After a restful nights sleep I awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine. With not too early a start as my first show was booked for midday I was able to walk leisurely into Galway and soak up some of the vibe before heading to Nuns Island Theatre to watch 'Grace' a play by Graffitti Theatre.
With 40 years experience of making theatre for young audiences, Irish company Graffiti Theatre certainly know what they are doing. They believe that theatre is for every child and the programme informs us that 'Grace tells the story of a girl who has a relationship with her father where no words are need. Grace does not use words to speak at all. All performances of Grace are audio described, captioned and relaxed.' This is reiterated by the performers at the start and the audio description is neatly woven into the whole performance, alongside projected captions taking centre stage on the set.
The play was beautifully written, staged and performed, taking us on a captivating journey through the eyes of someone with autism dealing with the loss of her father, the only person to really understand her. The show which was both compelling and engaging was driven by the text, with layers of the audio description on top of dialogue giving it an intensity through words... so many words. As someone whose practice is rooted in movement and dance, I don't very often watch plays, I really felt the impact of being non-verbal in a verbal world, enabling me to empathise even further with Grace. I found myself wondering was this an intentional creative choice (it is a play of course!) or perhaps something that was more personal to me.
I really enjoyed the interaction with the kids, again verbally driven with questions to the audience, answered by some of the children very confidently. Graffiti had gained their trust and respect, the kids were with them on the journey. I loved the gentle humour, so important in childrens work, there is nothing like hearing children laugh. Particular credit goes to the actor who played Grace, her total embodiment of the character she was playing was a joy to watch. She journeyed thorugh so many emotions and captured the physicality of an autistic child without being pastiche or over the top. Projection was also used to further the narrative with objects cleverly manipulated to depict scenes alongside drawings.
After the show I had a couple of hours to mooch around Galway, desperate to see the sea I walked around the harbour/docks, along the coast and around the bay. My wanderings took me thorough the Spanish arch (famous Galway landmark) and a beautiful coastal park where I was able to briefly wander along a stretch of seaweedy beach taking in an incredibly calm looking Atlantic Ocean.
I headed back to the Mick Lally Theatre for the official opening of Babaró. The theatre foyer was packed with both adults and children, with drinks and special Babaró cupcakes on offer surrounded by children eagerly helping themselves. It was heartening to see the theatre packed, more people than seats and we were welcomed in to live music being performed by the insanely talented and so ever so young Barcelo Brothers (plus their dad), whom I have tickets to see tomorrow, what a treat I have instore!
Later in the afternoon I found time to take a peek at the two art exhibitions programmed in the festival. 'Identity' which features the work of 10 Galway artists with intellectual disabilities and the adorable 'Little Monsters' exhibition exploring success and failure through tapestry, crochet and embroidery sculptures.
Today has been a wonderful opportunity for me to really get a feel for Galway and enjoy the festival vibes. The celt in me feels right at home here, there's live music on almost every corner, poetry, theatre, dance, art, the sea and lots of people with curly hair.
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