When James Ellis accepted the script of Over The Bridge from Sam Thompson in the autumn of 1959 he little knew what a momentous effect this would have on theatre in Ulster and on his own subsequent career. The raw realism of sectarianism in the workplace as portrayed in the play was too much for the Board of the Group Treatre and their censorship of its production sent out shockwaves that shook the old regime apart and ushered in a whole new genre of local theatre that remains its hallmark to this day.

James had come all the way from his home in England to honour his friend and at the ceremony and later at the Park Avenue Hotel he gave us a rare insight to the happenings of 50 years before. He recounted how his father, himself a shipyard worker, had read the play and declared it 'our play' and insisted that James must produce it. He talked about the long and difficult struggle to find an alternative venue and how, far from stirring up strife, the play was acclaimed by the tens of thousands of shipyard workers, most of whom had never been at a play in their lives, who thronged to see it.

Maura Megahey, Thompson's biographer, described Thompson's struggle to have the play staged and how his vision and foresight paved the way for later Ulster playwrights to break out of the old 'safe' mode of writing and to write about real events and real people, warts and all. Martin Lynch, who is staging a new production in March, talked about the debt of gratitude that he and other playwrights and producers owed to Sam Thompson and James Ellis.

Some photos of the event are shown below.