Fire, fools and feral fathers at Townhall Cavan
A typically action-packed Culture Night event at Townhall Cavan saw the Cavan cultural hub launch its autumn-winter programme on Friday last.
Culture Night saw the world premiere of Phil Doherty’s new theatre piece ‘Dad in the Kitchen’ and this immersive, atmospheric radio comedy will run as a lunchtime show until 14th October on the hour daily Monday – Saturday from 10am. See Townhallcavan.ie for times. Admission is €5.
After the spectacular success of their Halloween event last year, the Townhall crew are reprising their spooky shenanigans with the Festival of the Dead: The Otherworld, which runs from Friday, 28th – Sunday 30th October.
The festival will kick off on Friday with a shiver-inducing spectacle, ‘Ritual’, based on the ancient rites of Samhain, where the portal to the Otherworld is opened. On Saturday, the sequel to the wildly-popular ‘Ship of Fools’, ‘The Paradise of Fools’, sees the audience whisked off to a secret location for a night of surreal, immersive theatre.
The festival draws to a close on Sunday, 30th October with ‘The Great Fire Wheele – The Burning on the Lake’, a colourful night-time street parade; a spectacle of burning the old and embracing the new, with fire performers, music, and dancers.
On the visual arts front, the ‘30 YEARS, ARTISTS, PLACES’ exhibition, is one of the most significant exhibitions of Irish artists in recent years, featuring an extraordinary line-up of Irish artists. This free exhibition is open from Wednesday – Saturday from 11am – 5pm until 14th October.
A workshop on writing about your work for artists, in association with Visual Artists Ireland, will be held on Saturday, 1st October.
Townhall will also host an exhibition from Michelle Boyle entitled ‘In My Father’s House There Are Many Rooms’, opening on Saturday, 12th November. This exhibition forms the basis of a developing body of work ‘Fatherland’ which will be shown in Ireland and India in 2017.
Cavan WellFest, on 26th November, is a festival bringing elements of Mind, Body and Soul together for the benefit of all.
On Saturday, 8th October at 8pm, Cavan comedian Davey Reilly, described by none other than Rich Hall as the future of Irish comedy, presents his new show ‘Dismorphin’ Time!’ where he takes a wry look at his own issues with eating and body dysmorphia. Davey will be joined by fellow rising star Aidan Greene, who performs his show ‘I Always Wanted to Meet the One’, a classic tale of boy-meets-speech impediment. Tickets are available from Multisound Cavan on 049-4361312.
Townhall hosts the One-Act Drama Festival from 4-6 November before playing host to two new productions in December.
‘Sleeper Creeper’ by Robbie Perry and Annie-June O’Callaghan is a heart-warming, thought provoking tale of seasonal fortune. This children’s theatre piece runs from Tuesday, 2nd – Sunday, 11 December.
Philip Doherty and ‘Republic of Telly’ star Kevin McGahern, the duo behind the All-Ireland-winning ‘The Devil’s Céilí’, will team up again this Christmas in ‘Scrooge and Marley’, a new production of the Dickens classic, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Running from 17th – 29th December, the festive favourite sees a tight-fisted publican visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve.
Other highlights include the monthly Strictly Arthouse film club and Visual Artists Sessions, while the popular Christmas Art Pop-Up shop will run from 11-23 December, for those looking for a something different this Christmas.
For a full line-up of events, visit www.townhallcavan.ie and keep an eye out on Townhall Cavan’s Facebook page.