The Past is a Foreign Country

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The Past is a Foreign Country, with Peter Curran

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Factual: History

BBC Radio 4 - The Past is a Foreign Country, with Peter Curran

Secrets from celebrated Northern Ireland iconoclasts, from peace negotiation to pop.

A tour guide from Belfast’s thriving Dark and Phoenix tourism industry brings Peter Curran to distinguished contemporaries who, unlike him, 'didn’t run away' from the Troubles.

If you come from another country to live in England, what happens to the space you leave behind? After over 30 years living away, will you become a tourist in your homeland?  

Peter Curran sets out to uncover his missing past, having left Northern Ireland for London in search of work at the height of the Troubles. With no qualifications, he did the immigrant dance of hiding his differences and accentuating his similarities with the people of his host nation. (He kept the accent, though.)
 
We hear funny, shocking and life-affirming personal testimony of contemporaries who stayed in Belfast and “didn’t run away” - a drag Queen, a Peace negotiator, and a pop star.  

A fresh and original take on the usual narrative of Northern Irish history, in a programme that will resonate with émigrés of all ages and communities.

Contributors include:

Michael Bradley of The Undertones, taking Peter to the family terraced house where the band continued to rehearse throughout their UK chart success.

Bronagh Hinds, the international women’s advocate, discusses her part in negotiating the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, which brought an official close to the Troubles.

Linda Ervine MBE, who leads the Irish language project Turas, teaching people from a British Unionist background a language often associated with Irish Nationalism, through the East Mission of the Methodist Church in East Belfast. 

Gerry Walls, a Belfast cabaret host and entertainer who performs as the celebrated drag queen, Tina Leggs Tantrum.

Arthur Magee, a local historian on the Experience Belfast tour.

Sound design by David Thomas. 
Written and produced by Peter Curran. 

A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4

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The Past is a Foreign Country, with Peter Curran

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