INTERNATIONAL
FRIEL FE STIVAL
20-31 AUGUST 2015
MUSIC / THEATRE / KITE FLYING / OPEN AIR DANCING / TALKS / READINGS AND FOOD
DONEGAL, WELCOME TO FRIEL COUNTRY 20-26 AUGUST BELFAST, HERE I COME! 27 - 31 AUGUST
BELFAST
DONEGAL
LUGHNAS A
donegal box office An Grianan Theatre Port Road Letterkenny + 353 (0) 74 9120777 www.angrianan.com
donegal box office Visit Belfast Welcome Centre 9 Done gall Square North Belfast BT1 5GJ + 44 (0) 28 90246609 www.visit-belfast.com
getting here Please visit www.lughnasainternationalfrielfestival.com for full details on how to get to Donegal.
getting here Please visit www.lughnasainternationalfrielfestival.com for full details on how to get to Belfast.
accommodation Donegal Discover Ireland Centre www.govisitdonegal.com/stay +353 (0) 74 9721148
accommodation Visit Belfast Welcome Centre www.visit-belfast.com/stay-in-belfast +44 (0) 28 9024 6609
taxi companies Quinn’s, Donegal Town +353 (0) 87 2620 670
taxi companies Value Cabs +44 (0) 28 9080 9080
Letterkenny Cabs, Letterkenny +353 (0) 74 9127 000
Fonacab +44 (0) 28 9033 3333
Brennan’s Taxis, Glenties +353 (0) 87 6675 555
Belfast Cabs +44 (0) 28 9024 2700
Front and Back Cover photo of Brian Friel by Bobbie Hanvey
BOOKING & INFORMATION
W
elcome to the inaugural Lughnasa International Friel Festival, Ireland’s first annual cross border arts festival - a festival that comprises two territories: Donegal, Welcome to Friel Country (August 20-23) and Belfast, Here I Come! (August 27-31) We consider it an honour to be curating a festival devoted to Brian Friel, the third of our biofestivals this year following Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde. Brian Friel is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s greatest writers, his plays having a profound influence on how we view ourselves and our place in history in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. His work asks difficult questions, is highly innovative and provocative, yet it is lyrical with an almost unparalleled understanding of the power of memory in our lives.
It is particularly fitting that the festival is being held in Donegal and Belfast as Brian Friel’s life and work has demonstrated a certain duality. He lived in Northern Ireland from 1929 to 1967 but since then his home has been in Inishowen, Co. Donegal; his work also has been set on both sides of the border. Dualism is a powerful theme in the work (think of Gar Private and Gar Public in Philadelphia, Here I Come!) through the endless fascination with how we see ourselves as opposed to the faces we present to the world. The festival locations play with duality and geography. Our opening weekend is in Donegal but our first event starts in Northern Ireland, in County Derry; our last weekend is in Belfast but the festival circles back to Donegal for the closing event. The political and geographical landscape means that Belfast is of course both east and north of Donegal, while Donegal is west and south of Belfast. One is urban, the other rural. One is Ballybeg, the other Ballymore.
Each morning our programme for Donegal reaches to the very edges of the county whereas the afternoons and evenings are centred in West Donegal’s Ballybeg landscape. In Belfast we stretch across the city with five distinct responses to the themes and activity of this year’s signature play, Dancing at Lughnasa. All in all, it’s a wonderfully rich and diverse terrain in which to explore and celebrate a writer of such complexity and brilliance. We would like to acknowledge Brian Friel for his personal warmth, generosity and support in helping us bring to life the first of many festivals in his honour. But most of all, we acknowledge Brian for the extraordinary range of work that he has given us and for the beauty of his artistic imagination. Sean Doran Founder & Artistic Director Liam Browne Co-Founder & Deputy Artistic Director
brian friel was born in 1929 in Omagh, County Tyrone, his father a schoolmaster from Derry and his mother a postmistress from Glenties, Co Donegal. Friel attended Long Tower School in Derry and continued his education there at St Columb’s College before studying for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Ultimately, though, he decided to follow his father into the teaching profession and went on to enter St Joseph’s Teacher Training College in Belfast. He taught as a school teacher in and around Derry from 1950-60.
He left the teaching profession in 1960 to pursue a career as a writer. He had already begun writing short stories for The New Yorker and his stories would subsequently be published in two collections, The Saucer of Larks (1962) and The Gold in the Sea (1966). He had also been writing radio plays for BBC Northern Ireland, and stage plays, A Doubtful Paradise (1960) and The Enemy Within (1962). Following a stint at the Tyrone Guthrie theatre in Minneapolis, Friel had his first major stage success, Philadelphia, Here I Come, which was the undisputed hit of the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1964. Two years later he moved from Derry to Donegal and future work included The Loves of Cass McGuire (1966), Lovers (1967), The Mundy Scheme (1969), The Freedom of the City (1973), Volunteers (1975), Living Quarters (1977) and Faith Healer (1979). In 1980, Friel co-founded the Field Day Theatre Company with Stephen Rea and the company’s first production was Friel’s play Translations, the premiere of which took place at Derry’s Guildhall in 1980 (the play was awarded the Ewart-Biggs Peace Prize). Other plays produced under the Field Day banner included The Communication Cord (1982) and Making History (1988). Friel also adapted Chekhov’s Three Sisters (1981), and Turgenev’s novel Fathers and Sons (1987),
Friel’s most famous play, Dancing at Lughnasa (1990), won three Tony Awards in 1992, including Best Play. He followed this with a version of Turgenev’s A Month in the Country (1992), The London Vertigo (from Charles Macklin’s The True Born Irishman), Wonderful Tennessee (1993), Molly Sweeney (1994) and Give Me Your Answer Do! (1997). Between 1997 and 2003, Friel wrote three oneact plays, The Bear, The Yalta Game and Afterplay. The latter two plays demonstrated once again Friel’s continuing fascination with Chekhov’s work. His most recent work is Performances (2003), which combines drama and a staged performance of Janacek’s Intimate Letters for string quartet and The Home Place (2005) which returns to Friel’s fictional setting of Ballybeg
CONTENTS DONEGAL, WELCOME TO FRIEL COUNTRY 4-17 FESTIVAL SIGNATURE PLAY 6 & 21 OPENING TALK 7 REHEARSED READINGS 8, 9, 11 THE CASIMIR CONCERTS 10 BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS 12-15 SUMMER SCHOOL 16 FESTIVAL CLOSING EVENT 17 BELFAST, HERE I COME! 18-39 REHEARSED READINGS 22-23 AMONGST WOMEN 24-31 THE MUNDY CONCERTS 32-33 DANCING CRANES & NEW NORTHS 34-37 KITETANICA KITE FESTIVAL 38-39
DONEGAL, 4 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
DONEGAL, WELCOME TO FRIEL COUNTRY! Donegal County Council is delighted to support and to work with the inaugural Lughnasa International Friel Festival to explore, to interpret and to celebrate the work of one Ireland’s finest living playwrights, Brian Friel. A much-loved and valued member of our community, we are proud that he has made his home here and has been a beacon of inspiration to creative artists in this county for nigh on 50 years. There is no better way to experience and enjoy the plays of Brian Friel than here among the villages and townlands and the communities of Donegal, that have so inspired his writing. We welcome the Lughnasa International Friel Festival to Donegal and we are confident that this timely celebration of Brian Friel’s unique artistic talent will inspire, entertain, and hopefully surprise, the local community and visitors to the county alike. Mícheál Uas. ó hÉanaigh, Director of Service, Community, Culture and Planning Development, Donegal County Council.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 5
FESTIVAL SIGNATURE PLAY
DANCING AT LUGHNASA BY BRIAN FRIEL An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny Thursday 20 - Sunday 23 August Thursday - Saturday 8:00pm, Sunday 2:30pm Thurs ¤20, Fri & Sat ¤25/¤20, Sun ¤20/¤15 2hrs 15mins Winner of an Olivier Award and a Tony Award, Dancing at Lughnasa is one of the most acclaimed and loved Irish plays of recent times. Set in County Donegal in 1936 during the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasa, the play tells the story of the five Mundy sisters and their brother Jack, who has returned home from the missions after 25 years away. This new production, which marks the 25th anniversary of the play’s premiere in Dublin, is directed by awardwinning Annabelle Comyn. Presented by Lyric Theatre, Belfast in association with the Lughnasa International Friel Festival. For more information and to book tickets, see website: www.angrianan.com
6 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
FESTIVAL OPENING TALK
FINTAN O’TOOLE FESTIVAL INTRODUCTION BY GARY MCKEONE The Guildhall, Derry Thursday 20 August 7:30pm | £8/£6 | 75 mins “Confusion is Not an Ignoble Condition”Brian Friel and the Courage of Uncertainty Brian Friel’s work is about people coming up against the limits of what they thought they knew and the limits of what they can express. No living dramatist gives us such a powerful sense of how people really live, not with full knowledge of the forces that are shaping their lives but borne along on invisible currents of history. Yet his plays also find the courage and nobility that lies in a facing of these truths and finding a life beyond certainty. Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s most respected and controversial political and cultural commentators, and an acclaimed biographer and critic. His books include White Savage, A Traitor’s Kiss, Meanwhile Back at the Ranch, the number one bestseller Ship of Fools, which Terry Eagleton called “a brilliant polemic”, and its sequel Enough is Enough. Fintan O’Toole is literary editor of The Irish Times. LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 7
REHEARSED READING
LOVERS BY BRIAN FRIEL PART 1 WINNERS. PART 2 LOSERS
“
Friel’s work is an Irish treasure for the entire world. It is his extraordinary understanding of people, their motivations and their dreams, and their sense of themselves and others that keeps pulling us back to Friel again and again.
”
Bill Clinton, Founder of the Clinton Foundation & 42nd President of the United States of America
8 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
Point Inn, Magilligan Point Co. Derry & Greencastle Co. Donegal Friday 21 - Sunday 23 August 10:00am & 11:45am (ferry at 11:15am) ¤10/8 | 2hrs 30mins Lovers premiered at the Gate Theatre in Dublin in 1967 and the Broadway production the following year was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Lovers is composed of two complementary parts, Winners and Losers. Winners involves two young teenage lovers, Mag and Joe, whilst Losers focuses on an unnamed, middle-aged man and woman. In this unique rehearsed reading for the festival, the play begins with Winners at 10:00am at the Point Inn Magilligan Point, followed by Losers at approximately 11.45am in Greencastle, Co. Donegal. The audience crosses between the two venues by boat on the 11.15am ferry (crossing 20 mins), from east to west, from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland. Director:Frankie McCafferty Cast:Paddy McBrearty, Amanda Doherty, Dessie Gallagher, Ali White, Julia Deardon, Carol Moore.
REHEARSED READING
THE ENEMY WITHIN BY BRIAN FRIEL PRESENTED BY KABOSH THEATRE Pobail Teach Naomh Colmcille ((St. Columba’s Church), Glencolmcille, Co. Donegal Friday 21 & Saturday 22 August 11:00am | ¤10/8 | 75mins First staged in 1962, The Enemy Within is an imaginative account of the voluntary exile of Columba (or Columcille). The play is set in Iona, where Columba lived for thirty-four years following his departure from Ireland in 563, and it concentrates on the private man, a charismatic, worldly personality who struggled to combine skills of scholar, bard and ruler with a fearless commitment to his vocation, and it probes the theme of exile, a subject Brian Friel would later return to in Philadelphia, Here I Come! Director:Paula McFetridge. Cast:Cast of ten Ulster actors to include Peter Ballance, Vincent Higgins, Gerard Jordan, Terence Keeley, Frank McCusker, Seamus O’Hara and Lalor Roddy.
REHEARSED READING
THE GENTLE ISLAND BY BRIAN FRIEL DIRECTED BY DAVID GRANT Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada Arranmore Island, West Donegal Sunday 23 August 10:00am departure on the ferry from Burtonport (boarding at 9:45am). Reading begins at 10:30am. ¤15/¤10 (includes sandwich lunch) 2hrs 30mins, return ferry at 1:30pm (later ferries available, see www.arranmoreferry.com) Brian Friel’s visionary play The Gentle Island is about the encounter between two city visitors, Peter and Shane, and the last remaining family on Innishkeen. Like his namesake from the classic western, Shane, an engineer, seems at first to be a benign presence, helping Manus (the selfdeclared king of the island) and his family with much needed repairs. But when Peter and Shane are suspected of being lovers their welcome wanes. Neither nostalgic nor romantic, The Gentle Island serves as a metaphor for the continuing tension in Irish life between progress and tradition. Unlike Innishkeen, Arranmore, with its breathtaking views of Mount Errigal and the Derryveagh Mountains, bustles with resilient life; but the sight of abandoned dwellings on smaller islands during the short ferry crossing is a stark reminder of the social changes that inspired Friel’s play, providing a resonant connection between play and place. Not recommended for under 12s. Cast: Kieran Kelly, Deirdre Kelly, Patrick Quinn, Brian Diamond, David Grant, Aaron Hickland, Jack Boyle, Cailum Carragher, Siobhan Cox, Michael Early, Mark Phelan, Shea Phelan, Brenda Winter, Richard Palmer. Music: Anne Conaghan Audience members must book their own places on the ferry (¤15 for an Adult Return) on the website www.arranmoreferry.com or by phone +353 (0) 749542233 (0) 749520532. Over 65s travel free on the ferry. Early booking is advisable.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 9
CLASSICAL MUSIC
THE CASIMIR CONCERTS THE MECCORE STRING QUARTET (POLAND) St. Conal’s Church, Glenties Friday 21 - Sunday 23 August Friday 5:00pm, Saturday 5.00pm, Sunday 7:00pm | ¤12/¤10 friday concert - 70mins (inc. interval) Karol Szymanowski String Quartet in C major No.1 Op.37 Leoš Janacek String Quartet No. 2 Claude Debussy String Quartet in G minor Op.10 saturday concert - 80mins (inc. interval) Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet in F major No.1 Op.18 Krzysztof Penderecki String Quartet No.3 Edvard Grieg String Quartet in G minor No.1 Op.27 sunday concert - 50 mins (inc. interval) André Tchaikovsky String Quartet No.2 in C Peter Tchaikovsky String Quartet in D major Op.11
10 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
Morning concerts by the Polish Meccore String Quartet playing the favoured composers of Brian Friel’s plays – Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Janacek, Mozart. featuring: Jarosław Nadrzycki, Wojciech Koprowski - Violins Michał Bryła - Viola Karol Marianowski - Cello
1st prize: International Chamber Music Competition, Weiden 1st prize: Max Reger International Chamber Music Competition 2nd prize: Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition, London
REHEARSED READING
FAITH HEALER BY BRIAN FRIEL DIRECTED BY DENIS CONWAY Glenties, Portnoo, Ardara Friday 21 - Sunday 23 August 6:00pm (Pick up at 5.45pm at Market Hall, Glenties) ¤25 (includes bus and barbecue) | 4hrs A special reading of Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer will transport audiences on a journey across West Donegal to explore the life of faith healer Frank Hardy. The play’s four monologues, given by Hardy, his wife, Grace, and his stage manager, Teddy, will each be performed against the backdrop of a different venue. Audiences are invited to join in a unique barbecue experience on Portnoo Pier as the sun begins to set over the ocean. programme 6:00pm
part i
Edeninfagh Hall (near Glenties)
7:00pm
part ii
Inishkeel Hall, Portnoo
7:45pm
interval
A Tennessee Barbecue on Portnoo Pier, the setting of Friel’s play Wonderful Tennessee.
8:45pm
part iii
Methodist Hall, Ardara
9:30pm
part iv
Market Hall, Glenties
Buses will transport audiences between each venue. Director:Denis Conway. Featuring:Denis Conway as Frank Hardy, Conleth Hill as Teddy and Eleanor Methven as Grace. Please see p.17 for Special Festival Closing Event (Faith Healer) at the Highland Hotel, Glenties at 3:00pm on Mon 31 August.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 11
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
PADDY WOODWORTH & TURLOUGH O’DONNELL
TERRY EAGLETON
Market Hall, Glenties Friday 21 August 3.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75mins
Market Hall, Glenties Friday 21 August 5.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75mins
“To remember everything is a form of madness”: the right to historical memory, the case for historical amnesia.
Terry Eagleton’s play on Wilde, Saint Oscar, was staged and toured by Field Day Theatre Company in 1989. In a special festival event, Terry Eagleton delivers a monologue from his own play.
Taking a line from Translations as their starting point, Paddy Woodworth and Turlough O’Donnell explore the theme of history and memory, both in Friel’s work and more broadly, in the context of contemporary Ireland and elsewhere, as we live through a decade of commemorations across Europe. Paddy Woodworth is an author and journalist. A former arts editor at The Irish Times, he has written widely on the political and cultural history of Spain and on a range of environmental themes. Turlough O’Donnell is a senior Counsel in practice at the Irish Bar, a former Chairman of the Bar Council and a member of the Board of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. Chaired by Joe Mulholland. 12 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
Terry Eagleton has written over forty books and is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most influential literary critics. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster. The play concerns among other things an Anglo-Irish disagreement within a single identity; and to put it that way is to suggest that behind the figure of Wilde looms another protagonist, which is political history, and which unlike him does not today lie quiet in its grave. Terry Eagleton (programme notes, 1989)
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
CHRISTOPHER MURRAY Market Hall, Glenties Saturday 22 August 1.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 mins “Brian Friel’s Sense of Place and Displacement” Few writers capture the relationship between self and place, the weight of history on the present-day, and the ambiguities and ambivalences experienced in relation to our sense of home as well as Brian Friel. In a special lecture written for the festival, Christopher Murray explores these issues further. Christopher Murray has been a pioneer and inspiration in the critical field of modern and contemporary Irish Drama, and has written widely on Brian Friel. He is Emeritus Professor of Drama and Theatre History in the School of English at University College Dublin.
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
ON CHEKHOV: ROSAMUND BARTLETT AND éLLIS Ní DHUIBHNE Market Hall, Glenties Saturday 22 August 3.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 mins The work of Chekhov has been an enduring presence in Brian Friel’s life and the two writers’ sharing of certain preoccupations and sensibilities has even led to Friel being described as ‘the Irish Chekhov.’ Rosamund Bartlett and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne celebrate Chekhov and that great period in Russian literature of which he was a part. Rosamund Bartlett is a writer, scholar and translator. She has written a biography of Chekhov, and her most recent translation is of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, which was published last year. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne is a novelist and short story writer, who writes in both English and Irish. The Dancers Dancing was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and her most recent novel is The Shelter of Neighbours. Chaired by Carlo Gebler.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 13
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
CELEBRATING THE SHORT STORY: MARY COSTELLO AND NUALA NI CHONCHUIR Market Hall, Glenties Sunday 23 August 1.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 mins THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
FRANK SHOVLIN Market Hall, Glenties Saturday 22 August 5.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 60 mins “Brian Friel’s Donegal” Both actually, as a long resident of the county, and creatively, as a writer who has been repeatedly inspired by Donegal, Brian Friel has, over the course of a long writing life found himself drawn to the county, whether it be the Errigal of his short story, Among the Ruins, or that thinly veiled version of Glenties that appears so often in his work, Ballybeg. This talk will be a quick tour across several of these moments with a particular focus on Glenties and Downstrands. Originally from the west of Ireland, Frank Shovlin has been living and working in Liverpool since 2000 and is head of department at the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool. 14 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
Early in his career, Brian Friel turned to the short story. A number were published in The New Yorker and his stories were later brought together in two collections, The Saucer of Larks (1962) and The Gold in the Sea (1966). To celebrate this aspect of his work, Mary Costello and Nuala Ni Chonchuir discuss both the challenges and joys of writing short stories and the writers whose work has most inspired them. Mary Costello’s short story collection, The China Factory was shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and her recently-published first novel, Academy Street, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Nuala Ni Chonchuir has written novels, short stories and poetry. Her most recent novel, Miss Emily, reimagines the private life of the poet, Emily Dickinson. Chaired by Carlo Gebler.
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
JOE DOWLING Market Hall, Glenties Sunday 23 August 3.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 mins “Brian Friel and Tyrone Guthrie: Giants of the Theatre” Joe Dowling recently brought to a close his role as Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, a position he has held for the last twenty years. Brian Friel spent a very important part of his early career at that same theatre during its inaugural season and in a special talk for the festival, Joe Dowling explores the influence of Tyrone Guthrie on both his and Brian Friel’s life. Before the Guthrie, Joe Dowling was Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre, Managing Director of the Gaiety Theatre and founder and director of the Gaiety School of Acting. He has stated that Brian Friel has been the most significant influence on his work as a director and, indeed, it was a performance of Philadelphia, Here I Come! that inspired his desire to work as a director. His directing in 1979 of Donal McCann in Faith Healer is seen by many as the definitive performance of the play.
THE BALLYBEG TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
THOMAS KILROY Market Hall, Glenties Sunday 23 August 5.30pm | ¤8/¤6 | 75 mins In a wide-ranging conversation Thomas Kilroy discusses Brian Friel’s work, with particular reference to the plays being presented at this year’s festival. Thomas Kilroy sat on the board of Field Day Theatre Company and was the Director of its touring company. He is one of Ireland’s leading playwrights; his work includes The Death and Resurrection of Mr Roche, Talbot’s Box, Double Cross and The Secret Life, as well as adaptations of Chekhov and Ibsen. Chaired by Emer O’Kelly. LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 15
THE 2015 BRIAN FRIEL LECTURE: SEAMUS DEANE PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY BELFAST
THE BRIAN FRIEL SUMMER SCHOOL ORGANISED BY QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY (SCHOOL OF CREATIVE ARTS)
The Whittaker Suite, Guildhall, Derry Monday 24 August 12:00pm | £8*| 75 mins
Redcastle Hotel, Inishowen Monday 24 - Thursday 27 August
“War Among the Generations” This year’s lecture will be delivered by Brian Friel’s long-friend and associate, Seamus Deane. The annual Brian Friel Lecture has been a highlight in the university calendar since it was introduced in 2007. Previous speakers have included Thomas Kilroy, Anna McMullan and Anthony Roche. Seamus Deane was educated at Queen’s University, Belfast, and the University of Cambridge. He has been a Director of Field Day since its inception in 1980 and has taught at University College, Dublin, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Notre Dame, in the United States. His publications include Celtic Revivals (1985), A Short History of Irish Literature (1986), Selected Poems (1988), The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing (1991), Reading in the Dark (1996), Strange Country (1997). *includes a sandwich lunch
16 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
As a part of the inaugural Lughnasa International Friel Festival August 20 - 31, Queen’s University is holding a four-day Summer School dedicated to the work of the great Irish dramatist, Brian Friel. Located in the luxurious Redcastle Hotel, in Friel’s adopted homeland of Inishowen, a packed programme will include seminars, drama workshops, a bus-trip around ‘Ballybeg’, and the prestigious annual Brian Friel Lecture which will be delivered this year by Friel’s long-friend and associate, Field Day founder member, Seamus Deane. A Summer School Showcase shall end proceedings on Thursday 27th at 5.00pm at the Brian Friel Theatre, Queens’s University Belfast. All are welcome and admission is free. For more information please see www.brianfrieltheatre.co.uk
SPE
CIA
LC LOS ING
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◆ FAITH HEALER
Highland Hotel Glenties Monday 31 August | 3:00pm ¤12/¤10 | 120 mins (inc. interval)
To close the Festival an extra special final presentation of Faith Healer will return to Glenties from Belfast, just as it is written in the play on the exact day the play was set, August 31st. This time the reading will be conducted straight through and not as a promenade presentation.
A mock wedding will also be orchestrated for the final play denouement and festival closing by the Glenties Drama Group. Also see page 11.
♣ FESTIVAL
CLUB TRADITIONAL MUSIC
SEISIúN A T
T H E
HIGHLAND
HOTEL GLENTIES F R I D A Y
S A T U R D A Y S U N D A Y
21-23 AUG FROM 10PM/FREE!
BELFAST, 18 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
BELFAST, HERE I COME! As Lord Mayor of Belfast, I am delighted to introduce the programme for the ‘Belfast Here I Come! Lughnasa International Friel Festival. This is the inaugural year of what will be a ground breaking festival celebrating the life and work of one of Ireland’s greatest living legends – Brian Friel. Belfast is delighted to support a programme which exudes quality and one which has the capacity to elevate the city’s standing as a top European cultural tourist destination. The festival will use a wide and interesting range of venues and locations in Belfast to showcase both the genius of Friel and the vibrancy of our city; it enhances Belfast’s reputation as a city rich in creativity and steeped in culture. I am confident that you will enjoy not only the diversity of the festival but also the warmth of the welcome which awaits you here in Belfast, and look forward to welcoming you all in person when the festival opens. Arder Carson, Lord Mayor of Belfast
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 19
For our Belfast, Here I Come! weekend, we have specially created a bespoke festival model for Belfast with the programming stemming mostly from a single work of art, Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this play we have created five Belfest responses in talks, music, dance, kite-flying and cuisine. Our five Belfests: AMONGST WOMEN
THE MUNDY CONCERTS
DANCING CRANES
NEW NORTHS
KITETANICA
Dancing At Lughnasa uniquely features five women as its main characters. In response, we have decided to present our talks & discussions’ programme as an all women celebration of female achievement today, by comparison to the frustration of aspiration for women in the 1930s, when the play was set.
The Mundy sisters of the play are modelled on Brian Friel’s five aunts – Kate, Chris, Maggie, Agnes & Rose. In response, we have programmed three classical music artists, Leonora, Katya and Ruby. Classical music features in most of Mr Friel’s plays.
The pairs of red-crested Japanese birds (known as dancing cranes) are a delight to watch, as is Belfast’s man-made and extraordinary graceful towering cranes Samson and Goliath – Belfast’s answer to Antony Gormley’s ‘The Angel of the North’! We are borrowing their iconic imagery for our dance celebration. There are six dances (one silent) in Dancing at Lughnasa and in response we have devised five outdoor dance sites over the weekend, all free to the public. Dance is the space beyond words… Celebrations in ancient times were at iconic sites of rivers & hilltops. We have chosen to highlight Belfast’s iconic sites of today for celebration– Titanic slipways, Lagan Weir footbridge, the Peace Wall, Giants Ring and City Hall!
The ancient Lughnasa festival celebrated the new harvest. The play Dancing at Lughnasa is set in the kitchen. Brian Friel lives on the 55th North Parallel in north Donegal as did his literary hero Anton Chekhov in Moscow. Belfast is also on the 55th North. So in response we will celebrate the 55th – 60th Northern corridor of Scotland, Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries and northern Russia in a shared food fest of the different countries using Northern Ireland best produce. The New Norths food fest will be available at all five Dancing Cranes events and KiteTanica.
Throughout the length of the play, Dancing at Lughnasa, the boy Michael is designing and playing with his kites in the garden. Our response is to create Belfast’s first kite-fest.
20 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
New Norths festival is funded by the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme.
FESTIVAL SIGNATURE PLAY DANCING AT LUGHNASA BY BRIAN FRIEL Lyric Theatre, Belfast 26 August - 27 September Tue - Sat 7:45pm, Sat & Sun 2:30pm £26.50/£15* | 2hrs 15mins Presented by Lyric Theatre, Belfast in association with the Lughnasa International Friel Festival. Winner of an Olivier Award and a Tony Award, Dancing at Lughnasa is one of the most acclaimed and loved Irish plays of recent times. Set in County Donegal in 1936 during the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasa, the play tells the story of the five Mundy sisters and their brother Jack, who has returned home from the missions in Africa after 25 years away. This new production, which marks the 25th anniversary of the play’s premiere in Dublin, is directed by award-winning Annabelle Comyn. *Concessions available, see website for details. For more information and to book tickets, see website: www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 21
“
It is entirely fitting that this festival is taking place on a cross-border basis, given Friel’s experience of living north and south of the border. In a certain sense, Ballybeg is a metonym for the island of Ireland, if not the wider world – a literary device through which universal questions are addressed by examining the individual and the local. I wish all those involved in this project every success.
“
Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland
22 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
REHEARSED READING
REHEARSED READING
THE GENTLE ISLAND BY BRIAN FRIEL DIRECTED BY DAVID GRANT
THE ENEMY WITHIN BY BRIAN FRIEL DIRECTED BY PAULA MCFETRIDGE/KABOSH THEATRE
Brian Friel Theatre, Belfast Friday 28 August 11:00am | £8/£6 | 2hr 30mins
First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary St. Saturday 29 August 11:00am | £8/£6 | 2hrs 20mins
Brian Friel’s visionary play The Gentle Island is about the encounter between two city visitors, Peter and Shane, and the last remaining family on Innishkeen. Like his namesake from the classic western, Shane, an engineer, seems at first to be a benign presence, helping Manus (the self-declared king of the island) and his family with much needed repairs. But when Peter and Shane are suspected of being lovers their welcome wanes. Neither nostalgic nor romantic, The Gentle Island serves as a metaphor for the continuing tension in Irish life between progress and tradition.
First staged in 1962, The Enemy Within is an imaginative account of the voluntary exile of Columba (or Columcille). The play is set in Iona, where Columba lived for thirty-four years following his departure from Ireland in 563, and it concentrates on the private man, a charismatic, worldly personality who struggled to combine skills of scholar, bard and ruler with a fearless commitment to his vocation, and it probes the theme of exile, a subject Brian Friel would later return to in Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Not recommended for under 12 years.
Cast:Peter Ballance, Jim Doran, Thomas Finnegan, Vincent Higgins, Gerard Jordan, Terence Keeley, Frank McCusker, Noel McGee, Seamus O’Hara and Lalor Roddy Crew:JP Conaghan Designer:Liz Cullinane
REHEARSED READING
FAITH HEALER BY BRIAN FRIEL DIRECTED BY DENIS CONWAY Pick up Duncairn Arts Centre, North Belfast See website for more details. Friday 28 – Sunday 30 August Fri & Sat 6.30pm, Sun 2.30pm | £12/10 | Approx. 3hrs A very special promenade rehearsed reading of Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer, which explores the life of faith healer Frank Hardy. The play’s four monologues, given by Hardy, his wife, Grace, and his stage manager, Teddy, will each be performed against the backdrop of a different venue. Audience members will be transported between venues by bus. Cast:Denis Conway as Frank Hardy, Conleth Hill as Teddy and Eleanor Methven as Grace.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 23
AMONGST WOMEN
Brian Friel’s most famous play, Dancing at Lughnasa, is dedicated “to the memory of those five brave Glenties women”, who were, in reality, Friel’s mother and his four aunts. And so at the heart of Belfast, Here I Come! is Amongst Women, a series of talks & discussions involving women who are working across a range of disciplines. It’s a celebration of achievement, in contrast to the social/economic oppression of the women in the play (and in real life). It will also reflect the challenges and obstacles that still exist for women today.
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
HOW TO DO IT LIKE A WOMAN: CAROLINE CRIADO-PEREz Elmwood Hall Thursday 27 August 7.30pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins Join one of the most tenacious campaigners of her generation to discuss her story of campaigning for women’s rights and dealing with cyber backlash as well as introducing us to some of the most pioneering women campaigners across the globe. Caroline Criado-Perez took on the Bank of England, Twitter and the criminal justice system. Her book debut Do It Like A Woman is a timely and necessary celebration of global women’s rights activists from the female fighter pilot in Afghanistan who escaped from the Taliban to anti-FGM campaigners — an inspiring manifesto for women everywhere. In 2013, she won the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award and was named one of the Guardian’s People of the Year.
In association with Queen’s School of Creative Arts
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TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
LOVING THE PART OF HISTORY THAT IS STORY: KAMILA SHAMSIE AND MARGIE ORFORD Elmwood Hall Friday 28 August 3:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins Join a meeting of great minds: Kamila Shamsie, ‘the Virginia Woolf of Pakistan’ and Margie Orford, ‘the Queen of South African Crime’. “I love the part of history that is story,” says Shamsie. “If a thing is interesting enough, then I want to find the story in it.” Shamsie’s novels explore themes such as war, love, poetry, popular culture, global patriarchy and imperialism. Orford’s modern-day literary thrillers exemplify the vitality and social conscience of crime fiction as well as the continuing engagement of noir with some of the most challenging issues of today’s world and the ubiquity of gender violence, politics and freedom of expression.
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
WOMEN LEADING THE WAY: FRANCES O’GRADY IN CONVERSATION WITH SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
TRANSFORMING SOCIETIES: NUALA O’LOAN AND GILLIAN SLOVO
Elmwood Hall Friday 28 August 5:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress of the United Kingdom, was appointed in January 2013 – the first woman ever to hold the post. Before that, she held various positions in the TUC, as well as working for the Transport and General Workers Union, and before that, “had a lot of rubbish jobs as well; it took me a while to find my feet.” In this landmark conversation with Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, two of the UK’s leading women talk about gender equality, feminism; the role of trade unions and human rights campaigns in Britain today; and what can be done to encourage more women to seek leadership positions.
Elmwood Hall Friday 28 August 7:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins South Africa and Northern Ireland have both gone through enormous political transformation, in which women have played a major role. Nuala O’Loan, Northern Ireland’s first Police Ombudsman and now a member of the House of Lords and the novelist and memoirist, Gillian Slovo, the daughter of Joe Slovo and Ruth First — both famous South Africans and major figures in the anti-apartheid struggle discuss the times they have lived in and how they have responded in their work to the turmoil of their respective societies.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 25
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
WOMEN AND PUBLISHING: KAMILA SHAMSIE AND SINEAD GLEESON
EVERYDAY SExISM: LAURA BATES AND IONE WELLS
ON LIBERTY: LECTURE BY SHAMI CHAKRABARTI
Linen Hall Library Saturday 29 August 12:00noon | £8/£6 | 75 mins
Elmwood Hall Saturday 29 August 2:00pm | £8/£6 | 75 mins
Elmwood Hall Saturday 29 August 4:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins
In a recent ‘provocation’ in The Guardian, Kamila Shamsie suggested that to counter the gender inbalance that exists in publishing houses, in terms of reviews, top positions in publishing houses, literary prizes etc. the year 2017 should be given over to publishing women only, that none of the new titles published that year should be written by men. Her article has inspired a wider debate and Kamila and Sinead Gleeson discuss the role of women today in the publishing world and how their situation has or has not changed over recent decades. Kamila Shamsie’s novels include Burnt Shadows (which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize) and, most recently, A God In Every Stone (shortlisted for the Baileys Prize). Sinead Gleeson is a freelance broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents The Book Show on RTE Radio One and is a reporter on the RTE Television arts show, The Works. She reviews books and writes arts features and interviews for The Irish Times.
When the Everyday Sexism Project was launched in 2012, Laura Bates was unknown to the world. Three years later she has created a global movement that highlights the casual sexism experienced by women around the world on a daily basis. From documenting street harassment and sexual assault to calling out sexism on Twitter and beyond, the Everyday Sexism Project campaign now operates in 18 countries and has received media coverage around the world. The project inspired Ione Wells to set up the NotGuilty campaign. Ione Wells came to public attention when she wrote an open letter to the 17 year old youth who attacked her in a London street, an open letter that she hoped would encourage other women to speak out as well. Laura and Ione discuss the power of online campaigns to change women’s lives and influence political thinking.
Described as ‘Probably the most effective public affairs lobbyist of the past 20 years’ Shami Chakrabarti, the UKs leading human rights campaigner, is the Director of Liberty, the UK National Council for Civil Liberties. In this keynote talk, she discusses On Liberty, her best selling book published in 2014, that tells her story of campaigning for rights and freedoms since 9/11 and makes her argument for saving the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. She argues the vital importance of human rights protection for women in particular, explains why she believes gender inequality to be the greatest injustice in the world and demonstrates the importance of politics being in touch with emotional reality.
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Chaired by Razia Iqbal.
WOMEN IN MUSIC: VIV ALBERTINE Elmwood Hall Saturday 29 August 6:00pm | £10/8 | 75 mins Viv Albertine discusses in conversation the role of women in the music world. How much has it changed in recent decades, is discrimination against women still an issue, and who are the women artists that have inspired her? Viv Albertine was a member of the hugely influential all-female punk band, The Slits. After twenty-five years away from music, she returned with a new solo album, The Vermilion Border. She has also written a memoir, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys and starred in Joanna Hogg’s film, Exhibition. “No artist can compromise. You can’t create something that pokes its head above the surface if you’re living a compromised life. You have to be selfish; you have to say things that will have upset the people close to you. It’s a lonely life to be a female artist. But women are interesting.” Viv Albertine. Chaired by Sophie Gorman.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 27
AMONGST WOMEN TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
SANDI TOKSVIG LIVE AND UNLEASHED Elmwood Hall Saturday 29 August 8:00pm | £15/£13 | 75 mins The legendary comedian, presenter, writer and now “MC” of the newly formed Women’s’ Equality Party livens up Saturday night with her special feminist flavour of comic observations and then in conversation with actress Lisa Dwan. What does Sandi make of recent political developments in the UK? What motivated her to leave the BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz to co-found a new party? Should we laugh or cry at the state of gender inequality in the early twentieth century and what should we do about it? This promises to be as warm and hilarious an evening as a stimulating one. Curated by Lisa Dwan.
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TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
THE LONG GAzE BACK: LUCY CALDWELL, EVELYN CONLON AND LISA MCINERNEY WITH SINEAD GLEESON Naughton Studio, Lyric Theatre Sunday 30 August 12:00pm | £8/£6 | 75 mins The Long Gaze Back: an Anthology of Irish Women’s Writing features 30 short stories by classic and contemporary female writers, including Mary Lavin, Anne Enright, Maeve Brennan, Eimear McBride, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Belinda McKeon and more. Amongst Women brings together three of the contributors, Lucy Caldwell, Evelyn Conlon and Lisa McInerney to discuss with the book’s editor, Sinéad Gleeson, the role of all-women anthologies and the state of women’s writing, both north and south, today.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 29
AMONGST WOMEN
30 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
TALKING ABOUT REVOLUTION: AHDAF SOUEIF IN CONVERSATION WITH RACHEL HOLMES
ON FRIENDSHIP: LYNN BARBER AND KATHY LETTE
Elmwood Hall Sunday 30 August 2:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins
Elmwood Hall Sunday 30 August 4:00pm | £10/£8 | 75 mins
Novelist, activist, commentator – Ahdaf Soueif is a leading public intellectual of our time. As the Egyptian Revolution erupted in January 2011, she reported for the world’s media live from Tahir Square in her home city of Cairo. Soueif combines human stories with acute political analysis and understanding of the global political landscape. Here she reads from her work and talks with Eleanor Marx’s biographer, Rachel Holmes about modern globalisation, communications, ideology and the role of feminism in revolutions. How can we build and broaden a common ground in which everybody is welcome?
Does friendship matter more to women than to men? Are they better at it? Lynn Barber and Kathy Lette consider this and other questions as they explore the role of friendship in their own lives. Lynn Barber is an award-winning British journalist. Her books include two collections of interviews, Mostly Men and Demon Barber, and her memoir, An Education, was made into an award-winning film starring Carey Mulligan and Rosamund Pike. Kathy Lette was born in Sydney, Australia. She had early success with her first novel, Puberty Blues, written when she was just 17. After several years as a columnist and sitcom writer she returned to novels and has penned 11 international bestsellers to date, including Mad Cows and her most recent novel, The Boy Who Fell to Earth.
TALKS & DISCUSSIONS
FEIST: IN CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCE Elmwood Hall Sunday 30 August 8:00pm | £15/£13 | 75 mins A festival exclusive and a rare UK public appearance by the Canadian singer/songwriter Feist. In conversation with actress Lisa Dwan, she talks about her musical heroes and performs both their songs and her own. Feist launched her solo music career in 1999 with Monarch, her subsequent studio albums, Let It Die (2004), and The Reminder (2007), were critically acclaimed and commercially successful, selling over 2.5 million copies. The Reminder earned Feist four Grammy nominations, including a nomination for Best New Artist. She was the top winner at the 2008 Juno Awards with five awards, including Songwriter and Album of the Year. Her fourth studio album, Metals, was released on 30 September 2011. “Rich in atmospheric beauty. Feist’s quivering voice oozes sensuality, and acts as a focal point for the drowsy piano, rumbling blues workouts and ethereal soul ballads which segue Roberta Flack into Kate Bush with bewitching elegance.” Daily Telegraph on Metals Curated by Lisa Dwan.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 31
THE MUNDY CONCERTS
THE MUNDY CONCERTS: LEONORA (SOLO PIANO) Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast Saturday 29 August 10.30am | £10/£8 | 100 mins A romantic concert in the romantic setting of The Titanic Suite. Leonora Armellini, at a youthful years old, has made over 300 public appearances in major concerts in Europe, Asia and the United States, including New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Italian pianist prodigy won the prestigious Janina Nawrocka Award for her “remarkable musicality and beauty of sound” at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2010. programme Alexander Scriabin Fryderyk Chopin Alexander Scriabin -Alexander Scribin Sergej Rachmaninov Sergej Prokofiev
Mazurka in B minor Op.3 No.1 Allegro de Concert Op.18 Four Mazurkas Op.33 Allegro de Concert Op.46 Sonata-Fantasy No.2 Op.19 in G-sharp minor. Prelude Op.23 No.3 in D minor Prelude op. 23 No.5 in G minor Scherzo and March from “Love of three oranges” Op. 33ter Sonata No.3 Op.28
32 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
THE MUNDY CONCERTS: RUBY First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary St. Sunday 30 August 6.00pm | £10/£8 | 100 min Ruby Philogene MBE (mezzo-soprano) is a first prize winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and with the San Francisco Symphony. She has sung under the baton of maestraos Ricardo Muti, Christoph Dochnanyi, Antonio Pappano, Michael Tilson Thomas, and at special request for Princess Diana. Afro-Caribbean in ethnicity, Ruby will specially sing a range of Spirituals, as well as classical songs, to acknowledge the African connection in Dancing at Lughnasa. In 1796, Thomas McCabe, a First Presbyterian of Rosemary Street Church, led the banning of a Belfast Slave Ship ever operating from Belfast.
THE MUNDY CONCERTS: KATYA Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast Monday 31 August 10.30am | £10/£8 | 100 mins Katya Apekisheva is one of Europe’s foremost pianists, in demand internationally as both a soloist and chamber musician. A finalist and a prize-winner at the Leeds Piano Competition and Scottish Piano Competition, Katya has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic, The Philharmonia Orchestra, The Halle Orchestra, The Moscow Philharmonic, The Jerusalem Symphony, The English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Chopin is one of Friel’s favoured composers featuring in a number of his plays. programme Fryderyk Chopin Fryderyk Chopin John Field Fryderyk Chopin -Fryderyk Chopin
Two nocturnes Op.62, No.1, No.2 Etude Op.10 No.4 C sharp minor Two nocturnes. No.5, No.2 Fantasie F minor Six Preludes from 24 preludes Op.28 Two waltzes Op.69 No.1, Op.34 No.1 Scherzo No.2 B flat minor
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 33
DANCING+ CRANES
55 | 60
NEW NORTHS FOOD HARVEST
There are six dances (one silent) in Dancing at Lughnasa and in response we have created five outdoor dance sites across the weekend, all free to the public. Dance is the space beyond words… Celebrations in ancient times were at iconic sites such as rivers and hilltops. We have chosen to highlight Belfast’s iconic sites of today – Titanic slipways, Lagan Weir footbridge, the Peace Wall, Giants Ring and Belfast City Hall and get the city dancing!
34 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
55 | 60
NEW NORTHS FOOD HARVEST We are opening up a 55th/60th Northern corridor to include Scotland, Scandinavia and the Baltic Countries in a shared food fest of the different countries with the best produce from Northern Ireland. The New North’s Food Harvest will be available at all five Dancing Cranes events. Each Pop-Up location will have it’s own unique menu, featuring the best of local artisan produce, served with flair by the participating cafés and restaurants.
55 | 60
NEW NORTHS FOOD HARVEST
BELFAST BIG DANCE CURATED BY DAVID HOLMES
DANCING CRANES: RYANGA RITUAL DAWN DANCE
Friday 28 August Belfast City Hall 9:00pm to 12:00am | Free
Saturday 29 August Giant’s Ring 6.30am – 8.00am | Free
Join us at Belfast’s iconic City Hall for an eclectic evening of dance mixed by some of the city’s most exciting talents.
Embrace the dawning of the day by joining in on a unique celebration of movement and dance, encircling the picturesque setting of one of Europe’s greatest iron-age ring forts.
new norths mourne seafood bar – serving up some incredible local seafood dishes including; Kilkeel sustainable seafood chowder, Local fish & chips, Hot smoked Glenarm salmon with dill & comber potato salad. www.mourneseafood.com brewbot– serving the best in local beer, cider, artisanal drinks and soft drinks. www.brewbotbelfast.com oliver’s coffee bar – serving their Silvio blend of coffee from Bailies. www.oliverscoffeebar.com
36 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
new norths deane’s eipic – serving up a smorgasbord of Apple & spelt porridge with toasted almonds, north coast hot smoked salmon, pickled Rathlin kelp & homemade sour cream on rye and lingoberry & keen nut butter Danish. www.michaeldeane.co.uk/eipic kaffe-o – serving up their wonderful hand roasted coffee from Copenhagen, Belfast’s Suki Tea and a delicious Scandinavian breakfast treat. www.kaffeo.coffee
DANCING ON THE RIVER IN ASSOCIATION WITH AN DROICHEAD Saturday 29 August Lagan Weir Footbridge 6.00pm – 8.00pm | Free Dancing above the Lagan Weir on the city’s newest bridge, this showcase will present some of Belfast’s best traditional dance troupes and lively tunes. Guaranteed to delight and get you into a dancing mood for Saturday night. new norths holohan’s – serving up sustainable a seafood chowder sourced through local fishmongers - Still Waters; Rodgers corned beef & cabbage in stout gravy, wild mushroom cream & local Drew’s organic veggies with boxty, champ or colcannon. www.holohansrestaurantbelfast.com brewbot – serving the best in local beer, cider, artisanal drinks and soft drinks. www.brewbotbelfast.com
DANCING ACROSS THE PEACE WALL Lanark Way, Belfast Sunday 30 August 1.00pm – 6.00pm | Free Dancing across the Peace Wall - discover a global programme of dance to engage and get your feet tapping. Throughout the afternoon eclectic styles of dance from traditional through to contemporary can be enjoyed by one and all. new norths bubbacue – serving up their incredible smoky dishes which feature local Pork and Beef and freshly made rolls from local Bakery, French Village. www.bubbacue.com brewbot – serving the best in local artisanal soft drinks. www.brewbotbelfast.com cafe krem – serving a blend of Honduras, Brazil & Tanzanian Beans and a delicious flapjack packed with incredible local ingredients. www.cafekrem.com
DROWSY MAGGIE’S WAVES OF TORY IN ASSOCIATION WITH AN DROICHEAD Monday 31 August Titanic Slipways 12.00pm – 3.00pm | Free
FUN CLOSING EVENT
Be part of the city’s largest ever, outdoor Ceili. Join with friends, family and strangers as you dance in a sea of hundreds of other dancers. new norths brewbot – serving the best in local beer, cider, artisanal drinks and soft drinks. www.brewbotbelfast.com established coffee – serving up the finest coffees on the market, hand selected and carefully paired with the best brew method for the beans in question. www.facebook.com/establishedcoffee
New Norths festival is part funded by the Northern Ireland Regional Food Programme.
tony & jen’s – serving local coffee company Root & Branch Organic’s house blend, Jackrabbit alongside some dancefloor inspired Blissful Glitterballs that are a nutrient packed, taste sensation made from a collection of local lovelies including fresh berries, nut butter & even Jackrabbit coffee. www.tonyandjens.co.uk LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 37
KITETANICA 38 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
KITETANICA Titanic Quarter Saturday 29 August 1:00pm to 6:00pm Belfast is flying high! Northern Ireland’s inaugural kite festival, in association with Lumiere Events. KiteTanica will see mammoth monsters, sea creatures and animals dancing together in the sky alongside our iconic cranes at the expert hands of Andrew Beattie from Tug who creates some of the world’s largest kites. The festival will also welcome Stafford Wallace, the UK’s top Indian fighter kite flyer who will be demonstrating moves from The Kite Runner and hosting a public workshop for local kite aficionados. Precision kite displays, workshops and flying areas for the public are just some of the additional elements that will make Belfast’s first Kite Festival a day not to be missed. new norths cast & crew – serving up Kalops Stew, a traditional stew that is believed to have been developed during the 1800s, when Sweden was heavily influenced by British cuisine. www.castandcrewbelfast.co.uk To find out more and get involved go to: facebook.com/Kitetanica.
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 39
DONEGAL DIARY OF EVENTS: LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 17.45 19.30 20.00
Faith Healer Fintan O’Toole/Gary McKeone Dancing at Lughnasa
10.00 11.00 15.30 17.00 17.30 17.45 20.00 22.00
Lovers The Enemy Within Paddy Woodworth/Turlough O’Donnell The Meccore String Quartet Terry Eagleton Faith Healer Dancing at Lughnasa Trad Seisiún
10.00 11.00 13.30 15.30 17.00 17.30 17.45 20.00 22.00
Lovers The Enemy Within Christopher Murray Rosamund Bartlett and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne The Meccore String Quartet Frank Shovlin Faith Healer Dancing at Lughnasa Trad Seisiún
10.00 10.00 13.30 14.30 15.30 17.30 17.45 19.00 22.00
Lovers The Gentle Island Mary Costello and Nuala Ni Chonchuir Dancing at Lughnasa Joe Dowling Thomas Kilroy Faith Healer The Meccore String Quartet Trad Seisiún
12.00
The 2015 Brian Friel Lecture
15.00
Special Festival Closing Event - Faith Healer
40 LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015
Thursday 20 August Rehearsed Reading Festival Opening Lecture Theatre Friday 21 August Rehearsed Reading Rehearsed Reading Talks/Discussions Classical Music Talks/Discussions Rehearsed Reading Theatre Traditional Irish Music Saturday 22 August Rehearsed Reading Rehearsed Reading Talks/Discussions Talks/Discussions Classical Music Talks/Discussions Rehearsed Reading Theatre Traditional Irish Music Sunday 23 August Rehearsed Reading Rehearsed Reading Talks/Discussions Theatre Talks/Discussions Talks/Discussions Rehearsed Reading Classical Music Traditional Irish Music Monday 24 August Talks/Discussions Monday 31 August Rehearsed Reading
(Pick up point @ Market Hall, Glenties) The Guildhall, Derry An Grianan, Letterkenny Point Inn, Magilligan Point, Co.Derry Pobail Naomh Colmcille (St Colmcille’s Church) Market Hall, Glenties St. Conal’s Church, Glenties Market Hall, Glenties (Pick up point @ Market Hall, Glenties) An Grianan, Letterkenny Festival Club, Highland Hotel, Glenties Point Inn, Magilligan Point, Co. Derry Pobail Naomh Colmcille (St Colmcille’s Church Market Hall, Glenties Market Hall, Glenties St. Conal’s Church, Glenties Market Hall, Glenties (Pick up point @ Market Hall, Glenties) An Grianan Festival Club, Highland Hotel, Glenties Point Inn, Magilligan Point, Co.Derry Arranmore Ferry Point, Burton Port Market Hall, Glenties An Grianan Market Hall, Glenties Market Hall, Glenties (Pick up point @ Market Hall, Glenties) St. Conal’s Church, Glenties Festival Club, Highland Hotel, Glenties Whittaker Suite, The Guildhall, Derry The Highland Hotel, Glenties
BELFAST DIARY OF EVENTS: LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 19.30 19.45
Caroline Criado-Perez Dancing at Lughnasa
11.00 15.00 17.00 18.30 19.00 19.45 21.00
The Gentle Island Kamila Shamsie and Margie Orford Frances O’Grady/Shami Chakrabarti Faith Healer Nuala O’Loan and Gillian Slovo Dancing at Lughnasa Festival Opening Big Dance
06.30 10.30 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 14.30 16.00 18.00 18.00 18.30 19.45 20.00
Ryanga Ritual Dawn Dance Leonora(solo piano) The Enemy Within Kamila Shamsie and Sinead Gleeson KIteTanica Laura Bates and Ione Wells Dancing at Lughnasa Lecture by Shami Chakrabarti Women In Music: Viv Albertine Dancing on the River Faith Healer Dancing at Lughnasa Sandi Toksvig
12.00 13.00 14.00 14.30 14.30 16.00 18.00 20.00
Caldwell, Conlon, McInerney & Gleeson Dancing over the Peace Wall Ahdaf Soueif Dancing at Lughnasa Faith Healer Lynn Barber and Kathy Lette Ruby (spirituals) Feist: In Conversation and Performance
10.30 12.00
Katya (solo piano) Drowsy Maggie’s Waves of Tory
Thursday 27 August Amongst Women Theatre Friday 28 August Rehearsed Reading Amongst Women Amongst Women Rehearsed Reading Amongst Women Theatre Dancing Cranes/New Norths Saturday 29 August Dancing Cranes/New Norths The Mundy Concerts Rehearsed Reading Amongst Women KiteTanica Amongst Women Theatre Amongst Women Amongst Women Dancing Cranes/New Norths Rehearsed Reading Theatre Amongst Women Sunday 30 August Amongst Women Dancing Cranes/New Norths Amongst Women Theatre Rehearsed Reading Amongst Women The Mundy Concerts Amongst Women Monday 31 August The Mundy Concerts Dancing Cranes/New Norths
Elmwood Hall, QUB Lyric Theatre Brian Friel Theatre, QUB Elmwood Hall, QUB Elmwood Hall, QUB (starting point @ Duncairn Centre) Elmwood Hall, QUB Lyric Theatre City Hall Giant’s Ring Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary St. The Linen Hall Library Titanic Quarter Elmwood Hall, QUB Lyric Theatre Elmwood Hall, QUB Elmwood Hall, QUB Lagan Weir Footbridge (starting point @ Duncairn Centre) Lyric Theatre Elmwood Hall, QUB NaughtonStudio @ The Lyric (Peace Wall) Lanark Way, West Belfast Elmwood Hall, QUB Lyric Theatre (starting point @ Duncairn Centre) Elmwood Hall, QUB First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary St. Elmwood Hall, QUB Titanic Suite, Titanic Belfast Titanic Slipways
LUGHNASA INTERNATIONAL FRIEL FESTIVAL 2015 41
Visit Belfast Welcome Centre Call in and discover what our city and the rest of Northern Ireland has to offer...you’ll be surprised!
Official Visitor Information for Belfast & Northern Ireland
+44 (0)28 9024 6609 / visit-belfast.com
9 Donegall Square North Belfast BT1 5GB Directly opposite front of Belfast City Hall Also at: Belfast International Airport +44 (0)28 9448 4677 George Best Belfast City Airport +44 (0)28 9093 5372
LIFF TEAM Artistic Director: Sean Doran Deputy Artistic Director: Liam Browne Festivals and Artistic Planning Manager: Deborah Dignam Executive Producer: Ali Curran Production Manager: Barry McKinney Amongst Women Curators: Rachel Holmes and Liam Browne Guest Curator: Lisa Dwan KiteTanica Producer: Lumiere Productions Marketing: Aly McElroy Marketing and Communications Assistant: Rachel Gregg Artist Liaison: Lucy Healy Kelly Event Managers: Linda Nevins, Pete Jordan, Pádraig Ó Duinnín, Seamus Coyle Box Office Donegal: An Grianan Box Office Belfast: Visit Belfast Box Office Manager: Sacha White Public Relations (UK): Bolton Quinn Public Relations (ROI): Conway Communications Public Relations (NI): Aiken PR Festival bookseller: Waterstones Programme Design: Tonic Design Website Design: Pauric McAnespy Travel Agent: Erne Travel Founder: Sean Doran Board of Directors: Chair: Mary Heaney Deputy Chair: Alison McArdle Carlo Gebler, Oliver O’Connor, Dearbhail McDonald, Paul Sternberg, William Morrison, Mary Campbell, Sally Everist. Special thanks to: Brian Johnston, Wendi Kane, Eimear Henry, Suzanne Wylie, John McGrillan, Traolach O’Fionnain, Patricia McBride, Joseph Gallagher, Fr Pat Prendergast & St. Conal’s Church Glenties, Kevin Gamble, Jimmy Fay, Simon Goldrick, Paula McFetridge, David Grant, Denis Conway, Martin Melarkey and the staff at the Never Centre, Tim Husbands, Rosemary Street Church, The Point Inn, the Market Hall Glenties, Highland Hotel Glenties, Teach Pobail Naoimh Colmcille Glencolmcille, Robert Kopf, Izzy Hourihane.
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