is a reality check for us all.
At the event the PCSP, Community Safety Wardens, PSNI, ALLY Foyle, Credit Union, Choice Housing and Citizens Advice Bureau provided information stands for attendees.
by Spanner in the Works
'CTL, ALT, DEL'
A Play about Internet Safety by Spanner in the Works Theatre Company