Biggest ever programme for Baboró on the cards

Baboró arts festival for children boasts its biggest ever weekend programme next month with six shows being staged as well as workshops and exhibitions in response to demand from families.

The programme of the 17th annual festival sees the return of Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Tom Chapin, the hilarious Dutch puppeteer Lejo and the hit company of the Dublin Fringe Festival, Collapsing Horse, which is producing a play inspired by WB Yeats’ poem The Stolen Child.

Other highlights of the week-long programme include Lifeboat, a Scottish show inspired by the survival of two teenagers who survived the torpedoing of a ship bound for Canada to escape the bombing during World War II a production widely acclaimed when it came to Galway in 2003. Another is an Abbey Theatre production called Me, Mollser while an Italian retelling of Red Riding Hood by La Baracca and a German show called Dot are geared to audiences of seven-year-olds down to two-year-olds.

In a bid to address the 30% drop in bookings from school groups last year, Baboró artistic director Lali Morris said she was visiting many schools throughout the county to spread the word about the value of the shows, which were heavily subsidised for pupils, with transport subsidies available to offset the prices of buses for parents.

Baboró General Manager Teenagh Cunningham said that last year the festival spent €18,000 on subsidising tickets and buses for pupils.

“I’ve been out to schools letting them know what they get for their money, the tickets are heavily subsidised, the bus subsidy means they can get 50% of the price back, so it’s important they take advantage of it because if they don’t come there’s no point in us existing,” explained Lali. “We are encouraging them to make a day of it by going to the workshops or an exhibition with activities for free either before or after the shows.”

This year in order to ensure as many children as possible attend, the festival has launched what it calls “a relaxed programme”, which are shows specifically geared to parents or teachers whose charges are uncomfortable at public events.

These performances feature visual delights or music or humour and children are not required to remain silent throughout the performance. They are free to leave and return to a show and eat snacks if they feel like doing so.  These shows are particularly recommended for children with special needs.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.