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DROGHEDA INDEPENDENT I Tuesday, May 4, 2021
DROGHEDA INDEPENDENT I Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Droichead Arts Centre
www.droichead.com E: info@droichead.com
DROICHEAD ARTS CENTRE ANNOUNCE EXCITING ARTS PROGRAMME FOR MAY DROICHEAD Arts Centre is excited to announce its busy online programme for May which contains something for everyone including theatre, music, literature and visual arts as well as fun for families. Highlights include Droichead’s Theatre company in residence, Tailtiu Theatre’s new interactive production called Amergin’s Tale and On A House Like A Fire by Michelle Read & Brian Keegan, as well as an evening with critically acclaimed writer Sinéad Gleeson discussing The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories, a new Solo @Home series, curated by SJ McArdle, while The LMETB Robert Ballagh Art & Photography Competition will have an online exhibition of winning work and Ablevision will present the premieres of two unique projects over two days in May, Collette Farrell, Director, Droichead Arts Centre said “We’re excited to launch a wonderful, creative programme of activity for May which will entertain and engage people in our community, while at the same time supporting many of our local artists.”
Tailtiu Theatre Tailtiu Theatre in association with Droichead Arts Centre presents Amergin’s Tale Available Online from Sat 15 May – Fri 11 Jun | €5 per device
Music SOLO@ Home in association with LMFM | Episode#1 Launches Sun 16th May 11am on YouTube Premiere | Runs weekly for 8 episodes This year’s Solo@Home in association with LMFM, has a new format and a stunningly diverse range of artists performing from the intimacy of their own homes. Once again curated by SJ McArdle and edited by Adrian Taaffe, these eight episodes will feature longer bespoke performances from each artist and will premiere weekly on Droichead Arts Centre’s YouTube channel. The series line-up includes: Pugwash and Duckworth Lewis Method founder and pop song-writing legend Thomas Walsh, Nigerian-Irish performance poet Dagogo Hart, Choice Award nominated songwriter Niamh Regan, Scullion and Tír Na nÓg legend Sonny Condell, Turn singer and songwriter Oliver Cole, internationally renowned folk singer Niamh Parsons, Traditional fiddle player, composer and singer Róisín Ward Morrow and Drogheda’s own Urban Folk songwriter Seán Mathews. Episode#1 kicks off on Sunday 16 May with Niamh Regan, Ollie Cole, Niamh Parsons, Dagogo Hart and Sonny Condell.
Tailtiu Theatre Company, Tailtiu during lockdown. who devise and create theatre/ mixed media and outreach programmes for children and young people continues its residency with Droichead for a further year in 2021. Set up by Barry Morgan and Cathal Thornton, the company found themselves discarding their 2020 programme, and embracing digital technology and platforms. Instead of live performances, they developed a radio play for Droichead’s podcast channel, two audio trails and a collaboration with Droichead Youth Theatre. All aimed at young audiences and families, these pieces were designed to encourage audiences to look at their hometown in a new way. This obviously differed from their original vision, but gave them a fantastic opportunity to adapt their ideas, way of thinking, and artistic process to be in line with the ever-changing Covid situation. Taking time to reflect in lockdown again in 2021, they reimagined their artistic programme and have created a new interactive production called “Amergin’s Tale”. Amergin’s Tale tells the story of the world-renowned Archaeologists Henry Jones and Henry
Literature
Carter who have found the Lost Book of Amergin - the ancient Irish poet who found his final resting place in Drogheda. Inside this book are a series of clues and the two Henrys need your help to solve them! It’s up to you to solve the cryptic riddles left behind by the mythical bard and get to the bottom of this mystery! When purchasing a ticket, audiences will be sent a video by the doctors explaining the help they need, and a document containing clues and riddles which must be solved to get the information needed to decrypt the book. When audiences submit their findings to the doctors, they’ll be sent another video detailing the full epic tale of Drawda town!
Visual Arts
Drogheda Book Collective presents Sinéad Gleeson in Conversation | Fri 7 May 7pm | Free – Book Online In Advance
LMETB Robert Ballagh Art Competition 2021 | Launching Online 14 May
Drogheda Book Collective in association with Droichead Arts Centre, and Drogheda Library will present the second book club meet up with prize winning author Sinéad Gleeson, on Friday 7th May at 7pm. The session will be introduced and facilitated by Droichead’s Literary Audience Development Officer, Dani Gill. Readers will have the chance to enjoy an hour with Sinéad, discussing her work The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories.
The Louth & Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) Robert Ballagh Art & Photography Competition, in its’ sixth year is open to students and learners attending LMETB’s 18 Secondary Schools, three Post Leaving Cert Colleges, three VTOS Centres, nine Youthreach Centres and four Community National Schools. The Competition is open to any student or learner who wishes to submit a piece of art. There are six categories with a total of thirty prizes on offer. The competition judge is one of Ireland’s most well-known living Artist, Robert Ballagh. A universal Photography Section is judged by internationally renowned Drogheda Photographer, Des Clinton.
Theatre On A House Like A Fire | 7pm Fri 21 May – midnight Tue 25 May | €10 per device Bealtaine Festival/Age & Opportunity present On A House Like A Fire by Michelle Read & Brian Keegan in association with Droichead Arts Centre and Smock Alley Theatre. This nostalgic, funny and moving show sees writer-performer Michelle Read collaborate with composer Brian Keegan, to remember her mother, Margaret. Sometimes in a gesture, or in a turn of phrase, sometimes in a cherished object, or glimpsed in an old photograph a loved one reappears. On A House Like A Fire uses an evocative score of musical echoes to help create a personal portrait of Margaret as a younger and older woman in this highly relatable and affectionate personal story.
Ablevision Online | Launching May 21 & 22 Ablevision, together with Droichead Arts Centre, is delighted to present the premieres of two unique projects over two days in May. In late 2019, Quintessence Theatre partnered with Ablevision on a series of collaborative workshops focusing on theatrical storytelling techniques, and together they created a short piece of movement, drama, tableaux, and multi-media, meditating on the universal theme of friendship. This piece of work premiered on the Droichead stage in early 2020, just before lockdown. Droichead and Ablevision also worked with film maker Steve Larkin on documenting the project, and the result is a 15 min film which will be screened on Youtube Premiere on Fri 21 May at 8:00pm. Following on from the drama project, in late 2020, with Creative Ireland funding, artist Breda Marron facilitated a visual arts programme online with the group. The participants created a wonderful series of self-portraits, and an online exhibition of their work will be launched on Sat 22 May in our virtual gallery. Ablevision is an organisation that works with adults with intellectual disabilities through arts, focusing on collaborative projects between participants and professional artists. Ablevision and Droichead Arts Centre have a collaborative partnership, where the Centre provides space and support for all Ablevision projects, and advises on long term strategies for the organisation.
For details and booking visit www.droichead.com
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