Faultline by ANU / Louise Lowe

A work in progress 
Faultline is exploring the extensive and detailed Irish Queer Archive at the National Library of Ireland.
For this showing, Stephen Quinn and Matthew Williamson, examine in particular the events of January 20th 1982, whereby a gay man Charles Self was murdered in Dublin. Nobody has ever been charged with his killing. Nearly 40 years later, those who knew him still grapple with the circumstances of his death and the controversial investigation that followed. The Gardai raided a members only gay club and confiscated the list of members at the club. They began making contact with everyone on the list and immediately began ‘outing’ an underground covert gay community overnight. This sent terror through the gay community and resulted in a mass exodus of the gay community out of Ireland and across the Irish sea to London and other major cities where anonymity and refuge could be sought. Families across Ireland disowned their sons and daughters upon these revelations and unrepairable heartache was inflicted across the gay community. Almost 1,500 men were investigated. There was no going back.

Supported by The Arts Council, Gate Theatre Residency and National Library of Ireland
Duration: 45 mins incl. discussion
Created by Louise Lowe with Domhnall Herdman, Carl Kennedy, Matthew Malone, Lynnette Moran, Stephen Quinn and Matthew Williamson
Design: Owen Boss & Andrew Clancy
Lighting: Ciaran O’Melia

Established in April 2009, ANU is led by theatre-maker Louise Lowe, Visual Artist Owen Boss and Producers / Curators Lynnette Moran and Matthew Smyth. Together we have created 23 seminal works, public art commissions, gallery installations and museum interpretations, creating a new brand that is gaining worldwide momentum. Heralded by the Irish Times as creating the “most searing and provocative art works of the past decade” our most recent work HENTOWN won the audience choice Awards at this year’s Irish Times Theatre Awards.