In the spirit of Christmas, the emerging theatre company Bright Umbrella had put on an adaptation of Charles Dickens Christmas Carol at the Sanctuary Theatre. The theatre is located at the core of inner East Belfast and englobes a variety of cultures, making this part of Belfast a vibrant and welcoming district.
To raise awareness of the story and the production locally, the team of volunteers that lead the company developed the idea of Scrooge killing the joy of Christmas by turning off the various festive lights that illuminate the city. The most impactful of these was undoubtedly the lights that adorn the two monumental Harland and Wolff shipyard cranes, Goliath and Samson.
A member of the Bright Umbrella team added ‘’Bright Umbrella have a wonderful relationship with many of the staff at Harland &Wolff. Considering the festive season, we approached the shipyard to see if we could have Scrooge turn off the lights (momentarily), only to be foiled by Santa himself.
To our surprise, Harland & Wolff agreed – something we as a small and fledgling entity in the local community appreciate beyond words. The generosity of spirit in letting us produce the short film on location has given everyone an added spring in their step as Christmas approaches. We cannot thank Robert Childs and everyone at Harland & Wolff enough.’’
