'It's emotional playing a paramilitary who became a politician'

While he has a physical similarity to David Ervine, Paul Garrett does not want his performance to be just "an impression"

Spending the morning at the hospital and having his hand strapped up did not stop Paul Garrett from his commitment to rehearsing.

The actor is playing former Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) leader David Ervine in the hit one-man show The Man Who Swallowed A Dictionary.

Mr Ervine was a former Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) loyalist paramilitary turned unionist politician who played an integral role in brokering a loyalist ceasefire in 1994.

He died in 2007, aged 53.

Garrett said he wanted to do justice to the politician, adding it was the "biggest theatre gig" of his career.

The play maps David Ervine's life from his youth, to joining the UVF, his conviction for an attempted bombing, and transition into a political leader.

The man who swallowed a dictionary

First staged in 2023, the play takes inspiration from David Ervine's upbringing in a working-class socialist household in east Belfast.

It has elements of humour, drama, emotion, and music.

His father was very anti-Ian Paisley - the former Northern Ireland first minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party - and would make the young David read three books a week.

Paul Garrett while rehearsing for his role as former PUP leader David Ervine

"David was able to use a lot of flowery language, which he took a lot of stick for; people called him 'Dictionary Dave' and all that carry on," Garrett said.

"If you're going to be using words like that, you better be able to know what they mean; otherwise, you're going to look stupid.

"He was a guy from a working class, Protestant background, but he didn't shy away from the fact that there was a deep intelligence there and he could use his brain and not just be written off as a UVF thug.

"He was quite the opposite."

Meeting the family

A big part of the role has been getting to know David Ervine's family, including his brother Brian and widow Jeanette.

Brian Ervine told Mr Garrett: "You're definitely my wee brother because our David was 5ft 10in (1.78m)."

Garrett, who is 5ft 5in (1.65m), laughed at this but said the stage added a few inches.

David Ervine, pictured in 1998, died in 2007 at the age of 53

Speaking about the first time he met Mr Ervine's widow, Jeannette, he told BBC News NI: "I'm standing there looking as best as I can as her late husband, so I pulled her aside; it was very emotional for both of us.

"She gave me one of David's ties."

One moment in particular resonated with Garrett, and that was David Ervine on a big screen at a bar singing My Way by Frank Sinatra.

"I don't know whether Jeanette had ever seen that footage, but we just held hands. The pair of us were in bits," he said.

"I'm an actor doing a job, trying to do it to the best of my ability - this is this man's wife. So at a very human level, that just floored me."

'It's a big, big gig'

Garrett also plays a further 25 characters in the play, including former UVF leader Gusty Spence and one of Mr Ervine's PUP successors, Billy Hutchinson.

"There was a kind of surreal moment in the Strand Arts Centre last year," Garrett explained.

Future PUP leaders Billy Hutchinson and David Ervine, pictured here in 1994, are both portrayed in the one-man show

"I could see Billy Hutchinson in the audience, and I thought I'm never going to get this opportunity again. So I delivered my lines as Billy Hutchinson to Billy Hutchinson.

"He was like, 'that was great, but you didn't get the voice right'," he laughed.

It is not just praise from the people who he is playing on stage but also from those whose relatives are portrayed.

"Gusty Spence's son came up to me after one particular performance and said he closed his eyes and he thought his father was on the stage," said Garrett.

"As an actor, that means you are doing something right."

Paul Garrett plays more than 25 characters in the play, including Gusty Spence and Billy Hutchinson

The play has been getting people talking from both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland.

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said in an article last year that the title of the play describes David Ervine well.

The play was written by Robert Niblock and returns to the Lyric Theatre Belfast from 5-22 September

The one-man play was written by Bobby Niblock, who served time in prison with David Ervine.

The Man Who Swallowed A Dictionary returns to the Lyric Theatre Belfast from 5-22 September.

The play will then go on tour, including a performance in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings at Stormont.