Night of food and fun for annual Theatre Festival

Galway Theatre Festival (GTF) will run from September 30 to October 6 in venues throughout the City. There will be new shows from city companies, including Mephisto and Anam as well as work from visiting companies such as Cork’s Broken Crow and Dublin’s Stone’s Throw Theatre.

The Festival, which has become an important part of the local arts scene, is a non-profit, curated event committed to providing a platform for aspiring theatre companies with particular emphasis on local, independent theatre. In its short history, the Festival has presented several Irish and world premieres, site-specific performances, professional readings of new scripts and revivals of modern classics.

This year Kate Costello has taken over as GTF’s Artistic Director. She is presenting work from local Galway companies alongside companies from Kilkenny, Cork and Dublin. In addition to the nine curated productions, Kate has developed a new Events strand within the Festival which will focus on professional development and practitioner engagement.

This will be done through events such as a workshop taster series, technical talks, Sky Babies comedy improv, NUIG @ Druid Lane Theatre, rehearsed reading series (both in English and as Gaeilge), 24-hour theatre and much more.

GTF is supported by the Arts Council, Galway City Council and is produced by Galway Arts Centre with the assistance of the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, An Taibhdhearc, and Druid Theatre Company.

But funding is an issue and this Saturday, September 21 Galway Theatre Festival is hosting a Fundraiser Extravaganza in the Róisín Dubh, Dominick Street, at 8pm. This is promised to be a night of fun, frolics, festivities, and fundraising!

Guests can enjoy a glass of wine or a pint of beer, sample food from the city’s finest restaurants, and dance.

The line-up for the fundraiser includes well-known Galway acts such as The Hardcore Priests of Yemen, My Fellow Sponges, Grace Kiely and Pat Hargen and The Cabin Collective, along with performers from outside of town such as Swords, EleventyFour, Andrea Healy and many more.

Tickets will be €10 on the door and GTF promises it will be a great night of theatrical dalliances.