The transgender bus driver in 1970s Belfast

Wilma Creith is believed to have been one of the first people from Northern Ireland to have undergone gender reassignment surgery back in 1980.

At the age of 47, she made the life-changing journey from Belfast to Leeds but died just three days later.

An inquest found she died as a result of a blood clot caused by high levels of oestrogen.

She made front page news in 1977, when a tabloid ran the headline "Call me Wilma, says bus driver Bill" and now her story has inspired a play.

Suspect Device is a new immersive play performed aboard a retro Ulsterbus stationed in the grounds of Belfast Castle.

Artistic director Paula McFetridge said dozens of people had got in touch to share stories about Wilma.

"She ferried children to and from school including St Columbanus in Bangor, and Sullivan Upper and Sacred Heart of Mary's in Holywood," she said.

Ms McFetridge said those who reached out spoke of the "stoic grace in the way she looked and in the way she handled people".

She added that those who spoke said people who confronted Wilma were "in the minority", although some remember school children being at times very aggressive.

Mariah Louca, who takes on the role of Wilma, said there were stories of the abuse Wilma was subjected to.

"A lot of horror stories came out of her time driving the buses," she said.

“That just makes me more in awe of her."

Wilma is remembered as a resilient and strong-willed figure,

However, associate director Colm Doran said the "humiliation and embarrassment must have been huge" when she appeared on the front page of the Sunday World in 1980.

Wilma began driving buses after meeting the then head of Ulsterbus and Citybus, Werner Heubeck.

They met after Wilma, Bill as she was then, married with children carried out work as an electrician at Mr Heubeck’s home.

He later invited Wilma to begin driving.

When Wilma later told Mr Heubeck she wanted to live life as a woman, he provided her with a lot of support.

Ms McFetridge and her team heard from friends of Wilma that Mr Heubeck gave her sick pay for five weeks to allow her to travel to Leeds and allow her to recover from surgery.

She added: “He was even the first person to ring her after the operation.

“That level of support, because it came from the boss, meant that a lot of the bus drivers and a lot of those that were working in the unions, knew that they had to have respect for her and look out for her."

The production attempts to immortalise Wilma by evoking Greek mythology about the River Styx, which separated the land of the living, from the land where dead souls resided.

The audience sits amongst the cast aboard the vintage Ulsterbus.

Ms McFetridge describes Wilma’s character as “the eternal bus driver taking a bus of souls to the other side of the River Styx, in this case the River Lagan.”

"It's a promenade production," said Ms Louca.

"You’re walking up and down the aisle and they really are part of the story. They’re on the bus journey with you.

"They get to go on Wilma's ride with her".

Suspect Device runs until 1 December 2024 at Belfast Castle. It's produced by Kabosh Theatre Company as part of Belfast 2024 and the Outburst Arts Festival.