10 must-see events at Galway Arts Festival 2025
In a festival like the Galway International Arts Festival, with so many great acts, productions, exhibitions and installations it makes it difficult to choose just ten from the large programme we will bring to our audiences this summer – but, gun to my head, here's my ten.
1. I am going to start with a dance/theatre world premiere called Scorched Earth created by the wonderful Luke Murphy. Luke premiered his previous production Volcano at the Festival and it was a great success, it subsequently went on to win Best Production at the Irish Times Theatre Awards. Scorched Earth is part crime-drama, part psychological thriller, part theatre, part dance, and no doubt will be another triumph for this very talented Corkman.
2. In the Heineken Big Top we will be presenting twelve great concerts, everything from Sophie Ellis Bextor to Mogwai, but here I choose The RTE Concert Orchestra with Mari Samuelson, performing a programme of work by contemporary composers including Arvo Part and Bryce Dessner from The National. For me, most importantly, the programme will include a performance of Max Richter's fabulous reimaging of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. A real treat on the very last day of GIAF 2025.
3. For the first time ever, we will have a second Big Top running throughout the Festival which will be located in the Claddagh. There we will be presenting Sabotage by NoFitState. a big visual physical spectacle full of unforgettable moments.
4. We also have a festival first with an underwater world premiere, Oh... by Mikel Murfi, set in the main tank of the Galway Atlantaquaria.
5. Another world premiere, this time from Irish National Opera. Mars, is based around four astronauts and their AI interface's journey to, and exploration of, the red planet.
6. Celebrating their 50th birthday, the marvellous Druid theatre company present new productions of Macbeth and Riders to the Sea. Happy Birthday Druid!
7. in recent years, GIAF has brought a strong sustainability focus to what it does and there are several exhibitions and installations in the 2025 programme dealing with aspects of the environmental and climate crisis including John Connelly and Conor Maloney's innovative installation, Funeral for Ashes, which pays tribute to the ash tree and deals with the terrible dieback it is facing.
8. David Mach returns to Galway with a large-scale site-specific installation called Burning Down the House. David's previous work at GIAF provided one of the biggest gallery attendances we ever had and I would predict this work will also prove to be hugely popular.
9. We also pay tribute to Micheal D Higgins as his presidency comes to an end with both an outdoor and indoor photographic exhibition at Galway City Museum celebrating his life and work.
10. In our First Thought talks series, we will, as usual, cover a range of topics including the relationship between autism and talent, the war in Ukraine, the crisis facing rural GAA clubs, conspiracy theories and misinformation, amongst others. One to look out for is the talk with photographer Eman Mohammed discussing her work which focuses on the terrible destruction of Gaza (Eman also has an exhibition of her work in the festival on the subject).
So that's my ten... I could have picked a totally different ten, and if you come to the Festival this July you can decide whether I am right or wrong in my picks. See you in Galway!
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