news

Garry Hynes to open Galway Theatre Festival

This year’s Festival will be opened by Druid’s Artistic Director, Garry Hynes, on Tuesday 25th October at 1pm in Nun’s Island Theatre.

‘It is a great start to this year’s Festival. I think everyone will be buzzing with excitement and that will propel a great week of theatre.’ says Festival Director Róisín Stack.

There will be light refreshments and plenty of merriment so if you’re in town, do come and help us celebrate the opening of this year’s Festival. Everyone is welcome!

Seat Sale started!

Not only are GTF tickets already reasonably priced, we also offer a limited number of half price tickets for one week only. This indicates one of two things: we are very sound, or clearly mentally unsound.

€4.99 tickets can be purchased from Galway Arts Centre from 10am on Monday 17th October until Saturday 22nd.

Stage Write Winner Announced

Galway Theatre Festival announced today that Jaki McCarrick’s Belfast Girls is the pick of this year’s Stage Write reading panel.

This is Jaki’s second year being selected for Stage Write. Leopoldville was given a rehearsed reading in 2009 and went on to a full UK production.

Stage Write will take place after the opening event at 1pm on Tuesday 25th October in Nun’s Island Theatre. Entry is free and all are welcome.

Call for Volunteers

GTF is putting out a call for volunteers for this
year’s Festival. Can last year’s Team Awesome be out
- volunteered...? Click here for more details.

Director’s Choice Announced

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for... Festival Director, Róisín Stack, has selected All Things Considered, It’s
a Nice Place to Start fresh from its run at Project Arts Centre during this year’s Absolut Fringe Festival.

Why this one?

‘I really admired the honesty and the simplicity of this show, which has a very sweet sentiment at its heart.
The performers are reaching out to people in communities and exploring Irish society through individuals rather than as one political or social group, so it’s not just a sweet piece of theatre, it’s interesting and intelligent as well.’

About the show:

Last month 300 strangers throughout the 32 counties received thank-you cards from us. We wanted to reach
out so we wrote to them. Because things were grim;
we were sad and we didn’t know what to do. We wanted
to say thanks for letting us skip the queue that time, for being bright and different and needed and involved and for daring to be you.

Writing these notes gave us hope and a reason to look up; made us think of fresh starts,new beginnings and
a time for change. Now, we’re making a play about it
and we want to share it with you. We want to change the world but we are only three. This could be a nice place to start.

All Things Considered, It’s a Nice Place to Start takes place on Friday 28th @10pm and Saturday 29th @6pm in the Studio at Town Hall Theatre

Galway Theatre Festival launches Parley Pilot with Solstice Group

Galway Theatre Festival has just announced details
of a new initiative called Parley, in which emerging artists will meet one another in a festival environment and discuss theatre making in Ireland, touring, theatre networks and the different approaches to theatre practice. Cork’s Solstice group will help to select three actors or directors based in Cork who will
travel to Galway for the weekend of the Festival
to meet local artists.

Galway Theatre Festival provides two nights accommodation and theatre tickets for the participants and organises informal meetings with other practitioners, as well as one formal public discussion on the nature of theatre in Ireland. Solstice will
cover all travel costs for the participants.

The pilot is the brainchild of Festival Director Róisín Stack who became aware of the lack of opportunity for unfunded artists and companies to travel after attending theatre festivals and conferences this Summer. ‘It’s great that we have strengthening networks of theatre producers and festival directors,’ Stack explains, ‘but the artists are often left out of the discussions because they simply cannot afford to travel. We’re talking about artists who make virtually no money on their work but continue to create year round. It’s also difficult for smaller companies to tour and as a result I think they can feel isolated and insignificant. I’m hoping Parley will change that to some extent.’

Parley is open to any actor or director who is based
in Cork city or county and has been involved in a production in the past twelve months. Interested parties should send a cover letter stating their interest in the initiative, along with a CV to info@solsticecork.com with GTF Parley in the subject line.
Galway Theatre Festival runs from 25th – 31st Ocotber. www.galwaytheatrefestival.com

GTF is go!

Galway Theatre Festival was launched last night by esteemed Irish actor Don Wycherly in Massimo Bar, Sea Rd. With the shows out in the ether GTF 2011 is officially up and running! Tickets can be purchased from the lovely staff at the Town Hall Theatre. Photos of the launch coming soon to our Facebook page.

Paddy D’Arcy designs new GTF image!

Local artist Paddy D’Arcy designed this years atmospheric image for Galway Theatre Festival. Paddy D'Arcy is a 24 year old Galway artist. He has exhibited in group and solo shows in various locations around the country. He works in many mediums including oil paints, acrylics and spray paint and draws his inspiration from the surroundings of Galway, popular culture and film.
Dean Kelly from the Kenny Gallery has called Paddy's works "disquieting and arresting".

"They are particularly strong in that, while they are
ostensibly surreal and based on science  fiction,
they are rooted in actuality - to places we know and
can readily identify with. With this jarring juxtaposation, these images are made especially
relevant and original." 

Galway Theatre Festival is delighted to work with Paddy on this year’s Festival.