Variety and quality in Galway Fringe line-up

The Galway Fringe Festival kicks off this Friday, July 12 and runs until July 31 in venues throughout Galway City with more than 100 local, Irish, and international acts, including comedy, children’s events, visual arts, music, theatre, cabaret, and literature both in English and Irish.

The theatre programme include Martin Sharry in his one-man show Martin Sharry Tells it Like it is, where Sharry explores the potential for truth  and storytelling in the medium of stand-up. It runs for two nights, on July 24 and 25 from 6-7pm in the Townhouse bar. The Bentley will also become a theatre venue, with shows such as The Great Couch Rebellion by award-winning playwright Philip Doherty, which tells the story of how Adam and Eve reach breaking point when they decide to rise up gloriously from the comfort of their couch and lead Ireland in a new rebellion. The show runs from July 16-20, from 8-9pm.

Musical highlights include Julie Hawk, a Galway singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is taking the London unsigned scene by storm. She will be performing this Friday, July 12 at 8pm in The Factory Abbeygate Street. Another performance to look forward to is A Sense of Place; a Place of Sense, at Galway City Museum on July 20 at 4pm.  Five international musicians will play eight modern classical compositions from all around the world, including the world premiere of a composition by John Maxwell Geddes.

Dance highlights include One Last Drop, which tells the stories of a man and woman as they struggle with the addiction to alcohol.  Written and directed by Claudia O’Sullivan and Kori Kilduff, it runs from July 22-25, at 5.30pm in The Cube theatre, NUI Galway.

Events on the literary front include Like a Marble Rolled, a contemporary epic poem that tells the story of a journey two friends make across a fictional city. Created and performed by Phoebe Dick this will be performed on July 20 and 28 of July in The Cellar Bar at 6pm.

Meanwhile The Poetry Sessions will take place in the Bridge Mills, at 3pm every day from July16-22 will feature a mix of music and poetry performed by Padraic Harvey, Gráinne Ní Fhoighil, Fred Johnston, Paul Mulligan, Seán Ó Coistealbha, Marie Homes and others.

The visual art scene is also well represented at the Festival and includes the exhibition Tell Me Your Real Name, a series of photographic portraits exploring questions of identity and the idea of self. All are welcome to have their portrait taken on site between 2-5pm daily in Galway City Museum, from July 17-19.  Another exhibition worth seeing is Craic in Galway by Darius Ivan, who is renowned for his nightlife photography around the city. His exhibition will show different views of life in Galway through his lens.

l See www.galwayfringe.ie for more.