Green Shoot Productions
One Ulster loyalist’s remarkable story.
Green Shoot Productions presents The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary, a powerful one-man drama about the life, language and legacy of David Ervine.
Written by Robert Niblock with Martin Lynch and Matthew McElhinney, the play looks beyond the headlines to reveal the human story behind Ervine’s transformation. It explores how conflict, years in prison, education, conviction and language shaped a life, and how one man’s thinking developed during a period of profound political and social change.
Known for his sharp mind, political courage and remarkable command of of the English language, Ervine became one of the most distinctive voices of Ulster loyalism in the Northern Ireland peace process. His reputation for using “big words” in television interviews gives the play its striking title, but the story reaches far beyond one public figure.
Loaded with Belfast humour, moving and politically charged, The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary explores identity, class, family, conflict and the possibility of change. For Dublin audiences, it offers a distinctive Northern Irish Protestant perspective on a period of history that reshaped relationships and politics across the island, while remaining first and foremost a human story.
**** “Beautifully written… superbly acted by Paul Garrett.” – David Roy, Irish News
**** “This theatrical tribute does him justice.” – Jane Hardy, Belfast Times
Age Suitability: 14+
Warnings: Contains strong language
WRITTEN BY Robert Niblock, Martin Lynch & Matthew McElhinney
DIRECTED BY Matthew McElhinney
LIGHTING DESIGN BY Conleth White
SET & COSTUME DESIGN BY David Craig
SOUND DESIGN BY Aaron Ross
CAST Paul Garrett
TICKETS €25 | €21
GROUP RATE – one complimentary ticket for every 10 tickets booked
RUNNING TIME 2 hrs incl 15 min interval
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Green Shoot Productions was founded by leading playwright, Martin Lynch 25 years ago and is recognised as one of the leading companies in N. Ireland. We are a Belfast-based professional theatre company dedicated to commissioning and producing new writing for the stage to a high professional standard.
The company creates socially, politically and culturally relevant theatre rooted in Northern Ireland, with a particular commitment to working-class and marginalised voices.
Community engagement is central to its work, alongside professional production, touring and partnerships that help attract new audiences and create routes into theatre for people who may not ordinarily feel invited into arts spaces.
The Company has toured internationally with Fly Me To The Moon by Marie Jones (Irish Tour, New York), Chronicles Of Long Kesh by Martin Lynch (Ediniburgh Fringe, Sydney, Australia), In The Name Of The Son by Richard O’Rawe (Grand Opera House, Belfast, New Zealand Arts Festival, San Francisco Arts Festival).