Member's statement: 'Pride of the Shore' Theatre Production
Member's statement by Mr Phillip Brett on .
- MLA
- Mr Phillip Brett
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 17 June 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- 'Pride of the Shore' Theatre Production
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4496189
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On Friday evening, I had the great pleasure of joining hundreds of people at the MAC theatre to watch the premiere of the play 'Pride of the Shore', written by our own Gary Mitchell. The play eloquently articulates the struggles faced by working-class communities in inner parts of north Belfast and, more importantly, celebrates the determination and continuous work of people in our communities to improve the area in which they live. The main focus of the play is the Pride of the Shore flute band, which, for almost 40 years, has been at the heart of the north Belfast community. Hundreds of people freely give their time to improve the area that they call home, giving young people a positive outlet, instilling discipline and musical attributes, and ensuring that the mental health crisis that faces many of our communities is, rightly, tackled. It was wonderful to see working-class communities taking their rightful place at the heart of the cultural setting of our city. The play, in the heart of the MAC theatre, showcased to people from across Northern Ireland who might have had prejudiced or uninformed views the vital role that our marching-band communities play. The play runs until 23 June, and I encourage Members in the Chamber and those outside it to take advantage of the opportunity to see it. It eloquently articulates the aspirations and hopes of the community in north Belfast and shows that the marching-band scene plays a vital role. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Green Shoot Productions, which managed to bring members of the local community and professional actors together to showcase the event; to the actors from north Belfast and across Northern Ireland who played a leading role in the play; and to the Pride of the Shore flute band, which continues to ensure that the cultural celebrations in north Belfast are to the fore of our community.
318 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.06 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.97).
- Subject area: Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.19 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.14 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.06 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.97 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.66 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.13 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.11 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.07 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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