Taibhdhearc’s new drama – inside and out

By Seán Ó Mainnín

Something darkly seductive, moody and faintly menacing happened to Galway’s cityscape last Thursday.

The words might describe the suspense a Taibhdhearc play – but this time they also encapsulate the Taibhdhearc building itself.

Dark and simmering in full black and gold art deco style outside with a total jazz age treatment, inside you half expect a huge spotlight beam to snap on and Batman’s logo to light up the night sky.

The theatre’s new image is a bold re-enactment of a time and style when An Taibhdhearc was founded in 1928.

The drama begins not on stage but when you walk in the door where rich burgundy fabric chairs, a jazz piano, a speakeasy bar, and purple glow neon signage invites and intrigues.

You and your partner don’t sit in the corner drinking shnaps, you lurk in it. The only yielding to modernity is the ban on tobacco.

An Taibhdhearc opened its doors to the play, An Baile Beag Mór, directed by Philip Doherty. He and the theatre’s Cathaoirleach, Deirbhile Ní Churraighín wished the attendance welcome. And then, with one wave of his hands, Philip bid the real drama begin!