TheatreTheatre
Bash
(Tues 13 - Wed 21)
Bash
Company: Ireland; Galway Youth Theatre
Venue: Town Hall Theatre Bar Beijing Dance Academy
Company: China; The Beijing Dance Academy
Venue: Black Box Theatre Flesh WoundCompany: UK; The Royal Court
Biological don't matter. Is's a lie that you can't pick your family, you can. And you can unpick it. And thass what I'm choosing to do. ...the dialogue is flawlessly sharp, stylishly hovering above the level of street-talk the better to peer with an unsentimental but compassionate eye on the self-perpetuating patterns of misery these sorry members of the urban underclass are trapped in, their humanity withered by the need to survive. Wilson Milam?s gripping production serves this slice of high-rise low-life with surgical precision; a considerable cut above the rest."The Telegraph
Venue: Town Hall Theatre La Veillee des AbyssesCompany: France; Compagnie du Hanneton
Straight from the crescendo of The Junebug Symphony comes the feverish fantasy La Veillée des Abysses. The extraordinary James Thiérrée has fashioned another magical masterpiece in which bodies and objects collide to create an explosion of visual poetry. Contortionism, acrobatics, mysterious transformations, music and dance fuse to shape a wonderful fanfare of the physical as Thiérrée spins one utopian fantasy after another. Regular collaborators contortionist Raphaelle Boitel and opera singer Uma Yasmat are joined by Swedish dance legend Nikolas Ek, animator Gaelle Bisellach from Belgium and Brazilian acrobat and dancer Thiago Martins to cook up another virtuoso dish of fantastic invention and pure physical delight.
Venue: Black Box Theatre Open SourceCompany: Galway Arts Festival/Ghent Festival/Helena Jonsdottir
Straight from the crescendo of The Junebug Symphony comes the feverish fantasy La Veillée des Abysses. The extraordinary James Thiérrée has fashioned another magical masterpiece in which bodies and objects collide to create an explosion of visual poetry. Contortionism, acrobatics, mysterious transformations, music and dance fuse to shape a wonderful fanfare of the physical as Thiérrée spins one utopian fantasy after another. Regular collaborators contortionist Raphaelle Boitel and opera singer Uma Yasmat are joined by Swedish dance legend Nikolas Ek, animator Gaelle Bisellach from Belgium and Brazilian acrobat and dancer Thiago Martins to cook up another virtuoso dish of fantastic invention and pure physical delight. Venue:
Black Box Theatre For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topOrange Flower WaterCompany: USA; Steppenwolf
Straight from the crescendo of The Junebug Symphony comes the feverish fantasy La Veillée des Abysses. The extraordinary James Thiérrée has fashioned another magical masterpiece in which bodies and objects collide to create an explosion of visual poetry. Contortionism, acrobatics, mysterious transformations, music and dance fuse to shape a wonderful fanfare of the physical as Thiérrée spins one utopian fantasy after another. Regular collaborators contortionist Raphaelle Boitel and opera singer Uma Yasmat are joined by Swedish dance legend Nikolas Ek, animator Gaelle Bisellach from Belgium and Brazilian acrobat and dancer Thiago Martins to cook up another virtuoso dish of fantastic invention and pure physical delight.
Venue: Town Hall Theatre For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topOur Country's GoodIreland; Galway Youth Theatre
Australia 1788. A young married lieutenant is directing rehearsals of the first play ever to be staged in that country. With only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who is about to be hanged, conditions are hardly ideal. . . Directed by Andrew Flynn and Designed by Eoin McCarthy, Our Country's Good is a moving and affirmative tribute to the transforming power of theatre.
Venue: Bank of Ireland Theatre, NUI Galway For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topParallel ParkingCatastrophe Theatre
Catastrophe's site-specific piece takes place in the top levels of a car park and revolves around the secretive and bizarre meetings that take place away from prying eyes. The Galway based Catastrophe Theatre Co. has made a name for itself over the past few years with darkly comic original scripts, unusual staging and physically engaging acting style.
Venue: Hynes Yard Car Park Merchants Rd. For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topSame Old ShoesCompany: Ireland; Smith 'n' Sweeney
Same Old Shoes is a new adult comedy show presenting a rip roaring, roller coaster adventure through the heart of a Saturday night out "ON THE LASH" Nobber, a single lad determined to have a good night out on the town, is all Bling, with Herculean good looks, pocket full of cash, and three Amigos - featherlite, ribbed fully lubricated and ready for anyone.
Venue:Radisson SAS Hotel Backstage Bar For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topSamuel Johnson
Company: Ireland; Rod Goodall
Spend an evening with Dr. Johnson as he reminisces about his life, times, loves and friendships. He is the name by which an age will be remembered. Rod Goodall was the mainstay of many of the classic Footsbarn Theatre Company shows over the years and both acted and directed with Macnas during the 1990s during which time he was also Artistic Director of the company.
Venue:Kings Head Theatre Bar For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topSawnsongCompany: Ireland; Benrae Productions Ltd.
Occi has grown up in a dog eat dog world and his instincts for survival are warrior-like. His principles are very simple and he guards what is precious to him. Occi's journey takes him on many different adventures - through murder and mayhem, love and death, returning ultimately to the beginning: a lost soul looking for recognition and a place to belong. Swansong, a dark yet humorous story, is written and directed by Conor McDermottroe, well known to Galway audiences from his many appearances with Druid Theatre Company.
Venue:Town Hall Studio For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topThe Tale Of Two CitiesCompany: USA; Heather Woodbury
Award winning playwright and performer Heather Woodbury made her Irish debut at the 2002 Galway Arts Festival with her extraordinary solo epic What Ever. Heather returns to the Festival to premiere her latest "living novel", which delves into the story of how two American communities on either side of the country were changed forever. In 1957 New York lost the Brooklyn Dodgers and their playing grounds while a Mexican-American community in Los Angeles was evicted to make way for the newly franchised Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium. Heather has been commuting between New York and Los Angeles for the past two years, researching and generating material via a bi-coastal series of new performances. The project collided with history itself as the twin towers of the World Trade Centre fell during the first month of her residency in NYC. This colossal loss and America's subsequent tragic response became a part of the contemporary narrative. Heather performs the entire three night epic for the first time for Galway Arts Festival.
Venue:Cuba For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topThe Glee ClubCompany: UK; The Bush Theatre
The Glee Club, an all-male singing group made up of five hard working, hard drinking miners and a church organist, is preparing for the local gala. Though well established on the working men's club circuit they are not exactly in the vanguard of the musical revolution. Sometimes compassion and understanding, as well as bigotry and cowardice, can come from the most unlikely places. This is the summer of 1962; music and much else is about to change, so too the lives of these six men. Richard Cameron's The Glee Club is a beautiful drama that tugs at the emotional heartstrings. With its raucous humour and superb close-harmony song renditions, The Glee Club gives us an insightful and poignant view on six northern miners, the songs they sing and the small village and ideals, in which they live their lives. In 30 years The Bush Theatre has won over 100 awards and is England's leading new writing venue.
Venue:Town Hall Theatre For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topThe Prince of DenmarkCompany: Ireland; Galway Youth Theatre
A down-at-heel family-run hotel in a small seaside town is the backdrop to this tale of murder, revenge and crippling indecision. A black comedy for all the family.
Venue: Town Hall Theatre Bar For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to topTradCompany: Ireland; Galway Arts Festival. Cast includes Peter Gowan, Frankie McCafferty, David PearseOriginal music by Jim Doherty Lighting by Paul Keogan> 
Standards always seem to be falling. Things were better once, simpler people had respect... Trad, a short but epic voyage, follows the relationship of a one hundred year old Irishman and his father, in a surreal comedy that looks at the value of tradition. A Galway Arts Festival production of a new Irish play by writer and performer Mark Doherty.
Venue: Druid Theatre For booking phone +353 91 566577, email: info@galwayartsfestival.ie, or book online at www.galwayartsfestival.com Back to top |
A powerful force in the dance field of China since 1987, The Beijing Dance Academy make their Irish debut and a rare European appearance at Galway Arts Festival. With choreography inspired by ancient Chinese history, culture, customs and folklore, a company of 20 dancers performs a selection of award-winning dances rooted in ancient Chinese myth and traditions. Using an abundance of dance styles the company moves through past and present with these spectacular choreographies releasing a whole new energy, beauty, spirit and magic portraying the magnificent culture and history of China