Originally founded in 1996, the Blue Teapot theatre company (based on Munster Avenue ) has evolved from a community arts project within the Brothers of Charity Services Galway to becoming an award-winning independent theatre company that supports an increasingly rich and diverse practice. They work to radically transform theatre practices by telling stories through the lens of disability and paving the way for inclusive practices to become the norm.
The focus and commitment of Owning the Space, the Blue Teapot’s Strategic Arts Plan 2023-2027, is centered on three priorities: Production – creating brave, challenging, intrepid theatre; Progression – nurturing creativity and talent; Provision – owning the space, developing infrastructure and quality outputs. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible, they are looking to celebrating creativity and challenge the narrative about intellectual disability.
Petal Pilley, CEO and Artistic Director says: “My own hopes for the Blue Teapot’s future is that the theatre we make continues to thrive, challenge and reach audiences in unexpected ways.
“There are opportunities for creative collaboration for our artists locally in the City and County, across Ireland and Europe, and I very much want to see these opportunities brought to fruition.
“We have recently had the good fortune to be in a position to purchase the premises we have called home for the last 14 years, with much thanks to our previous landlord, the late Brian Silke.
“We had been renting our theatre space on Munster Avenue since 2008 and feel very much part of the local area and the West end business communities. Owning this space offers our company the potential to contribute even further to the cultural life of Galway and the Western Region through the provision of a new arts and disability centre, which we envision as a hub and centre of excellence for ID theatre arts, and propose to develop in line with international best practice models,” she concluded.
