Society
Belfast audiences use street names to signal veiled threats during Northern Ireland comedy show
Modern Wisdom
“My Autism Keeps Upsetting People” - Vittorio Angelone
"Somebody shouted out the word Trench, which is the street my dad grew up on in West Belfast. In a show that's maybe a little bit contentious about Northern Ireland stuff, it's just a bit like, okay, noted. It's a little flex. We know where you're from. We know who you are."
During performances of his show about Northern Irish identity in Newcastle and Nashville, audience members shouted 'Trench'—the specific West Belfast street Angelone's father grew up on—as an intimidation tactic. He compares it to author Patrick Radden Keefe's experience interviewing gangsters who would casually mention his children's names and dog's name to demonstrate surveillance. The incidents occurred during politically sensitive material about Catholic/Protestant naming conventions.
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