BY RÓISÍN KILROY
The 26th annual Baboró International Children’s Festival will be taking place this October 4, until 17.
The beloved children’s festival promises a variety of performances and shows for children up to 13 years old, with inclusive events planned for all audiences.
Speaking on the upcoming festival, executive artistic director of Baboró, Aislinn Ó hEocha, says that it is important to her to reflect their audiences through the programme, showing that representation for children matters.
“We’re very conscious that, ideally every child who sits in an audience, at some point, would have a reference and see themselves. Whether this is in the performers, or the ethnicity of the performers, or how abled bodied they are, or the intellectual ability of performers and it might be in the stories that are being told.”
As such, there is a variety of shows in this year’s programmes which use light, dance, puppetry and art, as well as words to portray stories and to connect with children and adults who will attend. One such show, is from Graffiti Theatre titled The Sleep that Ceased to Settle, written by Irish born Australian award-winning playwright, Finegan Kruckemeyer. The show follows a father and daughter, Malley and Joanie as they come to terms with the loss of Joanie’s mother.
Ó hEocha says that, the story’s engaging and sensitive nature highlight how important it is to have those conversations with children. “I think sometimes we underestimate children and what they’re capable of, what they consume through the world around them, what they see in the news or hear in conversation. It’s good to recognise that, and to give them permission to explore how they feel.”
Though there is a plethora of shows at this year’s festival, that ongoing tone of child focus and engagement is ever present. Tiny Mutiny was comissioned as part of The Arts Council’s 70th birthday, and was created specifically to highlight the voice of the child and giving agency to children. Working with local artists, Jojo Hynes, Midie Corcoran, Róisín Seoige and Atmos Collective, Tiny Mutiny seeks to highlight the lack of spaces dedicated to children in Ireland.
“It’s important that children get to ask questions of adults, a kind of demand to a certain extent, that their voices be heard and considered, when adults are planning civic spaces and civic supports for children in Galway,” enthused Ó’hEocha.
I Want to Speak Ukrainian, is a trilingual event with readings in English, Irish and Ukrainian performed. Summed up as what Ó hEocha describes as, “a gesture of welcome to the Ukrainian community,” it was created by Bláithín Breathnach and Lindsay Myers, the show utilises three books written by the duo, with an English version which incorporates Ukrainian words and visa versa, and an edition in Irish with Ukrainian words being introduced. The book follows a little girl who has left her home to come to a new place and is teaching her friends the language that she speaks.
For teachers who want to keep the magic of Baboró alive in their classrooms this year, Punch Drunk, who do large scale immersive theatre with PunchDrunk Enrichment as their educational arm, created A Small Tale in collaboration with the festival. A Small Tale is a teacher-led interactive literacy project. PunchDrunk Enrichment will be coming to Galway this year to train teachers and provide an opportunity to learn from the director about how to create interactive educational shows for children.
This year’s Baboró offers a variety of performances for children at all language and ability level, with plenty of after school activities and events, some even running after the end date of October 17. For further details on events, visit baboro.ie
