Galway Arts Festival Programme 2008 by Galway International Arts Festival

Galway Arts Festival 14 - 27 JULY 2008

WWW . GALWAYARTSFESTIVAL . COM G A LWAY - I R E L A N D

GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL 2008 G R A N T A I D E D BY

POSTAL BOOKING FORM 2008 Post to Galway Arts Festival, Black Box Theatre, Dyke Road, Galway, Ireland before 27 June, 2008. (Simply photocopy this form if you need more space). Performance

Venue

Date

No. of Price Seats

Total

FUNDING AGENCIES

Galway City Council Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe

Transaction Fee Galway County Council

€2.50

Total

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Tel

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MAJOR MEDIA SPONSORS

BOOKING ÁIRITHINT On-Line Ar Líne Booking on-line on our website www.galwayartsfestival.com (Internet bookings subject to €2.50 per ticket charge. By Phone Guthán Phone 091 566577 Mon-Fri, 10am-6.30pm, Sat 10am to 5pm from 23 June International callers phone +353 91 566577. (phone bookings subject to a transaction fee of €2.50).* For events at the Town Hall Theatre you make also phone 091 569777or call in.

S U P P O RT I N G S P O N S O RS

By Post Sa Phost Send completed form to Galway Arts Festival, anytime before 27 June. You do not need a credit card - cheque or postal orders are accepted (€2.50 transaction fee for postal bookings)*

GALWAY BAY HOTEL

PAT R O N S

* Administration Charges Administration charges are used by the Festival to cover the costs of postage, credit card charges and the running of our temporary Box Office. Alleviating Pain • Restoring Health • Extending Life

In Person Tú Féin Festival Box Office opens to personal callers from 23 June at 1-5 Merchants Road, Galway (formerly Instore) Mon-Fri 10 am - 6.30 pm, Sat 10am – 5pm. Tickets bought in person from the Festival Box Office are not subject to an administration charge. Please remember you can book using a cheque, postal order, credit card or Galway Arts Festival Gift Voucher (available from Festival Office). Friends of the Festival Cairde na Féile Friends Priority booking from 9 - 20 June. To become a Friend of the Festival phone Laura at 091 509700. Accommodation Lóistín See the accommodation listing on our website www.galwayartsfestival.com Contact Fáilte Ireland West at 091 537700, irelandwestinfo@failteireland.ie or www.discoverireland.ie/west

Merchandise Earraí Full range of Festival 2008 merchandise will be on sale at the Festival Box Office and via the Festival website www.galwayartsfestival.com Groups A group discount is available on most performances. Please contact the Box Office for details. A Season Ticket for the World Voices Concert Series for Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Omara Portuondo and Tinariwen & Mayra Andrade is available at €80. Circa Family Tickets are for two adults and two children €65. Refunds Galway Arts Festival has a no refund or exchange policy on all tickets purchased. In accordance with the Intoxicating Liqour Acts 2003 and 2004 no under 18s are allowed to remain in a Licenced Premises after 10pm.

GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL, BLACK BOX THEATRE, GALWAY, IRELAND T: +353 91 509700 E: INFO@GALWAYARTSFESTIVAL.COM WWW.GALWAYARTSFESTIVAL.COM

F U RT H E R COP I E S O F F E ST I VA L PRO G R A M M E AVA I L A B L E F ROM 0 9 1 5 0 9 7 0 0

G ALWAY A RTS F ESTIVAL

13 – 26 J ULY 2009

GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL

www.galwayartsfestival.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRODUCTION

Tiernan Henry (Chairman) Gerry Coy Ollie Daniels Jacinta Dwyer Fidelma Mullane Bernadette Mullarkey Ted Turton

Marie Breen, Production Manager David Murphy, Technical Manager Rob Usher ARTIST LIAISON

Liam Parkinson, Hugh Lavelle, Aisling O’Sullivan and Eoin Durkin GRAPHIC DESIGN

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Hilda Reid - Wish Design Solutions

Paul Fahy

PHOTOGRAPHY & FILMING

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Colm Hogan & Marina Levitina

John Crumlish

MERCHANDISE

FESTIVAL ADMINISTRATOR

Gerry Coy

Elizabeth Duffy

TRADITIONAL LUNCHTIMES CO-ORDINATOR

FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

Brendan O’Regan

Gerry Cleary

ADDITIONAL DESIGN

BOX OFFICE MANAGERS

Eoin Brennan

Frances Burke Philip Sterling

WEB DESIGN

Design Associates

MEDIA MANAGER

Tracey Ferguson

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

Philip Lindey

PUBLICITY

Kathy Scott, Manager Gwen O’Sullivan

Castle Print

FRIENDS CO-ORDINATOR

Laura Rigney VOLUNTEERS CO-ORDINATOR

Susan McKenna

T H A N K YO U / BU Í O C H A S Táimid buíoch de na daoine seo a leanas a thug cabhair dúinn an Fhéile Ealaíon á eagrú. Galway Arts Festival would like to thank the following for their help and support. Festival Volunteers, An Garda Siochana, Joe O’Shaughnessy, Fergal McGrath, Teenagh Cunningham, Eugene Downes, Christine Sisk, Niall Burgess, Bren Berry and Aiken Promotions, Gerry Barrett, John Concannon, Fiona Monaghan, Anne Melia, Rose Parkinson, Jane Daly, Cormac McGuckian, Joe McGrath, Pat Cregg, Declan Gibbons, John Reynolds, Declan Forde, Siobhan O’Dowd and POD Productions, Rev. Patrick Towers, Catherine Moore-Temple, Patrick Dawson, Keith Finnegan & McDonagh’s Quay Street.

Faigheann Féile Ealaíon na Gaillimhe tacaíocht ó Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe agus ó Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Arts Council and our other key funders, sponsors and friends for their continued and vital support. We would also like to thank you, the audience, and we look forward to seeing you in Galway in July.

P H Y S I C A L T H E AT R E / C I R C U S •

AUSTRALIA EUROPEAN PREMIERE

CIRCA

BY THE LIGHT OF THE STARS WHICH ARE NO LONGER...

The opening show of the new Galway Arts Festival Big Top comes from Australia’s amazing Circa, with the European premiere of their acclaimed new show by the light of the stars which are no longer… Having wowed audiences during Galway Arts Festival 2007 with the superb The Space Between, their new show combines Circa’s physical virtuosity with a haunting soundtrack featuring works by Sigur Rós, DJ Shadow and Leonard Cohen, with a startling and spectacular use of projected light. Watch those bodies balance, collide, tumble and hang with a superb level of circus skill and gorgeous ensemble work. Suitable for audiences of all ages, by the light of stars that are no longer… is a hauntingly beautiful work suffused with longing and wonder. Simply not to be missed.

“No amount of words could describe watching such an ensemble do such incredible things with their bodies.” ABC Australia

DIRECTED BY YARON LIFSCHITZ

FESTIVAL BIG TOP Monday 14 – Thursday 17 & Saturday 19 July 8pm Matinee 2pm Sunday 20 July

Duration 1 hour 25 mins No Interval Tickets/Ticéidí €25, €22 (€20 conc./€15 Child) Family Ticket €65

T H E AT R E •

SOUTH AFRICA IRISH PREMIERE

THE FARBER FOUNDRY

MOLORA WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY YAEL FARBER

South African director Yael Farber explores the extraordinary events of her country’s experience of apartheid and its legacy through a reworking of the Greek classic The Oresteia. Molora is set in one of the many South African halls where people gathered to testify at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In a dramatic confrontation Klytemnestra and Elektra, mother and daughter, perpetrator and victim, face one another in an attempt to come to terms with their violent past. Like South Africa, we hold our collective breath and watch this drama unfold.

“This is art from the gut. I cannot recommend it highly enough.” The Times ★★★★★

A chorus of Xhosa tribeswomen bring grace and humanity to the drama through the ancient art of split-tone singing, adding a haunting intensity to this evocative production. Intimate and epic, with unforgettable performances. The Farber Foundry produces theatre that addresses the stories of South Africa’s shattered past and helps to envisage the future. This production has received standing ovations across the world.

TOWN HALL THEATRE Monday 14 – Saturday 19 July 8pm Duration 1 hour 45 mins No Interval Tickets/Ticéidí €23 (€20 conc.)

Photos by Rudolf Corzin

DANCE •

MEXICO IRISH PREMIERE

“Tania Pérez-Salas are a powerhouse, a force to behold.” The Washington Post

COMPANIA DE DANZA

TANIA PÉREZ-SALAS

“Pérez-Salas’ work is not only visually arresting but unabashedly sensual... what is most distinctive is its imaginative, extravagant theatricality.” The Boston Globe

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: TANIA PÉREZ-SALAS

THE HOURS ANABIOSIS WATERS OF FORGETFULNESS

Tania Pérez-Salas represents the new world of Latin American Dance. Led by the remarkable dancer and choreographer Tania Pérez-Salas, the company has exploded onto the international dance scene, establishing a reputation as one of the most visually dramatic companies of the new century. For Galway Arts Festival, Pérez-Salas will present a hugely exciting programme set to the music of Vivaldi, Bach and Arvo Pärt in The Hours; Anabiosis and Waters of Forgetfulness. Waters of Forgetfulness features a spectacular finale, with the stage transformed to a shallow pool of water for the dancers’ elegant and sensual movement. Exhilarating, beautiful and enlightening.

BLACK BOX THEATRE Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 July 8pm

Duration 1 hour 30 mins Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€20 conc.)

T H E AT R E •

IRELAND

DRUID

THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ENDA WALSH

Enda Walsh is internationally celebrated for his exhilarating wordplay and the sheer visceral power his stories release in performance. These latest works promise to be among the most explosive and compelling yet, from one of the leading playwrights of our time.

ENDA WALSH’S ONE ACT PLAYS

DRUID DEBUTS

LYNNDIE’S GOTTA GUN

THOSE YELLOW BOOTS

DIRECTED BY SARAH LYNCH

BY MARIA ELNER DIRECTED BY RACHEL WEST Monday 21 July

GENTRIFICATION DIRECTED BY THOMAS CONWAY

CAST: ROSALEEN LINEHAN, VAL LILLEY, MIKEL MURFI & CATHERINE WALSH

Lynndie’s Gotta Gun and Gentrification together give a concentrated look at the darker themes animating Walsh’s work. Lynndie’s Gotta Gun is a disquieting, highly charged riff on the US female soldier, Lynndie England, notoriously pictured at Abu Ghraib humiliating Iraqi prisoners, while Gentrification examines the perils of parenthood and Coke can rings in Walsh’s inimitable style.

“It is exhilarating to hang on for dear life on a ride through Mr. Walsh’s bold, original imagination.” The New York Sun

LYNNDIE’S GOTTA GUN & GENTRIFICATION DRUID THEATRE

‘Staring back behind the blusher and the eye shadow a girl who’s yet to be kissed. Properly kissed.’ In this new play by Enda Walsh, (creator of Edinburgh Fringe First winners Disco Pigs, Bedbound and Druid’s The Walworth Farce), three sisters in a remote fishing village, trapped in the years that have passed since their halcyon days at The New Electric Ballroom, are still obsessed by darker memories of something resembling romance.

ENDA WALSH SEASON & DRUID DEBUTS

DRUID THEATRE Monday 14 – Saturday 26 July Previews Wednesday 8 – Saturday 12 July (No show Sunday 20 July) 8pm Matinee 2.30pm Saturday 26 July

A coiled, dark, glitter-dusted fable of the emotionally Duration 1 hour 30 mins stultifying effects of small-town life. Tickets/Ticéidí €24 (€18 conc.) 8 €16 Previews

Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 July 1.10pm Duration 45 mins Tickets/Ticéidí €10

A LOCK OF FIERCE ROARS BY JOHN MCMANUS DIRECTED BY GARRY HYNES Wednesday 23 July

A CERTAIN ROMANCE BY STEPHEN JONES DIRECTED BY MIKEL MURFI Friday 25 July In addition to the Enda Walsh Season, Druid presents the return of the acclaimed Druid Debuts. The company is presenting work from three talented, fledgling writers Maria Elner, Stephen Jones and John McManus.

DRUID THEATRE Performance dates above 3pm Duration 2 hours Tickets/Ticéidí €5

Six Druid premieres in two weeks will create a new writing hub which will have the intimate setting of Druid Theatre bursting at the seams.

T H E AT R E •

USA EUROPEAN PREMIERE “Overflowing with hilarious one-liners, satiric barbs on sex and marriage and golden-year gags, Better Late is a comedy riot. Mahoney is a serious, brilliant actor who gives the kind of indepth, honest portrayal that has you empathizing with him as you hang on his every word.” Chicago Star

NORTHLIGHT THEATRE

BETTER LATE DIRECTED BY BJ JONES

Following his heart attack, Julian is forced to move in with his ex-wife and her new husband, providing a conflict of human but epic proportions. A funny and bittersweet story of intertwined extended families dealing with letting go of past relationships, Better Late explores the complications a lifetime of relationships can produce. This bitingly funny exploration of aging, commitment and romantic responsibility pierces the heart of marriage and divorce. Northlight Theatre Company from Chicago make their Irish debut in Galway with the European Premiere of a new comedy starring the inimitable John Mahoney and Mike Nussbaum. Written by Emmy and Tony Award-winning author Larry Gelbart of M*A*S*H; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Tootsie; and Craig Wright, screenwriter of Six Feet Under and the creator of TV's Dirty Sexy Money!

TOWN HALL THEATRE Monday 21 – Sunday 27 July 7.30pm Matinee 2pm Saturday 26 July Duration 1 hour 30 mins No Interval Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€20 conc.)

T H E AT R E / D A N C E •

IRELAND

FABULOUS BEAST DANCE THEATRE

GISELLE The darkly comic Giselle has made an explosive impact on the international stage, astounding audiences and winning over critics with its originality and ambition. Transporting the action to the fictitious town of Ballyfeeny, where life is tough and unforgiving, Giselle is an extraordinary and controversial interpretation of the classic romantic ballet.

DIRECTOR MICHAEL KEEGAN-DOLAN

The frustrated inhabitants of Ballyfeeny are seduced by the promise of happiness when line-dancing Bratislavan, Albrecht comes to town. Most especially there is Giselle, who has the most to win - or lose. This savagely funny, crude and feisty performance is narrated by Giselle's father who sits atop a telephone pole observing the town's goings-on - incest, betrayal, lust. Giselle combines an arresting narrative with a boldly visual and highly entertaining production. Brave and brilliant, Giselle is ultimately about redemption and the power of the human spirit.

“Remarkable...funny, sexy, sad...A knockout” The Times

BLACK BOX THEATRE Wednesday 23 – Sunday 27 July 7.30pm Matinee 2pm Saturday 26 July Duration 1 hour 20 mins No Interval Tickets/Ticéidí €23 (€20 conc.)

Photos by T. Charles Erickson

THEATRE •

S T R E E T T H E AT R E •

IRELAND/ENGLAND

TOBACCO FACTORY THEATRE

MIMIC

“Scannell shows the seeds of being a great Irish Writer.” The Sunday Independent

WRITTEN, COMPOSED AND PERFORMED BY RAYMOND SCANNELL DIRECTED AND DESIGNED BY TOM CREED

IRELAND

MACNAS FESTIVAL PARADE

APOCOLOPOLIS Apocolopolis, a place of endless diversion, is a non-stop party city that spins, flashes, pumps and thrives under the marshmallow thumb of King Du Washawanna. But, in the dark, behind the smoke and mirrors, a fiery circus is coming to town... a frighteningly hilarious threat lurks as the sinister circus creeps into town all pounding drums, flashing flames and growling creatures. Macnas have collaborated with a number of community groups throughout Galway to create the story of Apocolopolis.

STREETS OF GALWAY Julian Neary, a comedian who found fame early but whose fortunes have plummeted, returns home to Ireland wanting to find the community that he rebelled against as a child. Instead of the mystic, spiritual place of solace and healing that he expects, he finds instead a barren landscape of abandoned houses and ruined shopping centres. Performed and underscored on a piano, this one-man tour-de-force is a unique, gripping vision of what happens to a nation that forgets its heritage.

THEATRE •

Sunday 20 July 10pm

BANK OF IRELAND THEATRE, NUI GALWAY Saturday 19 – Thursday 24 July 8pm Duration 75 minutes Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€13 conc.)

IRELAND OUROBOROS THEATRE

TRANSLATIONS BY BRIAN FRIEL

RENVILLE WOODS, RENVILLE, ORANMORE

Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 July 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €20 (€18conc.)

Clashing cultures and tragedies of miscommunication unfold in Brian Friel's invented Irish town of Ballybeg, a place he has explored in his plays Dancing at Lughnasa, Aristocrats and Molly Sweeney. Poignant, funny and moving, Translations depicts the power of language to unite and divide people in a time of cultural imperialism. Directed by Andrew Flynn

N E W W O R K F R O M G A LWAY THEATRE •

IRELAND WORLD PREMIERE

ELECTRIC BRIDGET

WAITING FOR ELVIS BY EILEEN GIBBONS

TOWN HALL STUDIO Monday 14 – Saturday 19 July & Monday 21 – Saturday 26 July 8pm Matinee 2pm Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays Duration 1 hour 10 minutes Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€12 conc.)

THEATRE •

IRELAND WORLD PREMIERE AN TAIBHDHEARC

GO dTAGA DO RÍOCHT LE MICHEÁL Ó CONGHAILE

Monday 14 – Saturday 19 July 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€10 conc.) Irish Language Performance

FÍBÍN

Go dTaga do Ríocht is a gripping coming of age tale of teenager Jimi’s self discovery as he comes to terms with his Mother’s death, his Father’s headstrong attitude, the necessity of sex and religion, and the culture and social history of Connemara. Entwined with humour, music and history Go dTaga do Ríocht is the third of a trilogy of plays, set in Connemara, by Micheál Ó Conghaile.

THEATRE •

IRELAND

STAIR NA hÉIREANN - CINNÁIL Stair na hÉireann – Cinnáil or The Complete History of Ireland is a fastpaced comic presentation of 11,000 years of Irish History, performed in a recordbreaking time of only 45 minutes. Starting in 9000 BC, just as the Ice Age is drawing to a close, Fíbín Teo’s actors and puppeteers begin their journey through the history of Ireland.

THEATRE •

DRAGONFLY THEATRE

IRELAND

MARRIED TO THE SEA

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SHONA MCCARTHY

Lisa Marie lives her life happily sitting on a park bench waiting for Elvis. Elizabeth, curious, naïve and unrelentingly determined, comes along one day and penetrates the bubble that is Lisa Marie's life. Nothing will ever be the same again. Waiting for Elvis is a story of blind faith, of obsession and of trust lost and found; but mostly, of enduring friendship.

ARAS NA GAEILGE, NUI GALWAY

N E W W O R K F R O M G A LWAY

ÁRAS ÉANNA, INIS OÍRR, ARAN ISLANDS Wednesday 16 July 2pm & 8pm Thursday 17 July 1pm

NUNS’ ISLAND THEATRE

Set in the fishing village of Old Claddagh in Galway City Married to the Sea tells the story of Jo, a spirited young girl, and the gradual breakdown of her superstition-laden family. Returning to the Galway stage, prior to its run at the Edinburgh Festival, Married to the Sea enjoyed a hugely successful run at the New York International Fringe last year where Siobhan Donnellan won the Outstanding Actor Award.

TOWN HALL STUDIO Sunday 20 – Wednesday 23 July 4pm Duration 1 hour 15 minutes Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€12 conc.)

THEATRE •

IRELAND

CATASTROPHE THEATRE

PENGUINS

BY JOSH TOBIESSEN

Three waiters work the dinner party from hell. The guests are pompous and rude, the staff are mercenary and crude but at least the flower arrangements are lovely. As the night progresses mischief turns to mayhem and the party slowly spins out of control. Catastrophe weave together humour and morality to present a dark comedy about loyalty, revenge and dodgy salad courses.

GALWAY YOUTH THEATRE

TARA RESTAURANT, 38 DOMINICK ST LOWER Monday 14 – Saturday 26 July 5pm (No show Sunday 20 July) Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€12 conc.) Theatre + Dinner Tickets Contact Tara Restaurant

YOUTH THEATRE •

CHATROOM

SOME GIRL(S)

CRESTFALL

BY ENDA WALSH DIRECTED BY ANDREW FLYNN

BY NEIL LABUTE DIRECTED BY NIALL CLEARY

BY MARK O’ROWE DIRECTED BY ANDREW FLYNN

Walsh’s black comedy unearths the dark underbelly of the internet and provides a brilliantly insightful window into the world of teenage politics.

Some Girl(s) is a portrait of the artist as a young seducer and casts light on a typical young male as he wanders through the heart of darkness that is he.

Three women fight through their journeys of revenge, reunion and redemption. This production contains strong language and descriptions that are of a violent and sexual nature.

NUNS’ ISLAND THEATRE

THE HOUSE HOTEL

NUNS’ ISLAND THEATRE

Monday 14 – Saturday 26 July 1pm Tickets/Ticéidí €10 (€8 conc.)

Monday 14 – Saturday 26 July 5pm Tickets/Ticéidí €14 (€12 conc.)

Monday 14 – Friday 25 July 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €14 (€12 conc.)

Monday 21 – Friday 25 July 4pm Tickets/Ticéidí €10 (€7 conc.) Duration 50 minutes Age 14 + Irish Language Performance

IRELAND

L I T E R AT U R E •

ENGLAND

MICHAEL BILLINGTON

HOTEL MEYRICK Saturday 19 July 4pm Tickets/Ticéidí €7

CHRISTINA LAMB Currently roving Foreign Affairs Correspondent for The Sunday Times, author and journalist Christina Lamb has been a foreign correspondent for almost 20 years, living in Pakistan, Brazil and South Africa. She was named 2007 Foreign Correspondent of the Year in the British Press Awards, and the BBC’s What The Papers Say, which she also won in 2002, along with the Foreign Press Association Award. She has won numerous other awards including Young Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards for her coverage of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1988.

Lamb is the author of the best-selling books The Africa House; House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-torn Zimbabwe; Waiting For Allah: Pakistan’s Struggle for Democracy; and The Sewing Circles of Herat: My Afghan Years. Christina has also written for The Sunday Telegraph, The Financial Times, The New York Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Time Magazine and Conde Nast Traveller. Small Wars Permitting: Dispatches from Foreign Lands, a collection of her reportage, from which she will talk, was published in January this year.

L I T E R AT U R E •

U.S.A.

DAN KENNEDY When author Dan Kennedy is hired by a major label he thinks he has been handed a pass to the secret kingdom of rock and roll. Whether directing a gangsta rapper’s video or battling his better judgement to create a campaign celebrating 25 years of Phil Collins’ love songs, he’s in way over his head. This is the true story of one man’s humorous journey through the bitter and twisted world of the music business. Dan Kennedy is a regular contributor to McSweeney’s, his work has appeared in The Best of McSweeney’s Humour, GQ magazine and other publications. He lives in New York.

HOTEL MEYRICK

ENGLAND

Thursday 17 July 6pm

Tickets/Ticéidí €7

Michael Billington has lived through an era of radical change in politics, society and the theatre. And the stage, he says, is the art form that best reflects the mood of the nation. To celebrate the publication of his recent history of postwar theatre, State of the Nation - British Theatre Since 1945, he is joined in conversation by playwright, poet, journalist and broadcaster Vincent Woods, (The Arts Show, RTÉ). Michael Billington has been Theatre Critic of The Guardian since 1971 and of Country Life since 1986. He is the author of biographies of Harold Pinter (newly revised in 2007) and Peggy Ashcroft, of critical studies of Tom Stoppard and Alan Ayckbourn, of a celebration of Ken Dodd and a collection of reviews, One Night Stands. He has also edited Directors’ Shakespeare: Twelfth Night and Stage and Screen Lives selected from the Dictionary of National Biography. He frequently lectures and broadcasts on the arts, teaches drama for the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London, and an Honorary Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford.

HOTEL MEYRICK Friday 25 July 4pm Tickets/Ticéidí €7

L I T E R AT U R E / P E R F O R M A N C E •

ENGLAND

JOHN COOPER CLARKE John Cooper Clarke: the name behind the hairstyle, the words walk in the grooves hacking through the hi-fi paradise of true luxury. John Cooper Clarke stormed into popular cultural consciousness in the late 1970s with the albums Disguise in Love, Snap Crackle (&) Bop, and Zip Style Method, a volatile cocktail of rock & poetry informed by the punk aesthetic.

RÓISÍN DUBH Sunday 27 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €22.50 (€20 conc.)

MUSIC •

U.S.A.

“The world's most celebrated contemporary composer.” The Guardian

PHILIP GLASS ENSEMBLE

WORLD VOICES MUSIC

Cuban diva Omara Portuondo became a global superstar following her showstealing performance in Wim Wender’s film The Buena Vista Social Club. Dubbed Cuba's very own Edith Piaf, Omara Portuondo has been thrilling audiences in the cabarets and night spots of Havana with the passionate and moving honesty of her voice for more than half a century. In the 1940s and '50s, she was the velvet voice of the jazz/bossa nova inspired genre known as filin.

Tissues, from Naqoyqatsi - Cello & Percussion Metamorphosis II, III, IV - Solo Piano Etudes II & X - Solo Piano Songs & Poems for Solo Cello - Solo Cello The Orchard - Cello, Piano & Percussion Closing, from Glassworks - Cello, Piano & Percussion

ST. NICHOLAS’ COLLEGIATE CHURCH Tuesday 15 July 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €75/€60

Through his operas, symphonies, film scores, compositions for his own ensemble and his wide ranging collaborations with artists ranging from Allen Ginsberg to Woody Allen and David Bowie to Leonard Cohen, Philip Glass has had an extraordinary and unprecedented impact upon the musical and intellectual life of his times. In a major coup for Galway Arts Festival, and for an event which promises to be one of the performances of the year, the Philip Glass Ensemble perform in the ambient surroundings of the intimate 13th century St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church.

CUBA

OMARA PORTUONDO

AN EVENING OF CHAMBER MUSIC FEATURING SONGS & POEMS FOR CELLO

Philip Glass - Piano Wendy Sutter - Cello Mick Rossi - Percussion

•

She has long been Cuba's favourite musical sweetheart and her Galway performance coincides with the release of her long-awaited new album recorded with Brazilian chanteuse Maria Bethania, entitled Maria Bethania and Omara Portuondo.

“Magnificent” The Guardian

FESTIVAL BIG TOP F ISHERIES F IELD Sunday 20 July Doors 7.30pm/Show 8.15pm Tickets/Ticéidí €35 (incl. booking fee) World Voices Season Ticket €80 Unreserved Seating

MUSIC •

SCOTLAND

THE BLUE NILE RADISSON SAS HOTEL Tuesday 15 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €38.50 (incl. booking fee)

One of the great British bands, The Blue Nile has infrequently yet consistently created music of rare beauty. As the possessor of the most soulful of voices over the last 30 years, Paul Buchanan is nothing short of legendary. Lead singer, songwriter and co-founder of The Blue Nile, Buchanan is one of music’s greatest treasures while remaining one of its best kept secrets. The Blue Nile’s recordings from A Walk Across Rooftops to Hats and Peace at Last to High have all been critically acclaimed and rapturously received by the ever-growing legion of Nile aficionados. The band plays their only Irish date this year at Galway Arts Festival.

MUSIC •

ENGLAND

RICHARD HAWLEY Sheffield’s home-town hero, guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, Richard Hawley’s recent album Lady’s Bridge earned him a Best British Male Brit Award nomination following on from the success of his breakthrough album Coles Corner. Hawley found success as member of The Longpigs before playing with Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker. His live shows feature songs already heralded as classics.

MUSIC •

FRANCE

RADISSON SAS HOTEL Monday 14 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €35 (€33 conc.)

MUSIC •

ENGLAND

“Unquestionably beautiful ... will set Latin flames surging through the coldest post-punk blood ” MOJO MAGAZINE

“Beautiful, Pounding, Love Pop ” NME

MUSIC •

ENGLAND

THE WHIP

Bruce Carter and Danny Saville founded new Manchester electro-punks The Whip. They have crafted an entire new batch of electro-pop dance anthems fusing the rigid pop sensibility of New Order with the off-kilter virtuosity of electro acts from Fischerspooner to Jacques Lu Cont. Supported by Reasons to be Beautiful.

CUBA

Thursday 24 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€13 conc.)

SAM ISAAC Sam Isaac brings his own brand of acoustic indie-folk pop to town. Having played over 100 shows in 2007 alone, Sam is currently touring the UK Music Festival circuit, performing at Wireless, Glastonbury, Truck and Latitude.

CUBA Thursday 17 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €10 (€8 conc. & Cuba Members)

NOUVELLE VAGUE

ALABAMA 3 “Best live band in the country” The Guardian

J Hear revamped 80’s post-punk anthems by XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, Billy Idol and more. Adding a sophisticated French bossa nova twist to British new-wave classics from the 80s, Nouvelle Vague's chic chanteuses purr their way through an evening of stylish reinterpretations.

Having gained worldwide acclaim for their theme song of the infamous TV show The Sopranos Alabama 3's exhilarating live shows have long become the stuff of legend. Across four deeply infectious albums they've made impossible musical collision sound as natural as the swamp.

RÓISÍN DUBH

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €30 (€28 conc.)

Monday 14 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€23 conc.)

WWW.GALWAYARTSFESTIVAL.COM

Galway Arts Festival 2008 Ve n u e FESTIVAL BIG TOP

Mon 14

Tues 15

Wed 16

Thurs 17

Fri 18

Sat 19

Sun 20

Circa 8pm

PHJ Band 8pm

Circa 8pm

Circa 2pm Omara Portuondo 7.30pm

Tania Pérez-Salas 8pm

Molora 8pm

BLACK BOX THEATRE TOWN HALL THEATRE

Molora 8pm

Mon 21

Better Late 7.30pm

Tues 22

Wed 23

Thurs 24

Fri 25

Tinariwen & Mayra Andrade 7.30pm

KT Tunstall & Tom Baxter 7.30pm

Blondie 7.30pm

Dandy Warhols Ash 7.30pm

Giselle 7.30pm

Better Late 7.30pm

Sat 26

Sun 27

Giselle 7.30pm

Giselle 2pm & 7.30pm

Giselle 7.30pm

Better Late 7.30pm

Better Late 2pm & 7.30pm

Better Late 7.30pm

Elvis 2pm & 8pm

Elvis 2pm& 8pm

Electric Ballroom 8pm

Electric Ballroom 2.30pm & 8pm

David O'Doherty 10.30pm

TOWN HALL STUDIO

Elvis 8pm

Elvis 2pm & 8pm

Elvis 2pm & 8pm D'Fly 4pm

DRUID THEATRE

Electric Ballroom 8pm

Elvis 8pm

D'Fly 4pm

Electric Ballroom 8pm

Druid Debut 3pm

BOI THEATRE NUIG

Mimic 8pm

HOTEL MEYRICK

D. Kennedy 6pm

RÓISÍN DUBH (LUNCHTIMES)

Tony Trundle & Ged Foley 1pm

RÓISÍN DUBH

Alabama 3 9pm

Dave Geraghty 9pm

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

KING'S HEAD

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

Philip Glass 8pm

Mimic 8pm

Giraffe 11am & 2pm

Cathy Davey 9pm Macnas Parade 10pm

Rebels 1pm &10pm

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

ConTempo 1pm

Nouvelle Vague 9pm

Go dTaga do... 8pm

TARA RESTAURANT

Penguins 5pm

GYT 5pm

CUBA

Whose Line P. Jupitus 4pm

Cirq Moustique 2pm

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

GYT 5pm

Richard Hawley 9pm

Blue Nile 9pm

GYT 1pm & 8pm

John C Clarke 9pm

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

Penguins 5pm

GYT 5pm

Iris DeMent 8pm

Penguins 5pm

Translations 8pm

GYT 5pm

The Whip 9pm

Agnostics 9pm

Autamata 9pm

Des Bishop 9pm Fíbín 2pm & 8pm

Fíbín 1pm

GYT 1pm & 8pm

Bill Viola NUI Galway Gallery

Rainer Ganahl G126

Joni Mitchell Festival Box Office

Siobhan McKenna Theatre NUI Galway

Artspace Festival Box Office

Philip Lindey Norman Villa

Festival Box Office

Geremia, Browne & Hogan 1pm

Maigh Seola 8pm

Sam Isaac 9pm

ÁRAS ÉANNA

GYT 5pm

Druid One-Act 1.10pm

Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1 pm

RENVILLE WOODS

VISUAL ARTS

Whose Line P. Jupitus 9pm

Lisa Hannigan 8pm Go dTaga do... 8pm

NUNS’ ISLAND THEATRE

Frank Kilkelly 1pm

ConTempo 8pm

ÁRAS NA GAEILGE

RADISSON SAS HOTEL

Nouvelle Vague 9pm

Cups & C 11am 2pm/4.30pm

CAMPBELL’S TAVERN

HOUSE HOTEL

Druid One-Act 1.10pm

M. Billington 4pm Malachy Bourke 1pm

Damien Dempsey 9pm Rebels 1pm &10pm

ConTempo 1pm

Druid One-Act 1.10pm

Breda & Clare Keville 1pm

Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm Laughter Loft 1pm

ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH

Druid Debut 3pm

Druid One-Act 1.10pm

C. Lamb 4pm Tommy Hayes Experience 1pm

Pappy's F Club & Steve Hall 9pm

STREETS OF GALWAY

Mimic 8pm

Druid Debut 3pm Druid One-Act 1.10pm

Greg Brown 8pm

Ed Byrne 9pm Lúnasa 9pm

GYT 1pm & 8pm

Max Streicher Festival Box Office & Radisson SAS Hotel The Plinian Sponge, Maybe? Cluain Mhuire, GMIT

GYT 1pm & 8pm

Fíbín 4pm

Kevin Mooney White Room Gallery

Walker Evans Aula Maxima 1

Subjected UCHG

Darkness Visible Galway Arts Centre

Ruth McHugh Aula Maxima 2

Pauline Bewick Kenny Gallery

GYT 1pm

MART The Thatch & Silkes

KT TUNSTALL TINARIWEN & TOM BAXTER & MAYRA ANDRADE MUSIC •

MALI • CAPE VERDE

WORLD VOICES

MUSIC •

SCOTLAND/ENGLAND

“The best African band in the world” Rolling Stone

Three very exciting Festival Big Top double bills kick off with one of the most mouth-watering, world music bills to be staged in Ireland this year when cult Sahara band Tinariwen take to the Festival stage with Cape Verde's new diva Mayra Andrade.

The Tinariwen story is already well marinated in startling myths; fierce nomadic desert tribesmen toting guns and guitars, Gaddafi's poet-soldiers spreading their gospel of freedom throughout the world with their hypnotic, electric guitar-laden desert blues. Following on from their show stealing set at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival and a support slot with the Rolling Stones, Tinariwen are now establishing themselves as major stars. Drawing on traditional Cape Verdean cadences and African, Brazilian and Parisian jazz scenes, Mayra Andrade creates her own gorgeous, acoustic sound. With a voice made to overwhelm souls and sway hearts, this artist is a stunning discovery. Andrade was the recent winner of Best Newcomer at the 2008 BBC World Music Awards.

FESTIVAL BIG TOP - F ISHERIES F IELD

Tuesday 22 July – Doors 7.30pm Tickets/Ticéidí €35 (incl. booking fee) World Voices Season Ticket €80 Standing

“An effortlessly brilliant newcomer... she has it all – musicianship, charm and confidence.” The Guardian

KT Tunstall has become a major worldwide star over the last two years with hits such as Suddenly I See and Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. Tunstall has gone on to win three Brit Awards, has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has become a huge star on both sides of the Atlantic following the release of her debut album Eye to the Telescope and the more recent world-wide hit album Drastic Fantastic.

Tom Baxter is no stranger to Galway Arts Festival and is a huge hit with Festival audiences. His album Skybound, released to critical acclaim earlier this year, held the number one spot in Ireland for three weeks and became one of the best selling albums over the past 12 months. With his distinctive soaring voice and finely crafted songs, his live shows are simply electric.

FESTIVAL BIG TOP F ISHERIES F IELD Wednesday 23 July – Doors 7.30pm Tickets/Ticéidí €42.50 (incl. booking fee) Standing

MUSIC •

U.S.A.

•

IRELAND

MUSIC •

U.S.A.

THE DANDY WARHOLS & ASH FESTIVAL BIG TOP F ISHERIES F IELD Friday 25 July Doors 7.30pm Tickets/Ticéidí €44.50 (incl. booking fee) Standing

The Dandy Warhols shot to international fame with their hit single Bohemian Like You and have been dubbed "the best British band to come out of America". The quartet of Oregonians put forth an intense and complexly psychedelic sound. Their live performances are legendary.

Ash have enjoyed both mainstream and critical success in their 15-year history. They boast two number one hits and numerous others including Burn Baby Burn, Shining Light, Girl From Mars, Oh Yeah and A Life Less Ordinary. Ash burst back on the music scene last year, taking the live circuit by storm and proving themselves a must-see live act.

BLONDIE PARALLEL LINES

30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR New York City music legends Blondie have sold over 40 million records. Fronted by the iconic Debbie Harry, this Festival appearance comes on the heels of the 30th Anniversary of the breakthrough album Parallel Lines. The classic album spawned the singles Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Heart of Glass, and Sunday Girl and catapulted the New York act to global stardom.

FESTIVAL BIG TOP F ISHERIES F IELD Thursday 24 July Doors 7.30pm Tickets/Ticéidí €44.50 (incl. booking fee) Standing

MUSIC •

WORLD VOICES

IRELAND

LÚNASA

Lúnasa are internationally acknowledged as being the finest traditional Irish instrumental band of recent times. The layered tapestry that underpins Lúnasa's sound is one defined by driving, occasionally jazzinflected rhythms, impeccable individual musicianship and an unswerving faith in the music's ability to navigate new territory.

Their new album The Story So Far, best represents not only the energy, drive and fire that Lúnasa is known for, but also the uniqueness of their compositions and arrangement style. The album and the magnificence of their live performances are mind-blowing showcases of arguably the greatest instrumental group ever to exist in Irish music. Lúnasa will be joined by special guests.

MUSIC •

U.S.A.

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is the sound of New Orleans. Taking their name from the Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of the city's French Quarter, the band are New Orleans' most famous musical sons. The band was awarded the 2006 National Medal of Arts, the USA’s highest honour for artistic excellence.

“The tradition of New Orleans Jazz championed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has to be the purest musical expression of the 'melting pot' ideal.” Los Angeles Times

FESTIVAL BIG TOP F ISHERIES F IELD Friday 18 July Doors 8pm/Show 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€23 conc.) World Voices Season Ticket €80 Unreserved Seating

Their live performances are a rare uplifting treat with traditional jazz at its very best.

“They reveal a spirit few of their contemporaries can equal.” Hot Press

RADISSON SAS HOTEL Sunday 27 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €22 (€20 conc.)

MUSIC •

IRELAND

MUSIC •

IRELAND

MUSIC •

U.S.A.

CATHY DAVEY DAMIEN DEMPSEY The intricate, hard-hitting social commentary of Damien Dempsey’s words and music reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-nos as well as his musical heroes Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. He has earned the support and respect of fellow musicians Shane McGowan and Morrissey and those with whom he has recorded including Sinead O’Connor and Brian Eno. Among his many awards, he was named Best Irish Male at the Meteor Awards in both 2006 and 2007.

“Tales of Silversleeve may well be the most spectacularly beautiful Irish album you’ll hear this year. (2007)...Davey aims for the sky and actually gets there.” The Irish Times Cathy Davey has released two critically acclaimed and popular albums Something Ilk (2004) and Tales of Silversleeve (2007), which garnered her a Choice Music Prize nomination and a Meteor Award for Best Irish Female, which spawned a number of successful singles including Reuben and Sing for Your Supper.

LISA HANNIGAN

IRIS DEMENT SOLO PERFORMANCE

2008 promises to be the year Lisa moves centre stage as her eagerly awaited solo album is released to an already adoring public and enchanted press. Best known for her ongoing collaborations with Damien Rice - hers was the sweet, haunting voice that counterpointed his on both of his albums. A gem to behold.

One of country music's most celebrated performers, her debut album Infamous Angel won universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and heartfelt songcraft. Her numerous collaborators include Ralph Stanley and Steve Earle. A Grammy Award nominee with John Prine on In Spite of Ourselves, DeMent’s music has featured both in the film and on the sound track of Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

RÓISÍN DUBH

CAMPBELL’S TAVERN Headford, Co. Galway

Saturday 19 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €30 (€28 conc.)

Sunday 20 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €30 (€28 conc.)

Tuesday 22 July – Doors 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15

Saturday 26 July – Doors 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €35

MUSIC •

IRELAND

CANADA

IRELAND

U.S.A.

“A wickedly sharp observer of the human condition.” Rolling Stone

DAVE GERAGHTY Dave Geraghty is a member of one of Ireland’s most popular bands Bell X1. Their last album Flock debuted in Ireland at No. 1, gigs sold out in days and Bell X1 had proved themselves one of the most celebrated Irish bands in recent years. After an exhilarating adventure with the band and with time on his hands following Flock, Dave Geraghty decided it was his time to explore his own personal musical leanings. His Choice Music Prize nominated solo debut album Kill Your Darlings was released to critical acclaim last September. Geraghty strides into a new realm.

THE AGNOSTIC MOUNTAIN GOSPEL CHOIR Rare is the band that can captivate both punk rock kids and folk music fans. Rarer still is a band that can do this by playing a ferocious combination of traditional blues, Appalachian folk and ragged gospel. But The Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir does just that. Formed from the ashes of several wildly divergent Calgary bands, The Agnostics claim they were, "Founded in an effort to forge a kind of gospel for the unbeliever." To judge by their performances, they have succeeded and then some.

RÓISÍN DUBH

CUBA

Tuesday 15 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €18 (€16 conc.)

Friday 25 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€13 conc.)

AUTAMATA Autamata bring their unique mix of electronica, rock and acoustics to Galway Arts Festival. They have produced some of the most innovative music of recent times including three successful albums My Sanctuary, Short Stories and Colours of Sound, all showcasing their rich and vibrant sound.

GREG BROWN SOLO PERFORMANCE With two Grammy Award nominations and rave reviews from Rolling Stone magazine, Greg Brown is one of the most respected songwriters of his generation. Established among the premier artists in contemporary folk music, his contemplative and raw style manifests a compelling effort to shake us from sedation. This is his only gig in Ireland this year.

CUBA

CAMPBELL’S TAVERN Headford, Co. Galway

Saturday 26 July – Doors 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€13 conc.)

Sunday 27 July – Doors 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €25

MUSIC •

ROMANIA/IRELAND

CONTEMPO SUMMER FESTIVAL WITH GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL ConTempo and Guests

Mara Martinelli

ConTempo String Quartet was formed in 1995 when members, Bogdan Sofei, violin, Ingrid Nicola, violin, Andreea Banciu, viola and Adrian Mantu, cello were students at the Music University in Bucharest, Romania. Recognised as one of the world's finest string ensembles, ConTempo Quartet became Galway’s first Ensemble-in-Residence in January 2003.

CONCERT 3

CLASSICS OF VIENNA

MELODIES OF CHOPIN

Flute, piano and strings combine in a delightful selection of music from Italy Featuring: Vivaldi’s ‘Pastorale’ for Flute, Cello and Piano; Donizetti’s Sonata for Flute and Piano; Vivaldi’s Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5; Flute Quintets by Boccherini. ST. NICHOLAS’ COLLEGIATE CHURCH Thursday 17 July 1pm €10 (€8 conc.)

Classical masterpieces by master composers Featuring: Haydn’s ‘Sunrise’ Quartet Mozart's Sonata in C for Flute and Piano K. 296 ST. NICHOLAS’ COLLEGIATE CHURCH Friday 18 July 1pm €10 (€8 conc.)

Music from Poland's greatest lyric composer Featuring: “Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante” for Solo Piano, Op. 22; Piano Concerto No. 1 for string quartet and piano. ST. NICHOLAS’ COLLEGIATE CHURCH Saturday 19 July 8pm €10 (€8 conc.)

Cristiano Burato, piano (Italy) - Grand Prix and "Best Chopin Interpreter", Dino Ciani International Piano Competition, Milan Scala Theatre. Mara Martinelli, flute (Italy).

IRELAND

MAIGH SEOLA

The music of Maigh Seola has rescued and restored the cultural soul of Connacht’s finest love songs. At times agonisingly beautiful, at others capriciously clever, the group brings a new vibrant interpretation to songs and tunes first collected nearly a century ago. But with tradition comes innovation and with new arrangements the music of Galway and Mayo springs magically back to life.

ST. NICHOLAS’ COLLEGIATE CHURCH

Saturday 26 July 8pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€12 conc.)

IRELAND

LUNCHTIMES AT THE RÓISÍN DUBH

"A group set on pushing the interpretative envelope… full of imaginative daring" The Irish Times

CONCERT 2

MUSIC •

ITALY

SOUNDS OF ITALY

CONCERT 1

Cristiano Burato

•

STEPHANIE GEREMIA

MALACHY BOURKE FRANK KILKELLY

TONY TRUNDLE, GED FOLEY & PAUL MULLIGAN Fiddler and songwriter Tony Trundle is joined by Patrick Street’s guitarist & fiddler Ged Foley and guitarist & singer Paul Mulligan for a special collaborative performance.

Thursday 17 July 1pm

MALACHY BOURKE Malachy Bourke was born in Galway and taught by master Irish fiddler Frankie Gavin. He has performed with numerous Irish musicians and ensembles, has worked in film and on several seasons with the Rubato Ballet. Malachy has released two CDS Draw the Bow and Bourke and Dwyer.

Thursday 24 July 1pm

TOMMY HAYES EXPERIENCE

FRANK KILKELLY & FRIENDS

Ace percussionist and studio session musician Tommy Hayes showcases his new experimental five piece ensemble for this year’s Festival.

Jazz guitarist par excellence Frank Kilkelly pulls together a fiery ensemble for a one-off performance.

Friday 18 July 1pm

Friday 25 July 1pm

BREDA AND CLAIRE KEVILLE

STEPHANIE GEREMIA, MAUREEN BROWNE & ELAINE HOGAN

Breda and Claire are sisters who definitely have their own beautiful groove when it comes to playing traditional music. Not to be missed.

Saturday 19 July 1pm

Stephanie is a flautist with her own fluid and unique style, informed by her deep understanding of her chosen instrument. Stephanie is joined by Maureen Browne on fiddle and Elaine Hogan on harp, both familiar favourites with Galway audiences.

Saturday 26 July 1pm

ALL LUNCHTIME CONCERTS TAKE PLACE IN RÓISÍN DUBH, DOMINICK STREET. DATE AND TIME ABOVE. Tickets/Ticéidí €7.50

C H I L D R E N ’ S T H E AT R E •

ENGLAND

Have you ever wondered how the giraffe got its long neck, how the leopard got its spots or how the elephant got its trunk? Find out in this brand new show from Tall Stories, the company that brought you The Gruffalo, The Snow Dragon and Monster Hits.

TALL STORIES

HOW THE GIRAFFE GOT ITS NECK

Join two intrepid explorers on a fantastic adventure across the open seas and discover how elephants, leopards and other animals came to be... Imagine the creatures that might have existed if things had turned out just a little differently... And finally, find out the secret behind the giraffe’s neck. Stories, science and a splash of silliness combine in this exciting new show for everyone aged 4 and up...

BANK OF IRELAND THEATRE, NUI GALWAY Monday 21 – Wednesday 23 July 11am & 2pm Tickets/Ticéidí €7 Age 4+

C H I L D R E N ’ S T H E AT R E •

IRELAND

CUPS & CROWNS

CAPTAIN McKEONE’S SECRET WALKING TOUR OF GALWAY

Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 July Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 July Tour Times 11am/2pm/4.30pm Duration 1 Hour Tickets/Ticéidí €7 Age 7 to 10 years

S T R E E T T H E AT R E •

THE NETHERLANDS

CLOSE-ACT

REBELS Close-Act perform highly-visual, fascinating and spectacular outdoor promenade shows and street parades. Having wowed Galway audiences last year with their beautifully constructed and amazing Dinosaurs and Insects, Close-Act return to claim the city streets with their new show Rebels.

STREETS OF GALWAY Thursday 17 – Saturday 19 July 1pm and 10pm

S T R E E T T H E AT R E • ARTWORK BY CLODAGH KELLY

Captain McKeone invites young minds on a special walking tour in search of his secret Gaillimh. With a map that leads to ‘who knows where’ And a man from ‘who knows when’ Bringing along something told, something due, Something furrowed and something blue… Expect fun, adventure and a new story for old Galway. This piece combines the magic of interactive story telling with street theatre. Departs from Festival Box Office, Merchants Road.

BELGIUM

CIRQ MOUSTIQUE Crawling from their nest, these inquisitive insects discover the human world in their own self-willed mysterious way. They react very sensitively to everything in their environment – so be warned!

STREETS OF GALWAY Wednesday 23 – Friday 25 July 2pm

COMEDY •

USA/IRELAND

DES BISHOP TONGUES

DAVID O’DOHERTY

Having spent the past 12 months immersed in Connemara’s Gaeltacht in an effort to speak as Gaeilge - Des Bishop is back on the road again. Drawing from his experiences, the star of the revolutionary RTÉ TV show In the Name of the Fada, Des returns to Galway with his live stand-up show Tongues. Attracting rave reviews, Tongues, also explores the religious side of Des’s identity, from his early days as an overly theatrical altar boy to his experience with people who have the power to speak in tongues.

David has written his new show while on tour in locations such as New York, Australia and New Zealand. Ever-popular, David O'Doherty returns to Galway Arts Festival with two small keyboards and a low stool. He is very excited.

RADISSON SAS HOTEL

TOWN HALL THEATRE

Thursday 17 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€22.50 conc. )

Wednesday 23 July 10.30pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15 (€12.50 conc.)

COMEDY •

LET’S COMEDY

COMEDY •

ENGLAND

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?

A favourite on the international circuit, Irish comedian Ed Byrne has toured to Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States where he has enjoyed many appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien (NBC). A regular on RTÉ’s The Panel, Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats and BBC 2's Mock the Week. Presenter of Just For Laughs, Byrne has performed six sell-out Edinburgh Fringe Festival runs and three sell-out UK tours.

RÓISÍN DUBH

COMEDY •

CUBA Sunday 27 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €15

Photo by Reg Gordon

COMEDY •

ENGLAND

PAPPY’S FUN CLUB STEVE HALL WITH

(WE ARE KLANG)

Following the huge success of their 2007 show (nominated for the If. comedy Award at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Pappy’s Fun Club have had a phenomenal year, performing in comedy venues across the UK; appearing on BBC Radio 1, presenting their own show on Radio 4, winning the Chortle Award for Best Sketch Act and performing at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Joined by Steve Hall from former Perrier nominees We Are Klang.

RÓISÍN DUBH

IRELAND

ED BYRNE

The live show follows the popular TV format as seen on Channel 4 with loads of audience participation and madcap improvised comedy sketches. Featuring some of the most popular characters from the English TV series, special guests include Phil Jupitus (Never Mind The Buzzcocks).

Wednesday 23 July 9pm Thursday 24 July 4pm Tickets/Ticéidí €25 (€23 conc. )

IRELAND

Wednesday 16 July 9pm Tickets/Ticéidí €20 (€18 conc.)

IRELAND

GERRY MALLON’S LAUGHTER LOFT

Now in its 5th year, the Laughter Loft brings you the best of Irish and International standup comics. The intimacy and charm of the Ruby Room allows you to relax and enjoy the cream of the Irish comedy circuit. Hosted by the legendary Gerry Mallon, acts include Karl Spain, Maeve Higgins, David McSavage, Ian Coppinger and surprise guests.

RUBY ROOM, THE KING’S HEAD Monday 14 – Saturday 26 July 1pm (No show Sunday 20 July) Tickets/Ticéidí €10 (available at the door) Photo by Reg Gordon

V I S UA L A RT •

U.S.A.

V I S UA L A RT •

CANADA

MAX STREICHER Max Streicher is a sculptor and installation artist from Toronto. Since 1991 he has worked extensively with kinetic, large-scale, inflatable forms. In most of his sculptures and installations, his use of industrial fans and simple valve mechanisms animate his work with lifelike gestures. Lightweight paper materials and use of air provides an effortless naturalism within his work capturing a sensation of breath and movement.

BILL VIOLA Bill Viola is long considered a pioneer in the medium of video art and is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading artists. He has been instrumental in the establishment of video as a vital form of contemporary art, and in so doing has helped to greatly expand its scope in terms of technology, content, and historical reach. Viola’s video installations employ state-of-the-art technologies and are distinguished by their precision and direct simplicity. They are shown in museums and galleries worldwide and are found in many distinguished collections. Six of Viola’s works The Reflecting Pool, I Do Not Know What I Am Like, Four Songs, Chott El-DJerid, The Passing and Deserts are presented for exhibition at Galway Arts Festival.

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE, MERCHANTS ROAD SIOBHAN M C KENNA THEATRE, NUI GALWAY & NUI GALWAY GALLERY, UNIVERSITY ROAD

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE, MERCHANTS ROAD RADISSON SAS HOTEL, LOUGH ATALIA ROAD

41 Alleviating Pain • Restoring Health • Extending Life

V I S UA L A RT •

CANADA

JONI MITCHELL

GREEN FLAG SONG The world knows Joni Mitchell primarily as a singer and songwriter. But Mitchell is also a visual artist who brings to her vivid and arresting images, the same profound social, political and spiritual conviction that informs her music. She has just completed a body of new work dealing with the consequences of war and the prevailing human condition. Her exhibition Green Flag Song, a series of massive triptych canvases, is a deeply personal response to centuries of strife, fear and of humanity’s struggle with itself.

IRELAND

RUTH MCHUGH TRACERY

Tracery, is a new exhibition of photographs, paintings, tracings and film by Galway artist Ruth McHugh, following a year of cultural, academic study. The starting point for this exhibition was a cultural critique by writer and philosopher Walter Benjamin, from his book The Arcades Project, a study of 19th century Paris, and specifically, on the city’s architecture of iron and glass-covered arcades. The final result is an interrelated exhibition to be experienced in many ways, from the aesthetic to the sublime.

AULA MAXIMA 2, NUI GALWAY

V I S UA L A RT •

IRELAND

KEVIN MOONEY

SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST Kevin Mooney is from Co. Offaly and currently lives in Galway where he is a guest artist at Artspace Studios. His work deals with the changing landscape at the edge of the city, referencing romantic and realist painting while challenging traditional representations of the West of Ireland. This is his first solo exhibition.

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE, MERCHANTS ROAD

WHITE ROOM GALLERY LIOSBAN, TUAM ROAD

V I S UA L A RT •

VISUAL ART •

IRELAND

PHILIP LINDEY

Lindey’s painting is rooted in the classical with a twist and absurdity where humour features strongly. His influences - music, literature, films, gardening and his children - all go into the mix, but it is his innate curiosity and attention to detail that make the work so unique and instantly recognisable. Nobody does a wart like Philip Lindey. Philip’s painting Beauty Released into the Wind features as this year’s Galway Arts Festival poster.

THE PLINIAN SPONGE, MAYBE?

The Plinian Sponge, maybe?, featuring 16 of Ireland’s leading, emerging artists reflects the diversity of contemporary painting in Ireland. ‘Those things that happen at random or by chance are not done by art – as, for example, the picture of a horse foaming at the mouth, which was the result of the painters’ having thrown a sponge at the picture in a fit of anger.’ From De Disciplinis by Juan Luis Vives, on Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder. Royal Hibernian Academy Ashford Gallery Tour

NORMAN VILLA GALLERY LOWER SALTHILL

V I S UA L A RT •

CLUAIN MHUIRE, GMIT, MONIVEA ROAD

IRELAND/U.K.

MART

GALWAY ARTS CENTRE AND GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENT

DARKNESS VISIBLE Darkness Visible brings together an exciting group of artists from Ireland and the UK, whose work explores the nuances of the ornamental line through a variety of media, including video, sculpture, photography and drawing. The work self-consciously exists in the realm of the Gothic and the Romantic, where ornament does not serve to decorate but is instead an external manifestation of darker inner forces. Featuring: AILBHE NI BHRIAIN, GEORGE BOLSTER, ANDY HARPER, ANGELA HUNTBACH, BREDA LYNCH, EOIN MCHUGH, ALICE MAHER, ANN MULROONEY & KATE STREET CURATED BY BREDA LYNCH AND ANN MULROONEY

G126 BALLYBANE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

Rainer Ganahl's work explores how the incidental and banal are inextricable from the political. This is his first appearance in Ireland. G126 is an artist-led gallery in Galway, which promotes experimental artworks.

PERFORMANCE SPACE & VIDEO INSTALLATION SILKE’S, SEA ROAD 23 – 27 July

23 – 27 July

VISUAL ART •

IRELAND

Dadalenin is an ongoing project that asserts that V. I. Lenin was a founding member of the Dadaist movement with Tristan Tzara. In his latest instalment Ganahl has included James Joyce as a collaborator. Dadalenin tries to prove these assertions by connecting historical events, artefacts, internet searches, and other artists.

IRELAND

Mart was recently established in Galway by Matthew Nevin, Ciara Scanlan and Chloe Freaks whose primary aim is to create a platform for Video Art, New Media, Installation and Performance. Mart also showcase artists’ work online and create temporary gallery spaces in accessible city centre locations transforming these as audio visual labyrinths, with performance, video installation and soundscapes.

THE THATCH NO. 9 HENRY STREET

Artists’ Talk Thursday 17 July 2pm Galway Arts Centre

RAINER GANAHL DADALENIN

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INSTALLATION, VIDEO & SOUND

GALWAY ARTS CENTRE, 47 DOMINICK STREET

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U.S.A.

WALKER EVANS WALKER EVANS: PHOTOGRAPHS 1935 – 1936 Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, American photographer Walker Evans is best known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression. His groundbreaking book with writer James Agee Let Us Now Praise Famous Men captured the plight of three white tenant families in southern Alabama. This exhibition covers his tour of Alabama during that period, painting a deeply moving portrait of rural poverty. In association with Hayward Gallery London

AULA MAXIMA 1, NUI GALWAY

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PAULINE BEWICK SEVEN AGES It’s never too late to become a Friend!

Pauline Bewick recently bequeathed 400 paintings from her lifetime’s work to the Irish state to form two permanent collections in Kerry and Waterford, and a further 200, featured in this exhibition, which are destined to tour Europe and beyond from 2008 onwards. This is a unique opportunity to see two exhibitions at once by one of our most individual and recognizable artists - her Seven Ages retrospective and an important collection of recent paintings.

Did you know that the Galway Arts Festival Friends' Scheme allows you to enhance your Festival experience as well as providing vital support to the Festival? With the help and support of our Friends we have presented many memorable and exciting performances over the past 30 years making our programme accessible to as wide an audience as possible. YOU can help us by becoming a Friend.

KENNY GALLERY, MIDDLE STREET

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Choose from a range of levels to suit your needs and enjoy the benefits for FESTIVAL 2008 of Priority Booking; Direct Friends’ Box Office Line; Complimentary Tickets; Invitations to Openings and Festival Club Membership.

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You can enjoy these Friends’ Benefits from as little as €12.50 per month. Sign up online at www.galwayartsfestival.com or receive a copy of our Friends Brochure by contacting Laura Rigney on 091 509700 or email friends@galwayartsfestival.com

SUBJECTED Subjected brings together artists whose work is linked by their contemporary interrogation of the still life and portraiture traditions. Featuring the work of Allyson Keehan, Jennifer Cunningham, Joe McNicholas, Clare Henderson, Mike Dehelory, Louise Neiland and Nicole Tilley.

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UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL GALWAY UNIVERSITY ROAD

ARTSPACE STUDIOS IN SITU

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Artspace was formed as an artist's collective by a group of Galway-based artists in 1986 whose priority was to develop studio space for professional artists and to support group and individual work and exhibitions. 22 years later Artspace is one of Ireland’s most established and respected artists’ collectives.

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE, MERCHANTS ROAD

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The Blue Note

MAP/LÉARSCÁIL 1 Black Box Theatre 2 Town Hall Theatre & Studio 3 Bank of Ireland Theatre, NUI Galway 4 Siobhan McKenna Theatre, NUI Galway 5 NUI Galway Gallery 6 Aula Maxima 1 & 2, NUI Galway 7 University College Hospital 8 Cuba 9 The Radisson SAS Hotel 10 Festival Box Office, Merchants Road

11 12 13 14

St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church The King’s Head Hotel Meyrick The Kenny Gallery

15 Druid Theatre 16 Festival Big Top Fisheries Field 17 Tara Restaurant 18 House Hotel 19 Nuns’ Island Theatre 20 Galway Arts Centre 21 Róisin Dubh 22 Áras Na Gaelige, NUI Galway 23 Cluian Mhuire, GMIT 24 Áras Éanna, Inis Oírr 25 Norman Villa Gallery 26 White Room Gallery 27 G126 28 Campbell’s Tavern, Headford, Co. Galway

29 Thatch, Henry Street 30 Silkes 31 Renville, Oranmore

Please note Campbell’s Tavern, Headford is fifteen miles outside Galway City. Galway Arts Festival reserves the right to alter any advertised programme if necessary. Please note latecomers may only be admitted at the discretion of Management. Please allow extra time for unseen delays, such as Galway’s traffic and parking. Special needs: We kindly ask, where possible, any special needs or seating requirements are made known to us at time of booking.