Theatre Festival marks move to May with a vibrant programme

Galway Theatre Festival, which up to now has taken place in Autumn, has new dates and will take place this year from May 1-9.

The event will host work from well-known actor Phelim Drew and actor and percussionist Brian Fleming.

Drew will bring his one-man show  Down and Out in Paris and London (based on George Orwell’s memoir), while Brian Fleming will stage his trilogy Gis a Shot of Your Bongos Mister, Have Yis No Homes to Go To, and A Sacrilegious Lesbian and Homosexual Parade. These were originally staged at the Dublin Fringe Festival, when they were directed by Raymond Keane, and have since been staged in New York.

The Galway Theatre Festival has built a reputation for showcasing a wide spectrum of theatre and performance from local and national artists. Galway companies taking part this year include John Rogers Theatre, The Skybabies, ÓR Productions, and Simulacra Theatre Company. Out-of-town companies in the programme include Honest Arts, Clown Noir, Candlelit Tales and Guerilla Aerial.

There will be an emphasis on new writing, as well as combinations of theatre and new technologies, immersive promenade experiences, circus and clown performance. There will also be a 24-hour show, comedy, improvisation, and old-fashioned story-telling.

The Festival has added a special May Bank Holiday programme this year to mark its new dates. That programme will include a walking tour of Galway’s theatre history, a dramatic re-telling of the complete Táin cycle of legends, late-night comedy improv, and a free performance spectacle at a secret location in Galway city.

Audiences will also have an opportunity to go behind the scenes of shows that are currently being developed by Galway artists and companies.

A limited number of tickets will be available for works-in-progress where audiences will be invited to view the work being created, and give feedback.

These shows include an immersive re-telling of the horror story Frankenstein by There Is Bear (DruidFuse); new writing exploring the death of the Irish country town by Fregoli Theatre Company (Mike Diskin Bursary award winners 2015); and an Irish-language version of  ‘The Scottish Play’ –  Mac Bheatha by Seán Ó Tárpaigh.

The full line-up of this year’s Galway Theatre Festival can be viewed at www.galwaytheatrefestival.com and tickets for Festival shows will go on sale through An Taibhdhearc on April 8.