Entertainment
Return of an Arts Festival hit
Luck Just Kissed You Hello by Amy Conroy, which was one of the hit plays of last year’s Galway International Arts Festival, will return to Galway next month.
Exploring notions of identity and sexuality against a backdrop of bereavement and loss, the play will be staged in Galway on November 1 after which it will tour to seven other venues around Ireland.
Luck Just Kissed You Hello, which was a co-production between Galway International Arts Festival and Amy Conroy’s company HotForTheatre, received rave reviews from critics and audiences at its premiere last year. Directed by Caitriona McLaughlin, it starred Conroy, Mark Fitzgerald and Will O’Connell, who are reprising their roles for this tour.
The play explores issues of gender that have become increasingly relevant in recent years. Laura (Amy Conroy) returns home because her father is dying – except that Laura is now Mark. He, along with Gary and Sullivan, must revisit the past in order to re-establish the present, and they all must find a way to forgive and recognise themselves again.
The Guardian described it as “a blistering exploration of masculinity” while the Irish Independent it “provocative, funny and intensely moving.”
Artistic Director of Galway International Arts Festival Paul Fahy has described Amy Conroy “one of most original younger Irish playwrights working today, writing in a style that demonstrates great intelligence, humour and detail”.
The Festival “is thrilled the production will be seen by a wider audience as it goes on tour”, he added.
Playwright Amy Conroy has written this play “for big cities, for small towns, for farmers, for ballroom dancers, for teachers, for artists . . . for you. The audience has always been at the heart of my work”, she said.
Luck Just Kissed You Hello will be staged at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway on 1 November for one night only, followed by Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork; Axis Theatre in Dublin; Riverbank Arts Centre in Kildare; Lyric Theatre in Belfast as part of the Outburst Queer Arts Festival; An Grianán Theatre in Donegal; the Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick; and the Pavilion Theatre in Dublin.
■ Tickets €20/ €18 at tht.ie, 091-569777 and at the box office.
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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