I administer this site myself so sometimes when things get hectic I don’t get a chance to update, and the past two months have been more beautifully hectic than I could have hoped for. September began with a return visit to the Town Hall Theatre Galway with “The Mothers Arms” for four nights; a day to set up in Dublin and “Sparkplug” began a six night run at The Lir Theatre, part of ABSOLUT Fringe (see “sparkplug beyond in dublin” below for reviews) Following this run I immediately began rehearsals for a “Bag of Queens” the first project in a new residency with An Grianan Theatre ( this is a “Peace III” initiative I will post separate update on this subject later) and a tour of rural halls in Donegal, part of The Bluestacks Festival and “Wainsfest; playing two shows a day in Edinafagh, Ardara, Inver, Bundoran, Ballintra, Arranmore Island, Bun Beag, Falcarragh, Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny, Balor Theatre Ballybofey, The Alley Theatre Strabane. The tour ends in An Grianan Theatre Letterkenny with two shows on November 2nd.
Also during this period I performed “The Happy Prince” with Vincent Kennedy and The Donegal Youth Orchestra at Barbaro International Childrens Festival in the Town Hall Galway; I provided the music for RTÉ’s Drama On One presentation of The Bacon Slicer by Andrew Fox, winner of the 2012 PJ O’Connor Award for Radio, a live broadcast in association with Dublin Theatre Festival; and I experienced great delight with two days of songwriting and storytelling workshops in Ballinasloe and Galway during “Away With Words” an innovative arts project which enables people with intellectual disability to explore and develop their creativity through writing.
Today I am adapting “Sparkplug” for a radio broadcast. I will be playing in the newly refurbished Taibhearc Theatre Galway as part of “The Spirit of Voice” Festival on November 11th
More about the “An Grianan” residency to follow including collaborations with “The Donegal Travellers Project” and “Solas Mental Health”
