about
Galway Theatre Festival was founded in 2008 by Páraic Breathnach (Galway Arts Centre) and Andrew Flynn
(Galway Youth Theatre) with almost back to back
theatre performances in Nun’s Island Theatre featuring Dragonfly, Mephisto, Zeilig, Aindrias De Staic, Fregoli and many more.
In 2009 Róisín Stack came on board as Festival Director and
GTF expanded to include Town Hall Theatre and
Galway Arts Centre,
a festival club,
a rehearsed
reading series and a host of world premieres. The Rehearsed Reading Series saw two new plays go
on to
full productions: John McManus’ ‘The Quare Land’ for
the 2010 Galway Arts Festival, and Jaki McCarrick’s Leopoldville’ which ran in Covent Garden and also scooped the Papatango Award for New Writing.
The 2010 Festival continued to grow with Druid Lane Theatre added to the list of venues, twelve companies presenting work and a new event in the form of a crossover discussion with
TULCA Festival of Visual Art on the relationship between theatre, visual art and performance art.
Galway Theatre Festival is now in its fourth year
and continues to develop and nurture young talent and new writing. As always, Nun’s Island Theatre will be
the starting point for the Festival, with the Town Hall Studio hosting many evening shows and, for the first time ever, non-traditional venues across town presenting site specific productions. The 2011 programme will feature strong local favourites, new play readings, special Halloween-themed productions, a co-presentation with Bulmers Galway Comedy Festival, a hand-picked production from Absolut Fringe Festival, a performance straight from Cork MidSummer’s Solstice Season,
a crossover event with the Irish Theatre Institute
and
a nightly Festival Club in the Galway Arms, Dominick Street.
It is the energy of the city that fuels this vibrant Festival but it could not happen without the support
of the community. Galway Theatre Festival is eternally grateful to all its founders, without whom the Festival would never have been realised.
We hope you can join us in celebrating this year’s Galway Theatre Festival.
Galway Theatre Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the Arts Council of Ireland along with Galway City Council, Town Hall Theatre and Galway Arts Centre.
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