After a 50th birthday double performance of Shakespeare and Synge in its home town of Galway this summer, Druid Theatre will tour two more anniversary plays by Beckett and The Bard to Dublin and New York.
Two books on the history of Druid are slated for publication over the coming months, and University of Galway will host a three-day symposium on Druid from 31 October, including public talks and an exhibition.
Not many theatre troupes last half a century, with President Michael D Higgins expressing his “profound gratitude” to founders Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen and the late Mick Lally, who began Druid in July, 1975, with plays by JM Synge, Kevin Laffan and Brian Friel over three days at the Jesuit Hall in Galway.
“I am privileged to acknowledge Druid’s immeasurable contributions to Irish theatre, to the artistic life of our nation, and indeed the cultural heritage that defines us as a people. On this special anniversary, may I express my profound gratitude to all who have shaped Druid over the past five decades, past and present, to its founders, its creative teams, its actors and its audiences,” said President Higgins. “May you continue to shine brightly in the decades ahead, carrying forward that wonderful spirit of innovation, excellence, and artistic courage that has defined Druid from its inception.’
Anniversary shows
During this year’s Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF ) in July, Druid will stage a double bill of Synge’s Riders to the Sea and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth at The Mick Lally Theatre to mark its 50th birthday. Macbeth will then transfer to the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin from September to October.
Druid Theatre has also announced that its 2024 production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame will run at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan in October and November.
In Riders to the Sea, set on the Aran Islands, Synge concentrates the lyricism of the West of Ireland and the majesty of the Atlantic Ocean. This masterpiece is a swirl of Celtic paganism, earthly struggles, and the desperate stretch of humanity towards the heavens.
Twenty years on from the DruidSynge cycle in 2005, Druid co-founders and Tony Award winners Hynes and Mullen return to stage one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights for this new production.
For the second production of the double bill, Druid will bring its visceral and uniquely Irish perspective to one of Shakespeare’s fiercest and bloodiest tragedies, Macbeth. Hynes will direct a cast led by Marty Rea as ‘Macbeth’ and Mullen as ‘Lady Macbeth’.
Druid’s production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame will receive its North American premiere at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. Directed by Hynes, the original cast reunites across the ocean, including Bosco Hogan, Aaron Monaghan, Marie Mullen and Rory Nolan.
Druid toured America since 1986, including an historic Broadway run in 1998 of Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, which won four Tony Awards, including Best Actress for Marie Mullen, and Best Director for fellow founder, Hynes - the first woman to win a Tony for Best Director.
Writing
Throughout the year, Druid will host a Galway writing group led by playwright Meadhbh McHugh, and extend its 10-year relationship with the University of Galway, partnering with the Druid Academy.
Two books will be published to mark Druid’s milestone: a new, fully illustrated history of Druid Theatre, written by Patrick Lonergan (Lilliput Press ); and Druid Theatre 1975-2025: 50 Years of New Irish Plays, edited by Barry Houlihan, Patrick Lonergan and Máiréad Ní Chróinín, published by Bloomsbury’s Methuen.
The University of Galway will host a symposium from October 31 to 2 November: ‘Druid Theatre: Performance, Place, People’, exploring the past and future directions of Druid’s work in the local, national and global contexts. There will also be an exhibition and series of talks.
West of Ireland home
Druid is firmly anchored in its home town of Galway city. Costumes are created at the company’s Costume Department on Nuns’ Island, and sets are constructed at its workshop in Ballybane. Audiences may watch performances at The Mick Lally Theatre on Druid Lane, and the company is administered from its building on Flood Street.
In the past five decades, Druid has presented over 300 productions, shared the work of more than 50 playwrights, and performed in all 32 counties.
“It’s not lost on me how lucky we all are at Druid to have made it to this milestone,” says Garry Hynes, Druid’s Artistic Director.
“When Marie, Mick and I founded the company in 1975, we could never have imagined reaching our 50th anniversary. There are so many people to thank for helping us along the way but I’d like to especially thank the people of Galway for their belief in us since day one, as well as our audiences far and wide – because it’s not theatre until someone’s watching.
“I also wish to pay tribute to the Druids who have left us including co-founder Mick Lally, former artistic director Maelíosa Stafford and former general manager and my dear brother Jerome Hynes.”
Adrian O’Neill, Chair of Druid’s Board of Directors, said its artistic achievements were impossible without the solidarity and assistance of innumerable organisations and individuals, especially the people and businesses of Galway. He thanked financial benefactors, including the Arts Council, University of Galway, Galway City Council, and Smurfit Westrock.
Tickets for Galway performances go on sale Friday, May 9. Dublin, on April 10, and New York, June 1.
day one, as well as our audiences far and wide – because it’s not
