A theatre company based in East Belfast is celebrating 15 years of bringing communities and cultures together.
Terra Nova Productions was founded by Andrea Montgomery in 2008 as she looked to develop ways to highlight the growing multiculturalism in the city and promote the diverse voices and talents of those who live here.
A Canadian who was born in India and has lived and worked all over the world, when Andrea first came to Northern Ireland she did not expect that she would be staying for too long, but after meeting her husband from East Belfast, she now calls the city home.
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Noticing the growing diversity in Belfast over the years, she launched Terra Nova Productions with the aim of establishing inter-cultural theatre that would break down barriers and give audiences a fresh perspective on those living in their communities.
Since then, the company has gone on to produce a number of acclaimed productions ranging from large scale productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Belfast Tempest to smaller ones such as The Trumpet and The King, which is just beginning a tour of theatres across Northern Ireland.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Andrea said that the concept of inter-cultural theatre "took a little while to get going" in Belfast, but over the years has grown and helped to bring people and communities together.
She said: "The ethos behind Terra Nova Productions is about bringing cultures together and having them rub up against each other in order to create something special. It is like tectonic plates where as they meet, reactions take place and sparks fly.
"At first the concept of inter-cultural theatre took a little while to get going here, but it has quickly been accepted as Belfast has continued to become a more diverse city that is home to people from across the world.
"One of our first productions, the Ulster Karma Sutra, was a great example of this as we worked with a wide array of different communities in order to explore the sexualities of people living here, and as part of our research we set up an area in town where people could answer questions anonymously about their private lives, with some quite eye-opening results.
"We really began to hit our stride with our Arrivals programme that told the stories of people coming to Northern Ireland and the interactions and experiences they had living here. This involved actors from different cultures, races and countries coming together to explore a number of issues that different communities face.
"Currently we have a show, The Trumpet and The King which is just starting a tour of theatres in Northern Ireland that tells the remarkable story of John Blanke, a black musician from Granada that joined the court of Kings Henry VII and VIII, with him striking up a close bond with the latter.
"It is entirely based on true events, with John Blanke being documented as being in the courts of the kings and he was even given a special wedding present of a hat and gown by Henry VIII, which highlights the relationship between the two.
"It has been wonderful over the past 15 years to bring together so many different cultures and ideas and I hope that we are able to continue this long into the future."
As part of Terra Nova's 15th birthday celebrations, it has launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to help it become more secure over the next few years.
Andrea continued: "We have launched the crowdfunding campaign so that we are able to have some financial security looking ahead as it can be a difficult process acquiring funding in Northern Ireland for projects, with there being a huge disparity in investment in the arts here compared to the rest of the UK and Ireland.
"This is really to ensure that we are able to support members of staff financially and pay for our unseen overheads, such as heating bills, that are often not included in funding that you receive or grants.
"We have received such amazing support from the people of Northern Ireland and we are hoping that will continue with this new campaign as we look to further grow intercultural theatre here."
If you would like to support Terra Nova's campaign please follow this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-terra-nova-productions-raise-15000
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