yay.ie

In some ways this weekend, Druid Theatre are bringing Cripple Billy home to the Aran Islands. Steph and I have been invited to help them do that.

Druid Theatre are bringing their production of Martin McDonagh’s Cripple of Inishmaan to Inis Meáin in the Aran Islands this weekend. It’s the first time the play will be performed there.

Above is all the places Druid has toured to in Ireland. This Sunday’s date is the final stop after a major five month Irish tour, that kicked off in Roscommon last January and returns to Galway this week after a nine city coast to coast US tour.

Prior to the Inis Meáin dates, the show will also run at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway city from tomorrow, June 22 to Friday 24.

The company’s last visit to Inis Meáin was with DruidSynge in 2005 and this visit will mark Druid’s eighth visit to the island.

They first visited in 1982 with The Playboy of The Western World. One of my favourite photos of any actor is Mick Lally unloading part of the Playboy set below.

On Sunday, the tour comes to an end on Inis Meáin with two performances in the ‘Halla Naomh Eoin’ – one at 1.30pm and one at 8.30pm.

Although the visit was mainly intended for residents of the Aran Islands, Druid has been, as they say, inundated with people willing to travel from all over Ireland and from overseas to experience the show with the locals.

Guests for the performances include President McAleese, Patron of Druid, and Senator Martin McAleese as well as Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the playwright Martin McDonagh as well as friends and family.

We’re going down to help Druid Theatre capture this special occasion online, via video, photos, blog posts – whatever we can do really. It will be our first visit to the Aran Islands too, something I’m both apprehensive of and anticipate with great excitement.

I’m looking forward to seeing the play again – the production in the Gaiety Theatre earlier this year, my first experience of McDonagh’s writing –  was top notch with an excellent and convincing cast including Liam Carney, Dermot Crowley, Tadhg Murphy and Clare Dunne, a great set and I still love telling news in three parts, leaving the most important to last.

Druid Theatre are part of the tapestry of Irish storytellers to me so to help them in any way – as a Friend, online or just by buying tickets – ensures their work can continue to excite, enthrall and entertain for years to come. It’s also a great honour.

You can follow the adventure:

• On twitter – @druidtheatre and @yay_ie – the hashtag is #INISHBILLY
• On Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/druidtheatre
• On Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/druidtheatre
• On the website - http://www.druid.ie

Huge thanks to Sinead in Druid Theatre for this opportunity.