Galway International Arts Festival unveils 'most ambitious' programme
Organisers of the Galway International Arts Festival have unveiled what is billed as the event's most ambitious programme, for the annual celebration of culture in the city.
Among the highlights are a production by the Abbey Theatre of 'The Cave' by writer Kevin Barry and a double-bill of plays from the Druid Theatre Company.
The fortnight-long festival begins on 14 July.
Artistic Director Paul Fahy has described the programme as "a tribute to the transformative power of the arts", expressing hope that the schedule will provoke, entertain and delight audiences.
The popular First Thought Talks series of discussions will feature contributions from Fintan O'Toole, US Congresswoman Parmila Jayapal and Palestinian photojournalist Eman Mohammed among others.
Druid will mark the fiftieth anniversary of its founding with JM Synge's Riders to the Sea and Shakespeare's Macbeth directed by Garry Hynes.
Several concerts at the festival Big Top have already sold out and new additions to the line-up include former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, iconic songwriter Richard Thompson and legendary Irish band The Blades.
The career of President Michael D Higgins will be marked in a photographic exhibition at Galway City Museum, while the programme also features extensive dance, street theatre and visual arts elements.
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Author interview: Fighting past the pain barrier to deliver a riveting mystery
I was keen to talk to Michelle McDonagh about her third novel — and not just because it's a great read. I've been thinking about her recently, because her first crime drama, published in 2020, centred on a murder suicide taking place on a farm — and the deaths occurred in the farm's slurry tank. With the tragic case of Mike Gaine currently in the news, Michelle is getting goosebumps. 'I wrote that after I'd heard of the tragic case of the Spence family in the North,' she tells me over Zoom. 'That was in 2012, where a father and two sons went into the tank after a dog, and the sister was the only one who survived. 'I remember being so horrified by it that it always stuck in my head.' Her first two novels were set in Galway, the county Michelle comes from, but she's switched to Co Cork for this third novel, and centres the story in Blarney — where she's lived for the past 18 years. But there's a Boston link too — and that city was Michelle's starting point. I've always wanted Boston to come into a book because I went there on a leave of absence. 'I worked for The Irish Voice which had just opened an office there,' she says, 'but came back after a few months because I'd fallen in love with a crazy Galway man.' She's speaking of her husband, Greg: 'I had to go halfway round the world to meet him, but it was a brilliant summer.' The book starts when an American tourist is found dead in Blarney. She's identified as Jessie De Marco, who travelled from Boston looking for the father she's never known. She's been searching via social media, and is found on the grounds of Blarney Castle. 'Rock close, where its set — and the Wishing Steps are so atmospheric,' says Michelle. 'The rocks go back to Druid times — and are 2,000 or 3,000 years old. 'It even smells ancient, and there's a rock shaped like a witch's profile. It's an incredible place. 'I was standing at the steps one day, and I thought, the American tourist could be found at the bottom of the steps.' A crime technician told me that a fall is the hardest murder to prove. 'I didn't know what had happened at the outset, or until I had my plot.' Hearing of the death, Jessie's estranged mum Dani arrives to identify her daughter's body. She recognises a respected local, Tadgh, claiming he's the father Jessie came to find. Convinced someone killed Jessie, she starts a media-fuelled frenzy of an investigation, which sees everyone taking sides. As the plot weaves and twists, it appears that there are many people who might conceivably have caused the girl's death — certainly they have something to hide. The plot covers many issues: Grooming; childhood trauma; good and bad mothers; how far would you go to protect your child? Which was the most important to Michelle? 'It's in the title, Some of This is True,' says Michelle. 'It's about who is telling the truth here and what is the truth? 'Your memory can change your perception of what actually did happen; did that person mean what they said? Dani and Tadgh have different versions of events, but they both start to question their versions. Could Tadgh have done something that Dani misconstrues?' Switching from journalism to being an author A former journalist with the Connacht Tribune, then The Irish Times, Michelle started writing her debut during a Faber course she took in lockdown. How did she find the switch from journalism to author? 'Writing a novel is totally different,' she says. 'Before I sent my first book out, I got a UK editor to look at it, and she said: 'When you're writing, leave your journalist outside the room, and when you're editing, let the journalist come back.' 'When you're writing a news piece, you want to get as much information and facts into it as you can, and I was going down all these rabbit holes, and dumping all the information in. 'She said:'No! People don't want to read all that stuff. They want to know what happens next.'' Although Michelle plots quite thoroughly and has photos of her setting pinned around her office walls as she types — she doesn't stick rigidly to it. 'The plot changes along the way, and changes further when I get my editorial notes,' she says. 'Pacing is always an issue. I'm too slow at the beginning and put everything into the end. 'It's a matter of moving things around and bringing some things up to the front. 'I usually cry for a week when I get the notes, and think, I can never do this! But when you start, it is never as bad.' For the record, Some of This is True is perfectly paced. I, literally, could not put the book down. I loved the complete picture of a contemporary small town that Michelle presents; we see the hero-worship afforded to GAA coaches and stars; we're shown right-wing protestors and social media trolling. It's a heady mix. Michelle says she's nervous about this book, and not just because it's the first she's set outside Galway. She's suffered from chronic pain for the past six years, and recently it's been particularly severe. I was in so much pain writing this book, that I missed my deadline and had to ask for an extension. 'That's the last thing you want, as a journalist,' she says. 'I've seen nearly 20 consultants across a range of specialities. 'I've had numerous surgeries and bits removed, and nobody has been able to find a cause for the pain. It's constant. Painkillers don't work. I can't sleep. 'I'm so drained that I can't stand, and sitting is agony. My GP said all he could suggest was CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy], and that I learn to live with it.' Recently, Michelle met a brilliant physiotherapist, who, diagnosing 'The Hidden Prankster' — a problem with a deep-seated muscle — believes he can help her regain equilibrium. He has started working with her, and she feels a great sense of hope. As well as this, Michelle suffers from anxiety — a condition she passes on to a character in each of her books. How does she gain a semblance of calm? 'It's simple things,' she says. 'It's reading. It's being around my family [Michelle has three children, Lucy, Jake, and Kiana]. 'It's being around my dog, Brody, and my daughters have a pony stabled on a nearby farm. Sitting there, surrounded by nature is sustaining. Female friends are massive, and my sister is my best friend. 'I do a podcast, Natter, with Kate Durant. She energises me. She's the glass half full, and I never got the glass in the first place.' Michelle McDonagh hosts the 'Natter' podcast with Kate Durrant: 'She energises me. She's the glass half full, and I never got the glass in the first place.' Three books in, is being a published author all Michelle believed it would be? 'When you dream about something for so long, you think, when you've got it, you will be a different person,' she says. 'You'll never have anxiety or low mood, but you're the same person. My dream was to go into a bookshop and see my book on the shelf. 'I can do that now. My name is there, but its surreal. It doesn't even feel like it's me.' The best part, she says, is meeting other authors: 'And particularly crime writers. We have a WhatsApp group, and from the beginning, they've been so welcoming. 'And it's not just crime writers. I've grown up reading people like Patricia Scanlan and Sheila O'Flanagan, and amazing writers like that have reached out the hand, and said: 'Come on in. Join our group.''
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Louise O'Neill among writers pushing the boundaries of theatre at Cork Midsummer Festival
She may have made her name as an author but it turns out that Louise O'Neill's true love is the theatre. When I chat to O'Neill, she is in London, where she has seen two plays in quick succession — Conor McPherson's new play The Brightening Air and the buzzy Broadway transfer Stereophonic by David Adjmi. "I just adore the theatre. Wherever I am, I'm always like 'what play can I go and see?'. There is something about being in a dark room with a few hundred other people and you have all signed this covenant that you are going to suspend disbelief for the next couple of hours.' So, when the opportunity arose to write her own play, O'Neill jumped at the chance. It was an offer with an attractive twist — to contribute a piece to Theatre for One, a very different prospect to the usual theatrical experience. A highlight of the Cork Midsummer Festival, Theatre for One presents a selection of five-minute pieces performed by a lone actor to an audience of one in a confessional-style booth. The unusual format has proved a big hit with audiences in its previous two iterations, and this year, the theme of Made in Cork adds some extra hometown flavour. Clonakilty native O'Neill is one of six Cork writers featuring, along with Cónal Creedon, Katie Holly, John McCarthy, Michael John McCarthy and Gina Moxley. 'It is really pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be and it is just really exciting to be part of that,' says O'Neill. "I had seen previous plays by Marina Carr, Mark O'Rowe, Louise Lowe, and Enda Walsh and it felt so intimate and spellbinding. Theatre is so much about the connection between the actor and the audience. Every night feels different, the energy, the dynamic, because of a new audience and how people respond to the material. There is something so fascinating about boiling that down to two people in one space.' O'Neill may have proven her own talent in a different literary field, but this isn't her first theatrical outing. Her second novel Asking For It, dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault in a small Irish town, became a phenomenon, and was later adapted for the stage, premiering at the Cork Midsummer Festival in 2018. However, long before that, she trod the boards herself, as a member of Kilmeen Drama Group, in their award-winning production of The Playboy of the Western World, which went on to be performed at the Abbey Theatre in 2013. 'Kilmeen was my local drama group and they were just such a wonderful source of inspiration. My mother would take me and my sister to the All-Ireland Drama Festival every year and we would see a different play every night. Lauren Coe as Emma and Paul Mescal as Bryan in Landmark Productions and the Everyman world premiere production of Asking for It by Louise O'Neill. Picture: Hugh O'Conor. "The level of expertise that those people have in writing, acting, staging, sets and lighting, is really quite extraordinary. Being exposed to that from a young age gave me such a love for theatre, and an appreciation and understanding of it that as an adult I feel immensely grateful for.' The surprise factor means O'Neill can't reveal too much about her Theatre for One piece, apart from the fact that it perhaps signals a change in focus inspired by her own stage in life. 'The protagonist of the piece is a woman in her 50s. There is probably an expectation that it would centre on a teenager but I have just turned 40 and I have friends in their 50s and 60s — I do think the interior lives of women of that age are quite fascinating, that shedding of old identities.' There is a pleasing symmetry in O'Neill's involvement in Theatre for One — it is staged by Landmark Productions, founded by Cork woman Anne Clarke, which also brought Asking For It to the Everyman Theatre in 2018. Julie Kelleher, who was artistic director of the venue at that time, is now directing O'Neill's piece and also helped her rein in her novelistic tendencies. 'I'm very used to having a lot of time and space to expand on my ideas. I handed in a first draft which was about 3,000 words. I asked Julie was she sure that my piece couldn't be longer than everyone else's and she was like, 'no',' laughs O'Neill. 'It was a really interesting creative experience, trying to see where I could trim off any excess material and hone it as much as I could.' Another play which O'Neill says she enjoyed recently was A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal as Stanley Kowalski. In another harmonious turn, one of the now world-famous actor's first roles was in Asking For It, playing the brother of the main character. O'Neill uses an apposite comparison when she describes how she felt seeing Mescal acting in Asking For It. 'It was akin to Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire when he comes on screen and there is an incredibly naturalistic, raw energy about him. Paul has a lot of that, you could see there was something special about him. The cast of Asking For It as a whole were absolutely outstanding, as a writer to see your words being brought to life in the mouths of such talent was such a privilege.' O'Neill is busier than ever, and completed her Theatre for One piece while also working on not one, but two books, a novel and an eagerly anticipated memoir, which will be out next year. She won't rule out writing a full-length play at some point. 'With me, it is always about trying to find the time because I always seem to have another project. You never know, I would love to.' Theatre for One, presented by Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals, Jun 14, 15, 17-22, free of charge. See for times. More theatrical treats at Cork Midsummer Festival Escaped Alone , The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14. , The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14. Caryl Churchill's satirical play celebrates the voices of older women, showcasing the talents of a superb cast. Stitch , J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22. , J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22. Making ingenious use of a shop premises, this production starring the prodigious Irene Kelleher exemplifies the Midsummer mission to use the city as a stage. The Black Wolfe Tone , Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21 , Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21 Written and performed by Kwaku Fortune, this thought-provoking production is a powerful meditation on identity and what it means to be Irish. The Second Woman , Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times) , Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times) A bold and ambitious production in which Cork actor Eileen Walsh will perform with an unrehearsed cast of 100 over 24 hours at Cork Opera House. Bottlenose: A Mystery for Modern Ireland , Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22 , Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22 A comic dive into the demise of the beloved Fungie, late of Dingle Bay. Read More Wicked: For Good trailer shows Elphaba in exile and first glimpse of Dorothy
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
Raucous cheers welcome Macklemore to Dublin as rapper goes through the hits with infectious energy
But it seems nobody has taken the song as literally as Macklemore himself, who has so many outfit changes in his one-and-a-half-hour set in St Anne's Park he must have raided a St Vincent de Paul. When he emerges on stage to perform opener CHANT, the Seattle rapper sets the tone for the night in a vintage Ireland rugby jersey with his head wrapped in a tricolour keffiyeh - a Middle Eastern headdress now synonymous with support for the Palestinian people. He takes off his sunglasses in the evening sun and screams 'DUBLIN, I made it back home. It's our first show of the summer, and it's in my favourite f***ing place in the world.' (This Cork writer hopes he says the same when he visits the Rebel county for his second stop on the tour tonight.) What follows is a jukebox of certified hits. There's the emotional dedication to LGBTQ+ people, Same Love - hearteningly performed on the ten year anniversary of Ireland legalising same-sex marriage - a jazzy homage to the beating heart of any city, Downtown, and the affirming Good Old Days. Even Summer Days is an absolute crowd-pleaser, despite it being a cool 13 degrees. Even if the songs weren't total earworms, Macklemore himself is an incredible performer. His energy on stage is infectious, and perhaps on account of a nine-month break from live shows, is apparently unending. He seems thrilled to be there, awed by the approximate 18,000 spectators, and totally willing to muck in: he raps, plays the drums and busts a move or two. He isn't the only one, as Dance Off sees him pull two members of the audience on stage to, well, have a dance off. Though it was Samantha's birthday, her rival Ben stole the show, as well as the crowd's hearts, on account of his breakdancing. Despite the party atmosphere, there's no forgetting a cause seemingly as close to Macklemore's heart as it is to that of the Irish people: Palestine. There are numerous keffiyehs to be seen in the crowd, and Palestinian flags fly over the audience as if it's Glastonbury. These, he points out, as he introduces Hinds Hall, a protest song he released as a single in 2024. 'I want to say in the last 19+ months of witnessing the first ever live streamed genocide, I have been so proud watching from afar at how my Irish brothers and sisters have shown up for the Palestinian people,' he said, giving a particular shoutout to Kneecap. 'I was thinking earlier today of what I wanted to say and what I realised is Palestine has opened my heart, it was closed before. It has given me the gift of feeling empathy for other human beings. Showing up is not brave anymore, it's just expected and it is human. I want to live in a world where being against genocide is the expectation,' he added, to raucous cheers from an audience that seems inclined to agree. There is a palpable connection between Macklemore and the audience in Raheny. Though he sings too fast for most of us to keep up, there's an energy coursing from stage to crowd that feels electric. He uses the oldest trick in the American book of calling upon Irish ancestry as he introduces the slightly odd Irish Celebration, but we won't hold it against him. Instead, everyone is supportive - literally. As the closer, Can't Hold Us, reaches a triumphant high, he climbs off the stage and into the crowd to be held aloft by them.
