Entertainment
Host of events still to come at Galway Fringe Festival
Arts Week with Judy Murphy – judymurphy@ctribune.ie
This year’s Galway Fringe Festival, which has run alongside the Galway Arts Festival, has offered audiences a range of events encompassing theatre, dance, visual art and music. And it’s not over yet, with shows and exhibitions running throughout Galway City until Tuesday.
Still to come is the much anticipated Children on the Black Skirt, by Drama Works Ireland. This evocative play explores history, childhood innocence and the power of storytelling. Three children, who discover an abandoned orphanage, become trapped in a timeless world haunted by spirits of the past, ruled by the Black Skirt, a cruel governess. The spirits will not rest until their stories are told. This is being staged at the Electric Garden in Abbeygate Street at 7.30pm until this Saturday.
Neighbours, a new play written by Mayo writer Andrea Cleary, is a fast, whiskey-fuelled two-hander about Mary and Johnny, neighbours since childhood, who are now almost strangers. They meet in a field after a night out where they remember the good old days, dream, debate and make life-changing decisions. Neighbours will be staged downstairs in the Cellar Bar, Eglinton Street, this Friday and Saturday at 6.30pm. Andrea, who is originally from Hollymount, graduated from the University of Wales in 2007 with a degree in Theatre Studies and Performing Art. She co-founded Maylin Productions with writer Rua O’Donnachu to promote new writing and produce theatre which entertains and challenges.
The Cube Theatre at NUIG is staging a range of productions for the Fringe Festival, including Sluts from NYX Theatre Company. Featuring a cast of local actors, it explores events as four girls get ready to go to a nightclub. Sluts is full of witty one-liners but it also offers an insight into the difficulties faced by young people in modern Irish society. It runs at 8.30pm from this Thursday until Sunday.
Made to Shiver, by NUI Galway student Rory O’ Sullivan is at the same venue from this Friday, July 26 to Monday next, July 29. This work was inspired by events last summer, including the violence at the Swedish House Mafia Concert in Phoenix Park, and Katie Taylor’s success at the London Olympics. With friendships forged from pain and a family crippled by shame, the characters look back to events that warmed and changed their lives. This play was highly successful at NUIG’s Jerome Hynes Festival, where it won Best Actor and Best Sound awards.
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.
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