After a challenging few years due to the pandemic, Galway Theatre Festival (GTF ) is back and better than ever. The 14th edition of the festival, which runs from April 26 to May 9, marks a new beginning for the arts and theatre community in Galway and beyond. This year's festival theme is a call to explore new perspectives, challenge assumptions, and broaden our understanding of the world.
GTF 2023 brings together a range of arts organisations, including Bealtaine, Polish Arts Festival, Brú Theatre and Town Hall Theatre, to present a diverse selection of productions, including thought-provoking dramas, children's theatre, comedy, and workshops. The festival offers something for everyone, and audiences are encouraged to take a chance on something new and unexpected.
"The arts have an important role to play in healing, empathy-building, and imagining a better future," says Aoife Noone, Creative Director of GTF. "We believe that this festival will be a catalyst for new ideas and fresh perspectives."
Among the exciting productions on offer are Conversations After Sex by THISISPOPBABY, winner of the Best New Play award at the Irish Theatre Awards 2021, The Patient Gloria by Pan Pan, winner of the Scotsman Fringe First Award & Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and The Examination by Brokentalkers, an award-winning production exploring mental health and human rights in the prison system.
Other shows include Ériu's production of The House of Bernardó Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca, which uses a Queer lens to explore the play's themes of subservience, coercive power, and complicity. The Song Collector returns for a second year, having previously been a Work-In-Progress in 2022. Written by Chris Moran, it’s an excellent introduction to folk music for kids aged 6+.
The main shows at GTF 2023 also feature SALT by Vanessa Earl, a multidisciplinary, immersive, ritual celebration of our connection to the sea as a coastal community, and OCD Me by Just Friends Theatre Collective, a comedic exploration of mental health.
Galway Theatre Festival’s Works-in-Progress strand offers a unique opportunity for artists to test and refine their work with constructive feedback from audiences. This year's strand includes exciting new works such as Remote Control by Brú Theatre, Galway Dance Project, and Town Hall Theatre. The programme features two works-in-progress by Eibhleann Caffrey and Siobhán Manson, exploring the influence of social media on the daily lives of Irish teenagers and women in Irish step dance.
Other works-in-progress include Enchanted Island, a promenade audio play exploring climate change and magic, Mandroid Streams, an eccentric high-tech clown show exploring the creation of a sentient AI Mandroid takes place April 29 at the Bank of Ireland Theatre. Stepping Up, a story of love and justice (May 2, Bank Of Ireland Theatre ), and Yaqui and Béal: Yoeme and Irish in Conversation, a Fulbright Ireland project and a theatrical exploration of the commonalities between Native Americans and Native Irish, will take place on May 6 at Bank Of Ireland Theatre. Don't miss the chance to see these exciting new works-in-progress and be a part of their development.
Galway Theatre Festival is pleased to announce a diverse range of workshops and panel discussions for this year's festival. The workshops include an introductory workshop on oral storytelling with Órla Mc Govern of Moth & Butterfly, a workshop on character connection through improvisation with The Jess's's's, and a workshop exploring the creation of documentary/biographical theatre with Brokentalkers Co-Artistic Directors Feidlim Cannon and Gary Keegan.
The festival also offers Speed Creating, a free event where creatives of all disciplines can discuss new ideas and creative blocks, and Fishamble's Gavin Kostick will lead a practical discussion on working with playwrights on new writing. Finally, the festival is excited to offer a panel discussion with MAM West on the challenges and dreams of being mothering artists. Lóchrann: Creating Works for Theatre will host a series of workshops and a panel discussion featuring Marc Mac Lochlainn, Marina Ní Dhubháin, Máiréad Ní Chróinín, Diarmuid de Faoite and Celia de Fréine, chaired by Beartla Ó Flatharta. These events provide opportunities for arts practitioners and enthusiasts to learn and connect in a collaborative and supportive environment.
Tickets for the festival can be purchased online from: www.galwaytheatrefestival.com or www.tht.ie They can also be bought over the phone at the Town Hall Theatre Box Office: 091 569777.
For more information and a full schedule of events, visit the GTF website.
