Latest news with #DruidTheatreCompany
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Riders to the Sea / Macbeth review – intense double bill linked by elemental forces of nature
Marking 50 years of exceptional theatre-making, Druid Theatre Company presents a double bill showcasing the artistry of this tight-knit ensemble and the excavatory lens of its artistic director, Garry Hynes. With a wealth of past productions to choose from, Hynes has paired JM Synge's stark one-act tragedy, Riders to the Sea, with Macbeth. While Synge's distilled miniature is almost eclipsed by what follows, the plays are linked by a focus on the elemental forces of nature and the shadow of death, with small, telling moments of visual continuity between them. In Synge's play, a grieving mother (Marie Mullen) has a premonition of the death at sea of her last surviving son (Marty Rea). The keening women and black-cloaked villagers' laments are later echoed in the guttural cries of the weird sisters, hooded figures from folk horror, who accost Macbeth (Rea) and Banquo (Rory Nolan) on the blasted heath. In both plays the veneer of Christianity is flimsy, while older, primal beliefs and fears hold sway. A statue of the crucified Christ is suspended on the back wall, not high enough to be safe from the predations of Rea's electrifying Macbeth, while a banquet becomes a twisted Last Supper where glasses are filled with blood-tainted water rather than wine. Mullen's compelling Lady Macbeth is transformed from her husband's goading, bullying accomplice into a wreck, terrified of his rampaging. While the age-gap between the two actors adds another layer to this relationship, at times closer to mother and son like Volumnia and Coriolanus, it is also completely credible. With the superb cast of 11 making darting entrances through hidden flaps in the walls of designer Francis O'Connor's stripped wooden set, the pace is unflagging, the menace unrelenting. For the audience seated on three sides, intensity is heightened by proximity to the performers. 'O full of scorpions is my mind,' Rea spits out, as Macbeth's mind and spirit curdle into something monstrous: bloodthirsty and unhinged. This is a medieval world, with shadowy forces and omens, candlelight and mud-covered floors, yet its portrayal of tyranny and the speed with which all civility falls away feels anything but remote. At Galway international arts festival until 26 July; then at Gaiety theatre, Dublin, for Dublin theatre festival, 25 September to 5 October
Irish Independent
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Sabina Higgins to open photography exhibition charting 50 years of Galway's Druid Theatre
O'Shaugnessy's Druid is a series of 50 photos featuring actors, staff, productions, and various events over the years at the infamous theatre. Druid has been a fixture in the Galway arts community since 1975, and O'Shaugnessy has watched its evolution since its founding. The Druid Theatre Company has earned global recognition, receiving four Tony Awards in 1998 for The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Among these was Best Director, awarded to Garry Hynes—the first woman ever to win a Tony for directing. Local legends who became international stars, including Cillian Murphy, have also graced the Druid's stage. Gallery Manager of The Kenny Gallery, Dean Kelly said: 'We're deeply honoured to host this exhibition of Joe Shaughnessy's photographs celebrating 50 years of Druid – the people, the places, the sheer magic of it. That Sabina Higgins, a former Druid actor and a lifelong champion of the arts and social justice, is opening the show makes it all the more meaningful. It feels like Galway's creative spirit, past and present, coming full circle. This is a cultural history told in images - one that belongs to everyone who's ever been moved by a performance or changed by a play.' The event is celebrating 50 years of Druid Theatre Company as part of Galway International Art Festival. You can catch the launch event at The Kenny Gallery on July 12, 2025, at 2:30PM and the exhibition will run through August 14th, 2025. Admission is free.
RTÉ News
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Galway International Arts Festival unveils 'most ambitious' programme
Organisers of the Galway International Arts Festival have unveiled what is billed as the event's most ambitious programme, for the annual celebration of culture in the city. Among the highlights are a production by the Abbey Theatre of 'The Cave' by writer Kevin Barry and a double-bill of plays from the Druid Theatre Company. The fortnight-long festival begins on 14 July. Artistic Director Paul Fahy has described the programme as "a tribute to the transformative power of the arts", expressing hope that the schedule will provoke, entertain and delight audiences. The popular First Thought Talks series of discussions will feature contributions from Fintan O'Toole, US Congresswoman Parmila Jayapal and Palestinian photojournalist Eman Mohammed among others. Druid will mark the fiftieth anniversary of its founding with JM Synge's Riders to the Sea and Shakespeare's Macbeth directed by Garry Hynes. Several concerts at the festival Big Top have already sold out and new additions to the line-up include former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, iconic songwriter Richard Thompson and legendary Irish band The Blades. The career of President Michael D Higgins will be marked in a photographic exhibition at Galway City Museum, while the programme also features extensive dance, street theatre and visual arts elements.
