St Anne's Square, The Potted Hen, The Mac and 'Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)'

St. Anne's Square

Saint Anne’s Square is an area of Belfast which is often over looked as it’s not directly in the hustle and bustle of the city centre, but it is an area which PastieBap was keen to explore. In recent years the area has been rejuvenated and is now a really good spot to experience a bit of culture, what with the new MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) opening up.

The Potted Hen

The square itself has a number of restaurants to choose from on a night out, including SQ, Salt, House of Zen, 4th Wall and The Potted Hen all of which look into the centre of the square. We chose to eat at The Potted Hen before going to see ‘Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, 1912)'. Upon being seated we received the Pre - Theatre Menu which was reasonably priced, 2 courses for £15.95 or 3 courses for £17.95, served between 5pm and 6.45pm. The restaurant was bright and airy and has an atmosphere akin to Jamie's Italian - with food served on rustic boards and in enamel tins. Between our party we ordered the warm goats cheese and the fishcakes to start, both of which were delicious, a perfect combination of flavours and textures -  and the crushed peas with the fishcakes were a unique and interesting treat.

We then ordered the smoked haddock, the mushroom risotto, the fish & chips and the ribeye minute steak (with a £3 supplementary charge). There was literally not a complaint among us: the food was served quickly, the staff were attentive and the food itself was fantastic. Especially the ribeye minute steak (served with a mouth watering beef marrow butter and red wine jus), the cut was fantastic and it's the first time in a long time that I've ordered steak and actually got it cooked to how I asked for it (medium-rare incase you were wondering). We then treated ourselves to desert - rhubarb crème brûlée, sticky toffee pudding and apple & plum crumble. Each was exquisite and beautifully presented. It was certainly no surprise to learn that The Potted Hen won the best restaurant in Northern Ireland in 2011 at the National Restaurant Awards. Plus, if you aren't local, or can't be bothered getting a taxi home, there's a Ramada Encore right next door!

 

The Mac

We then headed across the square to the MAC, Belfast's brand new arts venue. Their website states that their aim is to "select, create and mix up music, theatre, dance and art – bringing you the very best of local and international talent under one roof." 

The building itself cost £18 million to build, has free entry and is open seven days a week. It contains two theatres, art galleries, education & workshop rooms, rehearsal space, a dance studio, permanent artworks, offices for Resident Art Groups, an Artist-In-Residence Studio and a Café and Bar (and from what we could see the food looked and smelled pretty good).

The Mac is a beautiful space which really looks the part. with multiple levels and bright, open spaces. It also has free wifi (password: themac1234) available to all guests and free lockers to store all your goods in while you're browsing or seeing a show (well, you have to pay a pound, but you get it back). 

Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)

We went to see a new drama by playwright Owen McCafferty (who wrote the play Mojo Mickybo on which the film Mickybo and Me is based) called Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912) which is based on the emotive verbatim testimonies heard at the Titanic Inquiry in London following the disaster. This formal inquiry took place over 36 days and involved nearly 97 witnesses. Directed by Charlotte Westenra, this drama takes a completely factual and interesting account of what happened 100 years ago and brings it to life right infront of your very eyes.

I''m not going to lie, we really didn't know what to expect when we arrived at the theatre, but from the moment the lights went down we were mesmerised.

As the lights go down a man plays a haunting melody on a violin behind the curtain, evoking images of the Titanic's last moments as the band played on. Then a completely fictional character, the Clerk of the Court introduces us to the scene and pulls the curtain open to reveal the set. The set was extremely impressive with a replica of the Titanic, a large map of the plans for the ship, a dock, several large tables and high rising balconies above. 

We start off with the lowest ranked witnesses and progress towards the higher class witnesses as we learn about the last few hours of that fateful journey, searching for answers and someone to blame. We hear testimonies from many witnesses including two watchmen, a baker, Joseph Ismay and Cosmo Duff Gordon and his wife all of which create a rich image of what happened that night and the intricacies which made up its demise. Each of the 14 characters has their own specific, unique personality, nuances and ways of presenting themselves and talking and the entire cast did a fantastic job of adding their own spin on the verbatim testimonies.

As the play drew to a close the fictional narrator arrives on-stage closes the curtain and reads out the chilling statistics of survivors and victims on that fateful night. This was definitely a sobering end to the drama and really left the audience with something to think about. Definitely a night worth remembering!

By Laura Caldwell