FERMANAGH artistic director and choreographer Dylan Quinn is currently working alongside Derry Girls actor Tara-Lynne O'Neill as Movement Co-ordinator on her upcoming new play, 'Rough Girls', at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast.

Written by Tara-Lynne, Rough Girls tells the story of the first all-female football team in Belfast at the end of the First World War.

Featuring an impressive 11-strong female cast, audiences will also have the unique opportunity to sit amongst the action on stage.

Directed by Kimberley Sykes (who recently directed Regent’s Park’s production of 'Romeo and Juliet'), this ambitious, large-scale production is an original Belfast story based on true events which resonates with the history of the city and chimes with the recent equality movements across the sports industry and the cultural sector.

Live music by Katie Richardson (Good Vibrations) will help recreate the heartbeat of the city at the time. 

Set in Belfast, across the years 1917-1921, and based on true events, Rough Girls, is the untold story of Belfast women who stepped onto a pitch in society-shocking shorts and footie boots, a ball at their feet and a point to prove.

These rebels with a ball kept kicking their way through the outraged defence of a male-dominated game, and yet raised thousands of pounds for those returning from war.

Talking about his role as movement co-ordinator on the production, Dylan told The Impartial Reporter: “Over the past 10 years or so, Movement Directors have become more commonplace in theatre.

"Before that it was just the job of the director; movement wasn’t considered as an independent thing as much.

“I basically help with the larger set pieces of movement," he said, commenting that it’s a very physical piece.

"It’s looking at the physicality on stage, looking at how we move equipment around the stage.

"It’s trying to think a little bit more in terms of the physical skills and physical experience; the visceral experience that audiences get when they are watching performances like that.

"There’s a bit more time and consideration given to that element, as well as the words and dialogue that goes on.”

Dylan's process as movement co-ordinator involved first- and second-hand research. He explained: "We had members of the Northern Ireland women’s football team come in to do some training with us.

“They were great, they were going through some of the training skills they were using, and some of the things they would have to consider, but there was also a lot of research between myself, Kim the director, Tara-Lynne the writer, and Katie the musical director about the reality of football from 1917 to 1921,” said Dylan.

He added that although the production is about football, it also focuses on the experiences of the women, their emotional stories and the social changes of that time.

The game-changing production takes to the Lyric stage from September 9 to 25.

Looking forward to sharing the production with audiences in the upcoming weeks, Dylan said: “It’s a wonderful cast; 11 very strong women performers. You rarely get an all-female cast, and that’s a real strength of it.

“It’s been great fun trying to look at different ways we can use the physical language and the music and the story. I'm really looking forward to getting to share it with audiences,” he told this newspaper.

This production of Rough Girls is supported by Garfield Weston and Electric Ireland. The Lyric Theatre is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and National Lottery funding.