Debuts part of Druid’s new wave of Irish writing at Arts Festival

The Druid Debut series is a fixture in the Arts Festival programme every July, allowing audiences to experience developing drama fresh off the page.

This year, Druid will present works in progress by Christian O’Reilly and Rory Nolan in rehearsed readings at the Mick Lally Theatre. Each will be followed by open discussions with the writers and cast.

You Belong to Me, written by Rory Nolan, a member of the Druid Ensemble of actors, will be directed by the company’s Artistic Director Garry Hynes and presented on Friday, July 20, at 12 noon. You Belong to Me is billed as “a darkly funny play about the rules we make, the lives we break and the dancing in between”.

The second Druid Debut is Babysitter, a comedy about resentment, entitlement and middle-class sexual politics from Galway writer Christian O’Reilly whose works include Sanctuary, The Good Father, Here We Are Again Still. It will be directed by another Druid Ensemble member Marty Rea and takes place on Friday, July 27, at 12 noon.

Druid Debuts offer audiences an opportunity to see works that are still in development and to make their observations on the pieces. Several previous Druid Debuts have gone on to full productions, including last year’s Furniture by Sonya Kelly, which is one of Druid’s two flagship shows for this year’s Arts Festival. The other is Shelter by Cristín Kehoe which got its Debut in 2016.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.