Dance classic kicks off week of fun, frolics and high art

Judy Murphy looks at the delights in prospect at the 36^th Galway Arts Festival

Free street shows, new drama, major artwork, a dance show and a concert performance of of a new home-produced opera form the backbone of this year’s Galway Arts Festival, which runs from July 15-28.

The programme kicks off on July 15 at the Black Box Theatre when choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan of Fabulous Beast Dance Company re-imagines his version of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Keegan-Dolan’s previous production of this ground-breaking ballet was nominated for an Olivier award in 2009 when it premiered in London’s Coliseum. It’s 100 years this year since Stravinsky’s ballet premiered to great controversy in Paris and this new version draws on the same ancient savage forces. For the Arts Festival, the piece is partnered with the brighter work, Petrushka. This dance show runs until July 20 at the Black Box Theatre with tickets costing €20-27.

The award-winning Mies Julie from South Africa’s Baxter Theatre Company in association with the South African State Theatre, which received five-star reviews when it played last year’s Edinburgh Theatre Festival, will receive its Irish premiere at the Arts Festival. Based on the play by August Strindberg it is directed by Yael Farber who previously visited Galway in 2008 with the drama Malora, based on South Africa’s Peace and Reconciliation Commission. That previous association proved vital in getting the play to Galway in the face of fierce international competition, according to the Festival’s Artistic Director, Paul Fahy.  It has also been staged in London and New York.

Mies Julie has been given a new interpretation in post-apartheid South Africa to explore tensions between race, class, gender and the issue of land ownership. Described by The New York Times as ‘stunning’ it is a highly charged work with sexual scenes, and is billed by the Festival as being suitable for those aged 16 and over.  It’s at the Town Hall Theatre from July 22-28, and tickets are €20-29.

Chicago’s Northlight Theatre Company, which enjoyed huge success at last year’s Arts Festival with The Outgoing Tide, featuring John Mahoney and Rondi Reed, returns this year with a new work. Stella and Lou is also written by Bruce Graham and is set in a Philadelphia bar where three kindred spirits find themselves on the brink of change. According to Paul, it’s a funny and poignant play that, like the Outgoing Tide, explores human relationships and the issues that drive people.

Actress Olwen Foeure, who features in Fabulous Beast’s dance show, is also bringing her new show to the Festival. Riverrun takes its inspiration from Finnegans Wake and is performed by Foeure, who co-directs. It’s at Druid Theatre from July 22 -27 with previews from July 18. Tickets are €20-25.

Star of Love/Hate Tom Vaughan Lawlor takes on the roles of Howie and Rookie in Mark O’Rowe’s play, Howie the Rookie. This is not a new play, but it has been re-imagined by the playwright, who also directs, for a single actor rather than being a two-hander. It’s in An Taibhdhearc from July 22-27. An Taibhdhearc will also present its own in-house production of An Tíornálach Drogallach – a translation of Tom Murphy’s play, The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant – directed by Anne McCabe and translated by Macdara Ó Fatharta. Based on a 19th century Russian novel, it’s the story of a matriarch consumed by greed, who first prospers and then fails terribly. As her circumstances change she becomes dependent on her favourite son for charity, but it doesn’t end well. This exploration of boom, bust, greed and immorality was first staged in English on the Abbey Theatre stage.

Local theatre is also represented by Blue Teapot with Sanctuary, a bittersweet comedy by Christian O’Reilly that explores issues around sex and disability. Blue Teapot was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre award last year on foot of this production, which is at the company’s venue on Sea Road from July 17-27.