Entertainment
Druid’s 2016 programme – and not a bullet in sight!
Arts Week with Judy Murphy
Fans of Druid Theatre face good and bad news this week. The bad news is that the company – currently presenting Big Maggie in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre – won’t stage a show in Galway before July.
The good news is that Druid’s fans “will be sick of us after that,” says Garry Hynes as she says there are plans to present three shows in Galway from then on.
A new production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot will kick things off in Druid’s Mick Lally Theatre, while Helen and I, the debut drama by Tuam writer Meadhbh McHugh will open in August, also in Druid. That will still be running when Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane opens at the Town Hall Theatre.
Druid previously staged Waiting for Godot in the early 1980s and “Beckett was always a huge influence”, Garry says. “When the lads said they’d love to do Godot, it was wonderful.”
The ‘lads’ are Marty Rea, Aaron Monaghan, Garrett Lombard and Rory Nolan, all of whom shone in Druid Shakespeare last year.
Having created an ensemble of actors to work on DruidMurphy and DruidShakespeare, Garry felt it was logical to take on Godot.
“The relationship that exists between us makes sense going into this hugely iconic play. If any of the four were not available, we wouldn’t do it – the play is such a monster to direct, we said we’d try it and see if we’d make any sense of it.”
The four actors will be cast following workshops over the next few weeks and the production will be directed by Garry, as will the revival of The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
Helen and I, meanwhile, will be directed by Annabelle Comyn, one of the best-known names in Dublin theatre.
“We presented it as a Druid Debut and decided to give it a full production,” says Garry, explaining that its author Meadhbh McHugh “shows huge promise”.
Helen & I tells the story of two sisters who return home to look after their dying father. Over a summer’s weekend, their future emerges from hard-won and hard-fought rearrangements of the past.
It’s being directed by Comyn who has directed Shaw’s Pygmalion and Tom Murphy’s The House at The Abbey Theatre.
“I’d have been happy to direct it but I want to bring in new blood, people with new ways of looking at things and doing things,” says Garry.
While Druid is “delighted to be introducing new writing from the West of Ireland, producing new work is difficult,” says Garry. “If you are doing your job well in developing new work, two or three out of every five productions will fail.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
