Part of the Furniture

Thu, Mar 21, 2019

ONE OF the highlights of last year’s Galway International Arts Festival was Druid’s production of Sonya Kelly’s scintillating comedy, Furniture. A big hit with critics and audiences, it makes a welcome return to the Town Hall Theatre next month as part of a national tour.

Fred Johnston - exploring ‘rogue states’ in new poetry collection

Thu, Mar 21, 2019

SALMON POETRY has recently published a new collection of poems by Fred Johnston, entitled Rogue States. It is Johnston’s ninth collection of verse and arrives almost 40 years after his debut, Life And Death In The Midlands.

‘We’re going to enjoy as much of this tour as possible'

Thu, Mar 14, 2019

WHITE LIES will take to the stage of the Róísín Dubh in the final 24 hours of Britain’s membership of the European Union. Even if Westminster seeks an extension, the band knows it will be little other than postponing what is a threat to the livelihoods of all touring musicians.

Smash hit show Menopause The Musical comes to the Town Hall

Thu, Mar 14, 2019

WHAT CAUSES women of a certain age to suffer cold sweats, hot flushes, hormones to rage like tsunamis, and unpredictable mood swings? It is not watching George Clooney or listening to Michael Buble - it is the menopause.

'People are talking about a renaissance in Irish writing. It’s not an exaggeration'

Thu, Mar 07, 2019

AS TECHNOLOGY progresses, at what point will the distinctions between machines and humans become blurred? Can poetry still be a voice or rage and reason against oppression and discrimination? And Irish literature, what lies behind its recent renaissance?

'There is that lovely heart to the story people can relate to'

Thu, Mar 07, 2019

FIRST FILMED in 1984 and starring Kevin Bacon, Footloose has enjoyed many a revival, being adapted for Broadway in 1998 where it ran for more then 700 performances, while 2011 saw it filmed yet again - all proof of its enduring appeal.

'I am flawed, but I also bring a lot to the table'

Thu, Feb 28, 2019

“LIFE IS difficult, but it’s incredible to be awake for it, to be present for it, both the good and the bad stuff.” So declares John Grant, who has known plenty of life’s slings and arrows. Yet he has come through them all to arrive at a place of self-acceptance, and to see his words and music resonate deeply with audiences across the world.

'I am settled, supported, and inspired by Galway'

Thu, Feb 28, 2019

UPCOMING GALWAY based company Brú Theatre will premiere its new play, Selvage, in Druid’s Mick Lally Theatre. Developed as part of the Druid FUEL programme, and funded by the Arts Council and the Galway City Council, it will be Brú’s third production since it formed in 2018.

'We all find a bit of ourselves and our own Irishness in Ross'

Thu, Feb 21, 2019

IT IS 2029 and Ireland is in the midst of an economic boom. The one and only Ross O’Carroll-Kelly is about to turn 50 – and life could not be better. His wife, Sorcha, is Taoiseach; his sons are the backbone of the Castlerock College Junior Cup team; and he still does allright with the ladies and as managing director of Hook, Lyon and Sinker estate agents.

'What we hear in our heads is what we try and make'

Thu, Feb 21, 2019

THEY ARE not yet finished college. Not all the members are yet in their twenties. They have only released a few singles and an EP, but Valeras are deservedly regarded as one of Britain's most exciting indie-guitar based bands.

Galway Drum Show’s all-star 'celebration of drumming'

Thu, Feb 14, 2019

SOME OF the world’s finest drummers are coming to Galway for the inaugural Galway Drum Show on Sunday March 10 at the Clayton Hotel, Ballybrit. The event is a day-long celebration of the art of drumming and the drumming industry and features live performances, demonstrations, exhibitors, workshops, and competitions.

Wake - a story of sisterhood and the sea

Thu, Feb 07, 2019

THE WORLD premiere of Wake, a feminist retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s beloved story 'The Little Mermaid', and written by the award-winning author Deirdre Sullivan, will be staged by NoRopes Theatre Company in the Town Hall Theatre studio.

Éadaín’s captivating Odyssey Of A Hare

Thu, Feb 07, 2019

IN HIS poem 'The Allansford Pursuit', based on witches’ chants, Robert Graves wrote: "Oh, I shall go into the hare/With sorrow and sighing and mickle care/And I shall go in the Devil’s nam/Aye, till I be fetchèd hame."

A 'playful meditation' on mortality

Thu, Jan 31, 2019

THE IRISH funeral is one of the great, if solemn, social occasions in our culture. The keening women and boisterous games that marked funerals in pre-Famine times have vanished, but the funeral remains one of those signal events where a community gathers together to observe familiar, and comforting, rites and customs of remembrance.

Dark Joy - from a studio in Galway to the world

Thu, Jan 31, 2019

DARK JOY are the most unlikely, yet uplifting, success story in Galway music. A classic rock/heavy metal band, they are an entirely studio bound creation, do not play live, and have no plans to either.

'We can change the way things have been done and improve conditions for future generations'

Thu, Jan 24, 2019

INDEPENDENT GALWAY theatre makers were out in force on Monday evening at Electric on Abbeygate Street, for the launch of new collective Theatre57, which aims to serve the needs of Galway's arts and creative community, and advocate for much needed arts facilities.

Fly Me To The Moon – another hit comedy from Marie Jones

Thu, Jan 24, 2019

TOWN HALL Theatre audiences are in for a treat next week when Fly Me To The Moon by Marie Jones, author of smash hits like Stones In His Pockets and Women On The Verge of HRT, comes to Galway.

Jon Kenny becomes the Crowman

Thu, Jan 17, 2019

JON KENNY, of D’Unbelievables fame, is touring with a new play, Crowman, that comes to the Town Hall Theatre on Thursday January 24. Written and directed by north-Cork writer Katie Holly, the play received standing ovations every night during its inaugural run in Cork Midsummer festival last year.

The 'silvery threads' which led to Ailish Tynan's glittering career

Thu, Jan 10, 2019

ONE OF the star names in this year’s Music for Galway Midwinter Festival, Swansong, is internationally-feted Irish soprano Ailish Tynan, whose glittering career has taken her all the way from Mullingar to Milan’s La Scala and established her as one of today’s finest opera singers, recitalists, and recording artists.

NUIG Comedy Soc turns ‘January blues’ into January Laughs

Thu, Jan 10, 2019

THE DARK days of January can be a dreary time of year but NUIG’s Comedy Soc, in association with Bank of Ireland, has the perfect antidote to those seasonal blues with January Laughs, an evening of top-notch comedy with some of Ireland’s leading laughmeisters.

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