Derry Frontline

Derry Frontline was a branch of the Frontline theatre companies established in working class Manchester, Derry and Dublin by Dan Baron Cohen between 1986-88 as an 'artivist' platform for cultural self-determination. Plays by Derry Frontline evolved from initial phases of community story-sharing and exploration, largely around women’s liberation and Irish self-determination. Their first play, titled Inside Out (1988) was a commentary on the 'right to choose', focusing on the relation between abortion and armed struggle. Their second play Time Will Tell (1989) dealt with questions of gender equality, domestic violence and Irish Protestant identity; their Threshold Project (1990-92) generated many community initiatives and their final play Threshold (1992) inspired by the 1980 and 1981 hungerstrikes. This third play dramatized the relation between rape, consumerism and methods of achieving freedom. In 1994, Derry Frontline performed Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman. Key members of Derry Frontline included Jim Keys, Mary Gallagher, Locky Morris, Carol Deehan and Ann Deehan. 

The files in this collection relate to Derry Frontline plays Inside Out and Threshold, both of which engaged with sexual politics in Northern Ireland, and include newspaper clippings, programmes, and flyers, and documents relating to the 2020 Vision Festival 1989-92, launched to mark the 20th anniversary of the Civil Rights marches.