6 - 15 august 2004 - Kilkenny Arts Festival

Transcription

6 - 15 august 2004 - Kilkenny Arts Festival
6 - 15 AUGUST 2004
Kilkenny Arts Festival Box Office
City Centre
Kilkenny
Tel 00 353 (0)56 775 2175
Fax 00 353 (0)56 775 1704
E: info@kilkennyarts.ie
Web: www.kilkennyarts.ie
Special thanks is extended to the team of volunteers for
their energy, enthusiasm and time – the Festival would
be lost without you!
Our thanks, also, to David Zee, Íde Deloughry, Tony Walsh,
Claire Murphy, Mary Butler, John Delaney, Kilkenny Castle
and the residents of Woodstock Estate.
Board of Directors
John Purcell (Chair), Tony Canny, Fergus Cronin, Ali Curran,
Brian Kiely, Vincent O’Shea, Susan Proud, John Ryan
Festival Team
Director Claudia Woolgar
Festival Manager Marion Gowran
Administrator Teenagh Cunningham
Technical Director David Stuttard
Katapult Outreach Coordinator Sinead Ní Fhoghlú
Katapult Arts Training Consultant Tony Fegan
Katapult Workshop Artist Thierry Lawson
National PR Manager Nik Quaife: Tel 087 799 7989 & Conleth Teevan
Local PR Manager Renata McDonnell
UK PR Beacon PR: Tel 00 44 1572 748800 &
Kean Lanyon Ltd: Tel 00 44 207 354 3574
Administrative Assistant Eddie Bolger
Production Assistant Anne Brodie
Technical Crew Eileen Branagh, Anne Brodie, Derval Byrne, Michael Kyle,
Michael Lonergan, Conor Mullen, Paula Tierney, Ian Wilford, Maurice Drohan
- and all those who joined us after we went to print!
Lighting supplied by Production Services Ireland
Sound supplied by Gerry Bannon
Woodstock Event Controller Caroline McGee
Volunteer and Transport Coordinator Trish Duff
Group Hosts Festival volunteers
Friends Liaison Trish Duff
Box Office Manager Steph Hogan
Box Office Team Caitriona Anglin, Helen Byrne,
Lori Comerford, Tracy Power
Work Experience Assistants Gael Martineau,
Melissa Morrison, Sylvain Orvoen
Graphic Design A&D: Tel 091 561378
IT Manager Fintan Blake-Kelly
Website Henry Tubritt
Music Notes Jon Baxendale
Programme devised by Claudia Woolgar
Classical Music devised by Susan Proud
Young People’s Programme devised by Teenagh Cunningham
Cover image Chris Judge
Contents
Katapult Outreach Programme . . . . . . . . . . .3
Woodstock Weekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Theatre & Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Classical Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Jazz/World Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Traditional Irish Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Business Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Booking Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Kilkenny People Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Meet the Artists at the Hibernian . . . . . . . .40
Visual Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Street Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Cuban Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Young People’s Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Verge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Collectors’ Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
New Writing Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Day-by-Day - Main Programme . . . . . . . . .64
Day-by-Day - Young People’s Programme . .65
Welcome to Kilkenny Arts Festival 2004
It’s been an amazing year, with a huge number of fantastic developments as the Festival continues to grow. We
have a programme full of work from exceptional artists from abroad and at home. They bring their imagination
and vision to Kilkenny, and we urge you to go and see what they’re up to, enjoy the surprises, and join us in a
magical ten days of events county-wide.
This year sees some new additions to the programme. Katapult, our community outreach programme kicked
into life with workshops taking place in May and June involving 25 young people from around the county. They
were inspiring days spent developing a performance piece together, which will open this year’s Festival on Friday
6th August. The involvement of this enthusiastic and talented group brought the Festival out into the county
outside of Festival time, and we are all reaping the rewards of working with people who have not been involved
in the Festival before.
There are more events taking place out in the county. Whether you live in Kilkenny or are visiting for the Festival,
get on the special Festival buses leaving from the Castle and go and see what the beautiful county of Kilkenny
has to offer. Visit the stunning Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge for the Fireworks Concert and for Woodstock
2004. Go to a magical glen in Kilfane Gardens for a sound and light performance by a waterfall. Visit Grennan
Mill in Thomastown and see two young Irish sculptors with a difference. Go and discover what County Kilkenny
has to offer.
The Festival has also opened its doors to more local artists with Verge. Working in collaboration with Kilkenny
County Council Arts Office, 12 local artists at the beginning of their careers are exhibiting their work in Kilkenny,
Thomastown and Castlecomer. Their vision and inventiveness heralds a rich future for Kilkenny, “the creative
heart of Ireland” and we are thrilled to include them in the Festival programme.
And if you want to know more, don’t miss the chance to Meet the Artists at The Hibernian, see page 40, and we
also have a new writing series with Barnstorm Theatre, see page 61.
That’s just a few of the exciting new elements in this year’s programme that we wanted to share with you. And
there’s much more. We’ve had a great year putting the programme together. Now it’s over to you!
Discover more! Go exploring!
Claudia Woolgar
Kilkenny Arts Festival 2004
5th - 14th August
KATAPULT is a Kilkenny Arts Festival initiative for children and young people
in the rural villages and communities in the region who have in many cases
been excluded from arts provision. Its central aim is to provide opportunities
for young people to participate in the arts and experience the excitement of
professional arts making.
Friday 6 - Saturday 7 August
City Centre - check with Box Office
7pm & 9pm daily
Admission Free
The group of young people who launched KATAPULT this year have created a
performance piece entitled Dream City.
Dream City
Ever felt that the reality of everyday life is just skin deep?
Ever felt life was like living in a film?
Ever wished for all your dreams to be fulfilled?
Dream City weaves stories, performance, video/animation and sound to
conjure an alternative reality that may provide some of the answers to life,
the universe and more besides.
This project has been part funded by
Barrow Nore Suir Rural Development
under the LEADER + Programme
3
4
Opening Fireworks Concert
Northern Chamber Orchestra
and Walk the Plank (England)
Back by popular demand after the Tower of Light last year, Walk the Plank
join forces with the Northern Chamber Orchestra for an evening of music
and magic in the stunning setting of Woodstock Gardens, Inistioge.
Performing on a specially constructed stage, the Northern Chamber
Orchestra offer a delightful evening of popular music mainly of the baroque
and classical period, which is given contrast by English music from the early
twentieth century.
The concert reaches a grande finale with Handel’s Music for the Royal
Fireworks, set to a dazzling synchronised display of fireworks by pyrotechnics
wizards, Walk the Plank. The perfect end to this magical evening, this will
be an unmissable event for all the family.
Bring a picnic and enjoy a magical summer’s evening in the beautiful
surroundings of one of Ireland’s best-loved gardens.
For full concert programme details, see page 11.
Saturday 7 August
Woodstock Gardens,
Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny.
Gates 6.30pm for 7.30pm concert
Ends 10pm
Admission €20 seated/
€7.50 Standing/ €15 Family Standing
(Max 2 adults, total 4)
Buses will depart from the Parade,
Kilkenny Castle, €10 return. Tickets
must be purchased in advance from
the Festival Box Office.
Corporate tables are available for a
pre-concert dinner at Mount Juliet
Conrad Hotel. Please contact
the Festival office for details.
Subject to Licence at the time of going to print.
Warm clothing advised.
Woodstock 2004
With a name like that, there has to be a music festival.
Sunday 8 August
Bringing the very best of Ireland’s singer/songwriters together for a day to
remember, Woodstock 2004 is a fantastic day out for all the family
featuring: Hothouse Flowers, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Mundy,
Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mark Geary, Declan O’Rourke, Reverie.
Woodstock Gardens,
Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny
Gates 3pm for 4pm concert.
Ends 10pm.
Admission €25
Buses will depart from the Parade,
Kilkenny Castle, €10 return. Tickets
must be purchased in advance from
the Festival Box Office.
Special Thanks to the Order of Malta.
Subject to Licence at the time of going to print.
Standing out from other summer music events, Woodstock 2004 shows
the Festival’s commitment to giving a stage to young artists. As local band
Reverie join Declan O’Rourke, Mark Geary and Rodrigo y Gabriela,
come and listen to a new world of music alongside some established
favourites, all compéred by the irrepressible Jerry Fish.
The stage from the Fireworks Concert will be turned into an all-day music
arena, with a catering village on site. Bring a rug, the family and friends,
and enjoy an afternoon with some of Ireland’s finest musicians in this
breathtaking setting.
If you would like to join in supporting the further restoration of Woodstock house and gardens by becoming a Friend of
Woodstock Gardens, please contact 056 7794033/email claire.murphy@kilkennycoco.ie/www.woodstock.ie
5
World première
The Performance Corporation (Ireland) and Kilkenny Arts Festival present
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
By Tom Swift
Murder, Darwinian science and the quest for eternal life. Not your everyday
conversation as you wander the bustling streets of Kilkenny - but put on your
headphones, follow the voices and you might just learn the secret of Dr.
Ledbetter’s Experiment.
This virtuoso production from award-winning Irish company The Performance
Corporation leads the audience through the shadows, into the murky world of
a man who has been inexplicably airbrushed out of Kilkenny’s history: Dr. Saul
Ledbetter, the once-renowned physician and philanthropist.
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment is a first in world theatre. A gothic journey that fuses
live performance with high technology to create a new theatrical experience.
The audience become “audio detectives” as the sounds and voices of the past
lead them through historic Kilkenny to the heart of the mystery - the fate of a
man tainted by rumours of occultism and the mysterious disappearance of a
string of women.
Directed by Jo Mangan and featuring original musical composition by Rob
Canning, soundscape by Paul Brennan and art installations by Almha Roche,
The Performance Corporation will conjure up a macabre and magical
performance in evocative settings, making this a Festival show not to be
missed. Full of surprising interventions, audiences familiar with the company's
signature performance style of physically dynamic, visually arresting theatre,
will know to book early. (Audience capacity is limited.)
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“An unending banquet of
brilliant writing and superbly
inventive acting… The
Performance Corporation
delivers in glorious measure.”
The Irish Times
Previews Friday 6 August
Saturday 7 - Sunday 15 August
(excl. Mon 9 & Tues 10)
The Streets of Kilkenny: meet outside
Rothe House, Parliament Street
1pm, 2.30pm, 7pm & 8.30pm daily
Previews 7pm & 8.30pm
Admission €16/€14, Preview €11/€9
www.ThePerformanceCorporation.com
Comfortable shoes advised.
Meet the director: See page 40.
Irish première
Stellar Quines Theatre Company (Scotland) in a co-production with the
Tron Theatre, Glasgow and The Byre Theatre of St. Andrews
The Memory of Water
Written by Shelagh Stephenson
Directed by Muriel Romanes
Winner of the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy, The
Memory of Water is affectionate, sharp, brilliant and blackly funny.
Three sisters meet on the eve of their mother’s funeral. Together they
rummage through clothes, memories, and old stories. Each has
evolved their own way of dealing (or not) with the past, but as
emotion, disputed memory and alcohol all take their toll, they
gradually dissolve into a chaos of hilarity and grief.
Preview Friday 6 August
Saturday 7 - Thursday 12 August
Watergate Theatre 8pm
Admission €20/€18
Preview €16/€14
Meet the director: See page 40.
“Combines a flair for witty
dialogue and a relish for the
dynamics of theatre…
Stephenson, a mistress of comic
anguish, is clearly a real find.”
The Guardian
“a master-class on how to make
popular theatre” The Times
“Beautifully paced, meticulously
detailed, but passionately
performed” **** The Times
The
British
Council
7
8
World première
CoisCéim Dance Theatre (Ireland) presents
Chamber Made Room 409
Created by David Bolger
and Katie Read
“There is a playfulness
and joyousness in the
performance that
transmits itself directly
to the audience”
The Irish Times
Room 409 has stories to tell!
Swept
Three couples with three reservations…
Choreographer: David Bolger
A young couple burst into the hotel room with a
wild and playful energy. A single man in his
thirties meticulously grooms himself for his big
moment. Meanwhile, an older married couple pack
and unpack past memories.
The three stories unfold in their individual
timeframes and overlap to comment on the
greater theme of couples and their ever changing
stages of love.
The intimate setting allows the audience an
immediate and voyeuristic experience. Chamber
Made - Room 409 is a quintessential story of
passion, love and coupledom.
Dance up close and personal.
Audience capacity is very limited, so book early to
avoid disappointment.
Saturday 7 - Wednesday 11 August
Taking place in a bar, this touching duet fuses dance,
text, music, light and sound. Boy meets girl in a story
which is permeated with a playful and knowing
regard for the everyday. The two performers dance
on and around the bar and up and down walls, in a
playful physical journey of fun and friendship.
At times casual and funny, Swept is full of moments
that magically transform into a world of colour and
theatrical opulence.
Founded in 1995, CoisCéim Dance Theatre has
created seventeen original dance theatre pieces, and
the company’s work has been shown throughout
Ireland, London, Edinburgh, Tasmania, the US and
more recently China. CoisCéim has made one dance
film, HIT AND RUN which was screened at national
and international film festivals and won five awards.
CoisCéim created A DASH OF COLOUR which
involved 75,000 people as part of the Opening
Ceremony at the Special Olympics in June 2003.
Swept was an Abbey Theatre-CoisCéim
co-production at the Abbey Theatre
2pm & 6pm daily
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel – meet in the foyer.
Admission €16/€14
Meet the choreographer: See page 40.
Wednesday 11 – Sunday 15 August
Venue Bar, Ormonde Street
2pm & 6pm daily
Admission €16/€14
9
Irish première
“Visually stunning. Not to be missed!”
The Guardian
“The only salvation is unrestrained laughter”
Le Figaro
Comic Trust Theatre Company
(Russia)
White Side Story
Directed by Vadim Fisson
“There are many beautiful stories to tell but we are
going to tell you the story of a white kingdom and its
white Queens. Imagine, if you will, an imaginary history
in a time of endless raining bubbles…”
The story of the mystical medieval White Kingdom is
a tale of intrigue and poison, of brave heroes and
cunning nobles, of power and loneliness as a
kingdom is caught in a power struggle between the
heartless White Queen and her daughter. Three
white clowns appear and reveal the folly of the
Queen’s passion for power, in an evening of laughter
and buffoonery.
Told without a word of text, using dance, mime and
music, White Side Story brings smiles and laughter
to the faces of children and adults alike.
This award-winning comic theatre company from
St Petersburg have toured extensively worldwide,
and they transcend all language barriers with their
energy and physical performance.
Friday 13 - Sunday 15 August
Watergate Theatre, 6pm
Admission €11/€9
Suitable for all the family, age 5+
10
Irish première
“…the Northern Chamber
Orchestra… quite simply
world-class”
Opera Magazine, 2003
Northern Chamber Orchestra (England)
Director and leader: Nicholas Ward
The Northern Chamber Orchestra, formed in 1967, is an exciting and
versatile group of musicians. Directed in concert from the violin by Nicholas
Ward, the orchestra has, for several years now, accompanied the main
production at the Buxton Festival, and its repertoire includes a wide range from
Corelli to Stravinsky and beyond. The members of the orchestra are
distinguished chamber musicians who play as principals with other orchestras
and regularly appear as soloists.
Saturday 7 August
Woodstock Gardens,
Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny.
Gates 6.30pm for 7.30pm concert
Ends 10pm.
Admission €20 seated/
€7.50 Standing/ €15 Family Standing
(Max 2 adults, total 4)
Buses will depart from the Parade,
The orchestra gives over forty concerts a year throughout the North of England, Kilkenny Castle, €10 return. Tickets
and, whilst this is their first visit to Ireland, Director Nicholas Ward has
must be purchased in advance from
the Festival Box Office.
appeared in Kilkenny before. With over thirty CDs to its name, the orchestra is
known on every continent and in May of this year recorded four of Boccherini’s Corporate tables are available for a
Cello Concertos with Raphael Wallfisch for Naxos.
pre-concert dinner at Mount Juliet
Conrad Hotel. Please contact
the Festival office for details.
Programme
Subject to Licence at the time of going to print.
Haydn Symphony No 94 “The Surprise”
Warm clothing advised.
Malcolm Arnold Sinfonietta No 1
Handel The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Bach Air and Dances from Suite No 3
Elgar Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit
Percy Grainger Shepherds Hey
Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks
11
Colin Currie (Scotland)
Born in Edinburgh in 1976, solo percussionist Colin Currie
won the Shell/London Symphony Orchestra Music Scholarship
at the age of fifteen. In 1994 he won the first percussion
prize in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition,
giving the world première of Errollyn Wallen’s Concerto for
Percussion in the final at London’s Barbican Centre.
Since then Currie has appeared as soloist with major
orchestras around the world, working with some of the
leading conductors and composers of our day. He has made
a significant contribution to the solo percussion repertoire by
regularly commissioning and recording new works. In 2001
Colin Currie was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s
Young Artist Award for his outstanding contribution to
innovative music-making.
Currie has been selected as a BBC New Generation Artist
from the 2003/4 season. He performs solo and chamber
recitals in Rome, Lucerne, Glasgow, Oxford and London and
has recently appeared with orchestras in The Netherlands,
Germany, the USA and the UK. An active chamber musician,
he has collaborated with artists such as the Peterson Quartet,
Dawn Upshaw, Viktoria Mullova and jazz musicians Peter
Erskine, Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor. His first solo album,
Striking a Balance, was released on EMI in February 1998.
Since then he has made two recordings for Naxos.
Colin Currie first performed in Kilkenny last year, as part of
the Trans-Fusion residency. Those who saw him then will
know to book early to see this energetic and virtuoso
performer.
Programme
Matthias Schitt Ghanaia
Ney Rosauro Sinfonietta No 1
Per Norgard Fire over Water
Dave Maric Sense and Innocence
Steve Reich Nagoya Marimbas
Paul Smadbeck Rhythm Song
Dave Maric Trilogy
Monday 9 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 8pm
Admission €17/€15
12
Callino Quartet (Ireland)
Ioana Petcu-Colan - violin
Sarah Sexton - violin
Samantha Hutchins - viola
Sarah McMahon - cello
with guest appearances by Robin Michael and Malachy Robinson
The Callino Quartet was formed in June 1999 following a publicly and
critically acclaimed appearance at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. The
Quartet still comprises the four original members, all Honours graduates of the
Royal Academy of Music in London.
Collaborations have seen the Callino Quartet perform alongside such
established and renowned artists as the Vanbrugh and the Vogler Quartets,
violists Paul Silverthorne and Rivka Golani, oboist Neil Black and the Paris
Bastille Wind Octet. They have also enjoyed quintet performances with
contemporaries Finghin Collins, Gunilla Sussman, Inon Barnatan, (piano) and
Malachy Robinson, (double-bass).
The Quartet’s critically acclaimed début concert took place in the National
Concert Hall, Dublin in October of 2001. Since then the Quartet has been busy
touring extensively around Ireland, as well as to the UK, the Netherlands, Italy,
Norway, Austria and Germany. They have appeared live on both RTÉ television
and radio and have been broadcast on BBC and Norwegian radio stations.
CONCERT 1
Mozart Quartet in D minor
Bartok Quartet No 3
Arensky Quartet for violin, viola and 2 cellos
with Robin Michael
Tuesday 10 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 8pm
Admission €17/€15
CONCERT 2
Dvorak Bass Quintet and Nocturne
with Malachy Robinson
Wednesday 11 August
St John’s Church, John Street, 1pm
Admission €12/€10
“The Callino Quartet is now, by
a long shot, the most polished
young string quartet that
Ireland has recently produced”
The Irish Times
13
Trans-Fusion
Director: Lucy van Dael
Lucy van Dael - violin
Claire Duff - violin
Stefano Rossi - viola
Robin Michael - cello
Sarah McMahon - cello
Nicholas Milne - viola da gamba
Monika Knoblochova - harpsichord
with guest appearance by Malcolm Proud
Once again the Festival offers a residency opportunity for
professional development to six young international
musicians. The residency will be led by Lucy van Dael, who
founded the Orchestra of the 18th Century with Frans
Brüggen and was for 18 years its concertmaster. She is
currently a member of the Amsterdam Fortepiano Trio and of
L’Archibudelli, and performs regularly with harpsichordist Bob
van Asperen and cellist Jaap ter Linden.
Lucy van Dael began her career as a member of the
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Szimon
Goldberg, but soon became interested in the baroque violin.
She collaborated extensively with Gustav Leonhardt, Frans
Brüggen, Ton Koopman (Musica da Camera), and the Kuijken
brothers, becoming in the process one of the leading figures in
the revival of authentic string playing. She has appeared with
many ensembles and orchestras - among them the Leonhardt
Consort and La Petite Bande - as violin or viola soloist. Van
Dael is internationally sought after as a pedagogue.
Van Dael brings together six young musicians: Robin Michael
(UK) cello, Nicholas Milne (Ireland) viola da gamba, Monika
Knoblochova (Czech Republic) harpsichord, Sarah
McMahon (Ireland) cello, Claire Duff (Ireland) violin, and
Stefano Rossi (Italy) viola. Kilkenny Arts Festival is delighted
to be their host for an intensive two-day residency,
culminating in four concerts in which the young musicians will
perform with van Dael.
Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 August
The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle. 9am & 2pm
Admission €5 two-session day ticket
14
The two-day residency is open to the public and the
four-hour sessions are 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 6pm
daily. Re-admittance for the public once a session
has started will not be permitted until a suitable
break.
CONCERT 1
Lucy van Dael - violin
Malcolm Proud - harpsichord
J.S. Bach
Sonata for obligato harpsichord and violin
I Sonata No 4 in C min. BWV 1017
II Solo
III Sonata No 5 in F min. BWV 1018
IV Sonata No 6 in G maj. BWV 1019
V Sonata No 3 in E maj. BWV 1016
ma non tanto
Lucy van Dael
Thursday 12 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 8pm
Admission €17/€15
CONCERT 2
Claire Duff - violin
Nicholas Milne - viola da gamba
Monika Knoblochova - harpsichord
Dietrich Buxtehude
Sonata Op. 1 No 3 in A minor
(1637-1707) Sonata for violin and viola da gamba with harpsichord,
Hamburg 1694
J.S. Bach
Sonata in G major BWV 1027
(1685-1750) for viola da gamba and harpsichord
J.S. Bach
Preludium and Fuge in F sharp minor
(The Well-Tempered Klavier ll)
Heinrich I.F. von Biber
Sonata for violin
Representativa: (1644-1704) Kromeriz library, c.1669
Nightingale - Cuckoo - Frog - Cock & Hen - Quail - Cat Musketeer's March - Allemande
Dietrich Buxtehude
Sonata Op. 1 No 5 in C major
(1637-1707) Sonata for violin and viola da gamba with harpsichord,
Hamburg 1694
Friday 13 August
The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, 1pm
Admission €12/€10
Nicholas Milne
Monika Knoblochova
Claire Duff
CONCERT 3
Lucy van Dael - violin
Stefano Rossi - violin
Nicholas Milne - viola da gamba
Monika Knoblochova - harpsichord
Francois Couperin
From “Les Nations”, Troisieme Ordre : l’Imperiale
M. Marais
“Les Cloches de St Genevieve”
J.S. Bach
Triosonate in D maj. BWV 1028
J.S. Bach
Triosonate in E major BWV 1032
Jean-Philippe Rameau
From “Pieces de clavecin en concert” No III
Saturday 14 August
The Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, 1pm
Admission €12/€10
CONCERT 4
Lucy van Dael - violin
Claire Duff - violin
Stefano Rossi - viola
Robin Michael - cello
Sarah McMahon - cello
Luigi Boccherini (“The Stringking”)
I String trio in C minor
II String quartet in A major Op. 39
III String quintet in G minor Op. 29 No 6
Saturday 14 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 8pm
Admission €17/€15
15
Steven Isserlis cello
Performing with Prussia Cove musicians
Arisa Fujita - violin
Rachel Roberts - viola
Sarah Tysman - piano
Arisa Fujita
Rachel Roberts
Sarah Tysman
Steven Isserlis is a cellist acclaimed worldwide for his musicality and
technique, and whose passion for music captures the audience, whether in an
intimate chamber music setting or on the concert platform with some of the
world's most prestigious orchestras and conductors.
CONCERT 1
Recent concerto engagements have taken Isserlis to some of the world’s
greatest orchestras, including the Boston, Atlanta, Detroit and London
Symphony orchestras, the New York, Berlin, Rotterdam, Czech and Israel
Philharmonics and the Philharmonia and Philadelphia orchestras. He also
enjoys regular collaborations with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Sakari Oramo, Sir Colin Davis, Ton Koopman and Christoph Eschenbach.
Friday 13 August
A strong interest in musical education makes Isserlis much in demand for
teaching - he is Artistic Director of the International Masterclass and Chamber
Music forum IMS Prussia Cove and is regularly invited to teach at academies
in the US, Europe and Australia. Awarded a CBE in 1998 in recognition of his
services to music, Steven Isserlis is an honorary member of the Royal Academy
of Music and in 2000 received the Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau
(Schumann’s birthplace).
16
Beethoven String trio in C minor
Dvorak F minor trio
Suk Piano Quartet
St Canice’s Cathedral, 8pm
Admission €20/€18
CONCERT 2
Beethoven Eyeglass obbligato duo
Smetana Trio
Dvorak E flat Piano Quartet
Sunday 15 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 7pm
Admission €20/€18
17
Irish première
Turlitawa & Les Manouches
(Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, UK)
For this concert of Turlitawa and Les Manouches, two bands have joined
together specially for Kilkenny, offering a rare opportunity to experience
highlights of gypsy music from the East and West, the music of Roma and Sinti
in one concert.
The bandleaders Mustafa Zekirov (singing, guitar & oud) and Pesso Kraus
(violin) with their musicians from Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany and Britain
perform the best of their repertoire. The name Turlitawa refers to a hot, spicy
blended Balkan dish: you will hear the far oriental tunes reminiscent of the
Indian home of gypsies, raucous Balkan music coming to you directly from a bar
or wedding party somewhere in remote Macedonia, and then the stylish Sinti
Swing with Pesso Kraus’s emotional violin playing.
“Virtuoso musicians!”
The Guardian
“Impressive playing”
The Independent
Friday 6 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
Saturday 7 August
With an extraordinary history of survived repression in the former Yugoslavia
and internment in Auschwitz and Treblinka, the main musicians, Mustafa Zekirov Carroll’s Pub, Thomastown, 2pm
and Pesso Kraus join forces with Roma and Sinti musicians whose musicality
Kieran Street, Kilkenny, 4.30pm
goes back generations for a very special evening. The project aims to join
together the different ingredients of gypsy music from all over the continent
with a contemporary twist, reflecting Gypsy culture as European culture.
And don’t expect a straight concert. These musicians offer a high energy
evening of theatre and performance as well as great music.
18
Irish première
“Monica Akihary… producer of one of the most beautiful jazz
cd’s of this year” Trouw 2000
“You would have to be from another planet not to be moved
by the warmth and positive energy of Monica Akihary” Opzij
Boi Akih (Haruku, Indonesia)
Saturday 7 August
The wonderful and subtle voice of Moluccan singer Monica Akihary and the
compositions of virtuoso guitarist Niels Brouwer characterise the typical
sound of Boi Akih, where the delightful vocal sounds from Haruku, one of the
Moluccan islands, guide you through musical images of jazz, world and
contemporary music.
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 11pm
Admission €17/€15
Akihary and Brouwer’s collaboration led to the amazingly original repertoire of
Boi Akih, with influences clearly beyond all “World” or “Jazz” boundaries.
Compositions based on jazz and improvised music are intertwined with South
and North Indian classical music and the traditional music of the Moluccan
Islands (Indonesia). The rhythm section, changed from the traditional western
bass/drum idiom, features the fantastic cellist Ernst Reijseger and renowned
tabla player Sandip Bhattacharya, creating room for improvisation inspired
by different musical traditions. Monica developed her own style of singing,
adding Indian and African techniques, and, uniquely, singing in the Moluccan
language of her ancestors.
Join Monica and her band for an unforgettable evening of world music.
19
Andy Sheppard &
Joanna McGregor (UK)
Andy Sheppard is one of Britain’s foremost tenor and
soprano saxophonists. After a string of awards
following his first two albums, Sheppard formed his
Soft On The Inside Big Band in 1990 - which included
Ernst Reisjeger, performing with Boi Akih on Saturday
7th. The band produced an album which was credited
as one of the finest releases of the year and confirmed
Sheppard’s status as a composer.
Sheppard moved from his original acoustic style to a
punchier, electronic sound for his next band. In CoMotion was a potent mix of funk and rock grooves,
complex ensemble lines, and solos that moved from
lyrical ballad passages to exciting free jazz. Since then
Sheppard has toured the world and has also been in
demand as a writer. He is often described as a serial
collaborator with an astonishing range of musical
partners to his name as well as an eclectic range of
recordings.
Joanna McGregor is widely thought of as one of the
most innovative and wide-ranging of today’s pianists
and divides her time between playing classical, jazz
and contemporary music. Classically trained, McGregor
has since spent her time pushing classical music into
new territories. Her art is a collaborative process, with
much of her life spent abroad, each trip acting as
another excuse to find someone to work with.
These two great collaborators offer a very special
evening which magically combines their talents in one
dynamic concert.
Sunday 8 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 11pm
Admission €17/€15
20
Woodstock 2004
Hothouse Flowers | Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club | Mundy
Rodrigo y Gabriela | Mark Geary | Declan O’Rourke | Reverie
Bringing the very best of Ireland’s singer/songwriters together for a day to
remember, Woodstock 2004 is unlike any other summer music event. In
bringing together this line-up of musicians, Kilkenny Arts Festival is continuing
its commitment to giving a stage to young artists alongside those already
established. Local band Reverie join Declan O’Rourke, Mark Geary and
Rodrigo y Gabriela on the same stage as Hothouse Flowers, Jerry Fish
and the Mudbug Club and Mundy. It is an exceptional line-up, presenting
the best of Ireland’s own and heralding new unmissable talent.
Sunday 8 August
Woodstock Gardens,
Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny
Gates 3pm for 4pm concert.
Ends 10pm.
Admission €25
Buses will depart from the Parade,
Kilkenny Castle, €10 return. Tickets
must be purchased in advance from
the Festival Box Office.
The afternoon concert will be compéred by Jerry Fish, as Woodstock Gardens Subject to Licence at the time of going to print.
is transformed into a music arena. A specially constructed stage will stand next Warm clothing advised.
to the ruins of Woodstock House, a catering village will be set up on site, and
Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, Rodrigo y
an afternoon of fantastic music is assured.
Gabriela & Declan O’Rourke photographs by
Siobhán Dempsey, Latitude Imaging.
Bring a rug, the family and friends, and enjoy an afternoon with some of
Ireland’s finest musicians in this breathtaking setting.
21
“Sensational… sexy and
provocative, O’Sullivan is
possessed of an exceptional
voice. This is pure joy”
The Irish Times
“Most impressive…
An outstanding talent”
The Sunday Tribune
“the hottest ticket in town”
The Irish Times
Camille O’Sullivan (Ireland)
Camille sings Brel The Right to Dream
Camille O’Sullivan has a stage presence like no other. Unpredictable, daring,
sultry, witty, O’Sullivan breathes new life into Brel’s songs, making them her
own. With her French parentage and love of story-telling, she performs in
German, French and English and gives a mesmerising and stunning
performance.
Jacques Brel was one of the great modern troubadours (1929 - 1978), a poet,
singer and composer of extraordinary passion and emotional power. He
became a leading singer/songwriter of the French stage with his extraordinary
stage presence and profound, powerful songs.
In Camille’s hands, each song lives a life of its own, infused with character and
linked by Brel’s comic and tragic view of life. A sell-out success at the Dublin
Fringe Festival 2003, an evening with Camille O’Sullivan is not to be missed.
Camille was last seen at the Festival in 2002, performing in Finola Cronin’s
The Murder Ballads.
22
Monday 9 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
Irish première
Shooglenifty (Scotland)
Tuesday 10 August
Kilkenny River Court Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
Hailed as one of the key pioneers, and continuing frontrunners, in the
field of Celtic/clubland fusion.
Over the past dozen years Shooglenifty’s unique twist on trad has won
them an extensive and devoted fanbase not only across Europe, the US
and Australasia, but as far afield as India, Malaysia and Japan.
Previous career highlights include performing for Prince Charles,
Nelson Mandela and Emperor Akihito of Japan (not all at once), and
a tour to Cuba. Back in 1996, Shooglenifty became the first band ever
to incite a stage invasion at Sydney Opera House.
Beneath the folky-looking exterior of these “acid croft, hypnofolkedelic ambient trance” ambassadors, lurks an on-going romance
between Scottish traditional music and contemporary dance sounds, all
brought to life with electric guitar, samples and programming, as well
as "real" percussion and the finest traditional tunes. All six players are
maestros of effects, distortion, feedback and - crucially - improvisation.
The resulting sound marries traditionally-based tunes - primarily
Scottish in style, but featuring a wealth of other world-music flavours with the rhythmic energy, inventiveness and sophistication of
contemporary dance music. Dazzling, multi-layered intricacy and
intoxicating grooves deliver a pure musical experience which is
“Still the original and the best” Scotsman.
23
World première
Daniel Figgis’ Motor (Ireland)
In the magical, haunting setting of a hidden glen in Kilfane Gardens,
this installation by legendary figure, Daniel Figgis, will be a unique
musical and performance experience.
As darkness falls, the natural surrounds are sculpted and imposed upon
by live musicians, surround-sound and an integrated video/lighting
design. The rural setting is transformed into a highly charged public
performance space. Exploring new approaches to sound generation and
design, with the backdrop of a thundering waterfall, Figgis promises
daring uses of technologies old and new in an evening full of surprises.
This is a music and visual event like no other from one of Ireland’s
leading artists.
Figgis, currently composer-in-residence at Dublin’s Dun Laoghaire/
Rathdown, has made several live performance installations, and
produced the classic CD, Skipper (“The strange familiarity of a David Lynch
film, the harmonic simplicity of John Tavener - Skipper is their musical lovechild. Curious, but true.” Classical FM Magazine (UK)). Earlier this year
Figgis was the subject of a tribute CD by various artists entitled When
It’s Ajar - The Music of Daniel Figgis?
Wednesday 11 - Saturday 14 August
Kilfane Glen & Waterfall,
Thomastown. Gates 8.30pm
for 9.30pm performance
Buses will depart from the Parade,
Kilkenny Castle, at 8.30pm, €10
return. Tickets must be purchased in
advance from the Festival Box Office.
Warm clothing and sensible shoes
recommended
Admission €16/€14
“world-beating… marvellous…
hyperintelligent… full of the
noise and clamour of humanity,
profoundly meticulous but
thrumming with child-like fun
and warm absurdity…”
Hot Press
“extremely talented - you’ll be
hearing a lot more from Figgis”
Lyric FM
“the sonic equivalent of an
abstract painter…”
Independent Album of the Week (UK)
24
Irish première
Asere (Cuba)
Asere is a group of young musicians who came together to play traditional
Cuban son. Their career took off when the Colombian singer, Totó la
Momposina, came across them on a visit to Cuba in 1996 and was
immediately struck by their energy, rich songwriting and powerful delivery.
Comfortable with classical son, respectful of their musical forefathers and yet
keen to step into the future, in Asere we find the son tradition dressed up in
baseball caps and trainers - an expression of young urban Cuba. These
musicians seek to develop the music through their inventive songwriting and
arrangements, building a fresh sound for a new generation.
Since 1998 Asere have performed across Europe, impressing many with their
dynamic show and infectious energy. They have performed with Totó la
Momposina in 1999, with legendary drummer Billy Cobham, and as the
backing band for Papa Noel’s ‘Bana Congo’ project in 2002. Asere’s new
album, Destinos, was released in June of this year and marks a new chapter
in their musical development.
“It’s time to meet the lads
who will take son into the
new millennium” Mojo
“Asere are proof that the
future of Son is in very safe
hands indeed’ ”
Straight no Chaser
Friday 13 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
This will be a gig to fight to get in to - Asere’s Irish debut and an exclusive
with this sensational band. You won’t have heard Cuban music like it.
25
DJ Steve (Ireland)
Steve Shannon is a Dublin-based producer and DJ. He is the co-founder of
the Audiodelic collective who have brought eclectic DJs like Luke Vibert, Mr
Scruff and DJ Food to these shores. His music career has spanned fourteen
years from performing with punk, reggae and electronic bands, to working
with various acts as a producer. As well as being at home in a recording
studio twiddling knobs and pushing buttons, he plays drums, guitar, bass,
keyboards, melodica, banjo and glockenspiel. He started DJing at house
parties before moving on to many legendary free parties over the years.
A regular on the DJ scene, he has had DJ residencies in Dublin venues Coyote,
Voodoo, Sosume and Handels.
When he’s not DJing or making his own music, he is the central cog in
electronic band Halfset who will release their debut album later this year
on Elusive Recordings.
He is a fanatical record hoarder and is running out of room for his five
thousand-plus cherished pieces of vinyl. His collection includes everything
from indie to jazz, soul to drum ’n’ bass, Motown to reggae. His current set
fuses old skool funk with Latin grooves, modern breaks and eclectic rhythms.
The emphasis is always on good times and on shaking up the dance floor.
So join in an evening of dancing from an eclectic range of influences and
energetic mixes in the Festival’s hot DJ slot.
26
Saturday 14 August
Coda Club, Parliament St, 10pm
Admission €10
Irish première
New Cool Collective
(The Netherlands)
New Cool Collective, founded in 1994, includes some
of the coolest musicians on the Dutch music scene. Their
music is a fresh and exciting mix of highly danceable
soul and funky jazz, spiced with Latin flavours and
accompanied by a great grooving rhythm section.
Benjamin Herman, New Cool Collective’s awardwinning bandleader and lead saxophonist, is a wellknown musician on the European jazz circuit. Inspired by
New York’s club Giant Steps, he started organising
parties in Amsterdam. Soul Kitchen was the first club to
pick up the idea of hosting a (jazz) band and a DJ on the
same night, and the gigs were such a hit that the band
had to move to larger premises, Naar Boven.
Performances at major festivals and parties followed,
including the North Sea Jazz Festival (The Hague), Club
802 parties in Paradiso (Amsterdam), the
Jazz Bop and Beach Bop parties (Bloemendaal), the
North Sea Capetown Festival (South Africa), London’s
famous Jazz Café, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as
well as several concerts featuring Roy Hargrove.
In 2001 the band received the Heineken Crossover
Award and signed with Sony Music. Their fourth album
Bring it on was released in September 2002. The album
was nominated for the Edison Jazz Award 2003 (the
Dutch Grammy).
Saturday 14 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
27
Liam O’Flynn &
The Piper’s Call Band
From County Kildare, master uilleann piper Liam
O’Flynn was born to a fiddle-playing father and a
mother who came from a family of famous Clare
musicians, ensuring that O’Flynn was keenly aware at
an early age of his rich tradition and lineage.
In his teens, O’Flynn attended music “seisiúns” in the
Kildare village of Prosperous where he met many of
the people with whom he would later make his name
and tour the concert-halls of the world. These were
musicians like Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Andy
Irvine with whom, in the early seventies, he formed
the legendary Planxty.
O’Flynn has taken the pipes into previously
unexplored territory - be it as a member of Planxty,
as a soloist with an orchestra or working with artists
as diverse as John Cage, The Everly Brothers, Van
Morrison and Kate Bush. But whatever the situation,
he has remained resolutely true to the music itself,
securing his reputation as Ireland’s Master Uilleann
Piper.
In 1999, O’Flynn and the Piper’s Call Band (Arty
McGlynn, Rod McVey, Liam Bradley) were chosen for
a unique performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall,
when, for the very first time, there was a special
evening devoted to Irish music as part of the BBC
Proms. They were rapturously received then, and this
concert, taking place in the wonderful surrounds of
St Canice’s Cathedral, promises to be another
legendary night.
Wednesday 11 August
St Canice’s Cathedral, 9pm
Admission €20/€18
28
“When I’m playing, I’m
certainly lost within it. The
only way to describe it, is
that it's like looking
inwards… like a spell is cast
and a terrific passage of
feelings moves from the
musician to the audience
and back again”
Liam O’Flynn
“His pedigree is immaculate
and traditional music is very
evidently in his blood. Yet in
his swooping style there is
also a very real sense of the
impromptu and willingness to
explore areas beyond the
natural roots.”
Colin Irwin, Folk Roots
Michael McGoldrick Quartet
If you know Michael McGoldrick’s playing, respected music critic Colin Irwin’s
review (above), will come as no great surprise. If you haven’t heard him yet, be
prepared - his music will grab you by the ears, lift you up, dust you down and
leave you feeling alive.
Thursday 12 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €17/€15
1995 winner of the BBC Radio Two Young Tradition Award and BBC Radio Two
Instrumentalist of the Year 2000, McGoldrick’s first solo album, Morning Rory,
charted at No.1 for 5 weeks in the Irish Folk & Roots charts. The follow-up,
Fused, released in January 2000, picked up the Best Overseas Album at the
Irish Music Magazine awards.
Joined by Dezi Donnelly on fiddle, (“His technique is an example to all young
players” Paddy Glackin), Ed Boyd (guitar) and Jonjo Kelly (bodhran) of the
phenomenon that is Flook! (the tightest, freshest & funkiest rhythm section
that you are likely to hear), these are four absolutely spellbounding musicians.
Miss them at your peril!
29
Kíla
Formed in 1987 when they were 16, their first gig was upstairs in the
Baggot Inn, Dublin. Three people attended.
It was 1997 before the band got their office and first wage, having gone
through many different line-ups. Tóg é go Bog é and a single Ón Taobh
Tuathail Amach were released that year, with the single reaching 24 in the
charts. The band toured to the States for the first time and their music was
used for the feature film Gold on the Streets. Playing Womex in Marseilles
gave them even greater exposure, and they have since played at festivals
world-wide.
Sunday 15 August
Ballykeefe Quarry,
near Callan, 3pm
Admission €18/€16
Presented with the assistance of KBK
“Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Kíla
make music that’s impossible
to ignore.” The Irish Times
In 2002 Kíla won the Meteor Award for Best Traditional Music Act, but they
remain unique and outside the fold. “Never successfully corralled in the
traditional, new age or world music slums… Rather they are the children of
Planxty gone feral in the sewers under the gaudy carnival grounds.” Hot Press
“Kíla explode traditional
music from the inside out.
Kila rock” Hot Press
An explosive afternoon gig in the beautiful setting of Ballykeefe Quarry.
“Kíla – a totally kick butt
band from Dublin”
The Boston Globe
30
Business Friends of
Kilkenny Arts Festival
Our Business Friends are a lively and diverse group. Each has their
own interests and each their unique contribution to make. What unites
them is their appreciation of the Festival and commitment to it. Their
ability to see its scope and embrace its risks. Their enthusiasm and
sense of pride.
It’s not too late to join us as a Business Friend. From as little as
€12.50 per month you can help us continue to present this wonderful
Festival. For more information contact us 056 7763663 or email
info@kilkennyarts.ie
Tax Relief may be available on donations over €250.
Please ask us for details.
Thank you to:
Partners
Associates
Business Patrons
Bambu, Langtons Bar, Hotel
& Restaurant, Kilkenny
Vintners Association,
Pordylos, J.A. Canny & Co.,
Brannigan’s
Aubergine/Farrell Foods,
Bank of Ireland, Bluett &
O’Donoghue, Boyd
Auctioneers, Carroll’s Bar,
State Street International,
Butler Solicitors, Duggan
Steel Group, Kilkenny Book
Centre, Kilkenny Chamber
of Commerce, Kyteler’s Inn
Lacken House, Sentry
Security, W.A. Smithwick
& Sons, Zuni Restaurant
& Townhouse
Crotty’s Coffee House,
Café Sol, Ailish’s Beauty
& Body Clinic, Clubhouse
Hotel, Dean Street Medical
Centre, Springhill Court
Hotel, John’s Green Medical
Centre, Sherwoods, John
O’Connell’s Chemist,
Lautrecs, Manning Travel,
Michael O’Connell’s
Chemist, Murphy’s
Jewellers, Ormonde
Brick, Sabo, Jeff Howes
Golf Design, MRI
Worldwide, Margaret
Gowen & Co.
Marble City Transport
31
Booking Information
Telephone & Credit Card Hotline 00 353 (0)56 775 2175
Online Booking www.kilkennyarts.ie
Student standby tickets available on the door, subject
to availability. 25% discount on production of a valid
student card, 15 minutes before start time.
Box Office hours Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm
Advance booking is recommended.
Note: Tickets for buses are only available at the Box Office.
Concessions are not available for online bookings.
Booking opens Monday 5 July.
10% discount for bookings of 10 or more people.
Concessions are available and apply to students, senior
citizens and the unwaged. Evidence will be requested
at point of purchase.
Kilkenny Arts Festival reserve the right to alter the
advertised programme.
Festival Club Membership is available through the
Friends/Patrons Scheme. Details from Box Office.
Booking Form
Postal Bookings to: Kilkenny Arts Festival, 9/10 Abbey Business Centre, Abbey Street, Kilkenny, Ireland
Tel +353 56 775 2175, Fax +353 56 775 1704, www.kilkennyarts.ie
NAME
DATE
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE DAY
MASTERCARD
TELEPHONE EVENING
VISA
LASER
EXPIRY DATE
CARD NUMBER
Ticket prices include booking fee.
Tickets purchased at outlets outside of Kilkenny are subject to a €2 agents fee.
Tickets purchased online and over the phone by credit card are subject to a credit card booking fee.
Tickets purchased directly from the Festival Box Office are not subject to any additional charges, unless payment is made using a credit card.
32
EVENT
DATE
TIME
NUMBER
PRICE
VALUE
Please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope with order. Cheques/POs should be made payable to
Kilkenny Arts Festival Ltd. Please read the booking information carefully and check totals to avoid delays.
Whilst every effort will be made to adhere to the advertised programme, KAF will not be responsible for any
changes that occur.
33
Kilkenny People Friends of Kilkenny
Arts Festival
People are the lifeblood of this Festival. People who
every year journey with us as we offer new and exciting
work. Whose interest, enthusiasm and commitment
match ours. People whose participation at events - on
the streets, at a concert, theatre show, reading or gig help make it special. Simply, People who relish
everything that the Festival has to offer.
These people are Kilkenny People and our Friends.
We’d like you to become one of our Kilkenny People.
Membership costs €75 only (€60 for our Student Friends
and Older Friends) or €150 for the whole family. Join us
and you’ll enjoy a host of benefits including:
• Brochure mailed out for your convenience
• Acknowledgment in Kilkenny People
Festival supplement
• Two invitations to Opening Reception
• Two complimentary Festival Club memberships
• Special ticket offers
• Friends-only reception during the Festival
•
•
•
•
Festival Friend sticker for your car
Regular Festival updates throughout the year
Special ‘Family Friend’ discount to family events
‘Family Friend’ notice of all young
people’s and family events
• ‘Family Friend’ opportunities to go
behind the scenes at a play or exhibition
If you’d like a copy of our Kilkenny People FRIENDS brochure please phone us
on 056 7763663 or email info@kilkennyarts.ie
34
Sharon Shannon
& Friends
Sharon Shannon – the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.
Acclaimed international artist and performer.
Queen of the squeezebox.
Sharon Shannon comes from Co. Clare on the West coast,
a region of Ireland where musicianship and song are
integral facets of daily life. Her love of music developed at
an early age and she began learning to play accordion,
whistle and a host of traditional instruments at the age of
six. Her musical career began in earnest while still in her
teens when she was asked by renowned Irish film director,
Jim Sheridan, to compose the music for his stage
production of Brendan Behan’s The Hostage.
1992 saw the release of Shannon’s self-titled debut album
- a vibrant cocktail of Portuguese, Swedish, Cajun, Scottish
and French/Canadian influences that quickly secured the
coveted title of biggest selling Irish traditional music
album ever released, with 120,000 copies sold.
She has retained her position as one of Ireland’s leading
female musicians, with a string of collaborations to her
names with virtuoso performers like Kirsty MacColl,
Sinead O’Connor, Donal Lunny, Philip King, Mary Custy,
Adam Clayton, Steve Wickham, Mike Scott and Nigel
Kennedy, amongst others.
For Kilkenny Arts Festival, Sharon is joined by Jim Murray,
Pauline Scanlon and Mary Shannon. Don’t miss this
final celebratory night as Sharon closes the 31st Kilkenny
Arts Festival in true Irish fashion.
Sunday 15 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 10pm
Admission €20
35
A&D
Advertising and Design Consultants
Flood Street Galway Ireland
Tel + 353 91 561 370 Fax + 353 91 561 370 eolas@a-and-d.ie
36
“Kilroy has strikingly
combined a poetic sense
of language with a
commitment to the
narrative thrills required
for good storytelling…
We have here an unusual
phenomenon: a novelist
who knows the occult
powers of descriptive
language.”
“Tobias Hill has his
own elegant, clear
and complex,
meditative way of
inventing worlds.
He is one of the
two or three most
interesting
novelists working
in Britain today.”
A. S. Byatt, Guardian
The Irish Times
Claire Kilroy in conversation
with Tobias Hill
Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature 2004 and shortlisted for the
Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award 2004, Claire Kilroy was born in Dublin in
1973 where she still lives. She was the star pupil of the prestigious Trinity
College Writing Programme and then worked for some years in television
editing. In 2002 she received an Arts Council Literature Award, and since then
has received immense critical acclaim for her debut novel, All Summer.
Wednesday 11 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 6pm
Admission €12/€10
Born in London in 1970, Tobias Hill leapt to prominence with two collections
of poetry, Year of the Dog, and Midnight in the City of Clocks
(“impressively controlled”). Since then Hill has won over 100 awards for his
work. His collection of short stories, Skin, first published to considerable
acclaim in June 1997, won the 1998 Macmillan/Pen Award and was runner-up
for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 1998. Hill’s first novel,
Underground, was published by Faber in April 1999 and in its new format in
April 2000, and won an Arts Council Writers’ Award and a Betty Trask Award.
Hill was rock critic for the Sunday Telegraph and is a regular reviewer for the
paper. His latest novel, The Cryptographer, was published in August 2003.
37
“Joyce, O’Flaherty,
Brian Moore, John
McGahern, a fistful
of O’Briens. This is a
succulent Who’s Who
of Irish Writing, and
Dermot Bolger is of
the same ilk… an
exceptional literary
gift.”
“One of the very
finest contemporary
writers.’”
Alan Warner
“A writer of massive
range and
impressive
innovation.”
Eoin McNamee
The Independent
Dermot Bolger in conversation
with Sean O’Reilly
Born in Dublin in 1959, Bolger’s eight novels include The Woman’s
Daughter, The Journey Home, Father’s Music, Temptation and The
Valparaiso Voyage. A poet and playwright, Dermot Bolger has been
Playwright in Association with The Abbey Theatre, Writer Fellow in Trinity
College, Dublin, and in 2002 received the inaugural Hennessy Irish Literature
Hall of Fame Award. Bolger is an energetic champion of new Irish writers as
founder-publisher of Raven Arts Press, which he ran until 1992, when he
co-founded New Island Books.
Born in Derry in 1969, Sean O’Reilly is the acclaimed author of the short
story collection Curfew, and the novel Love and Sleep, recently named by
the Irish Times as one of the Top 50 Irish novels. He lives in Ireland. His second
book, The Swing of Things serves as a ringing confirmation of O’Reilly’s
standing as one of the most powerful and relevant writers at work today.
38
Thursday 12 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 6pm
Admission €12/€10
Brian Keenan
“The scope and grandeur of his
reflections is supported by the concrete
detail of his narrative. It is a moving and
remarkable triumph”
Sebastian Faulks, Independent on Sunday
“From this horror has come something
wonderful. An Evil Cradling is a great
book… With [its] publication… Brian
Keenan is not letting the world forget.
This is a mighty achievement by a
magnificent writer.”
Frank McGuinness, The Irish Times
Brian Keenan was born in Belfast in 1950. He went to
Beirut in 1985 for a change of scene from his native
Belfast. He became headline news when he was
kidnapped by fundamentalist Shi’ite militiamen and
held in the suburbs of Beirut for the next four and a
half years. For much of that time he was shut off from
all news and contact with anyone other than his
jailers and, later, his fellow hostages, amongst them
John McCarthy.
Keenan’s book, An Evil Cradling, is his account of
being held hostage. Published in 1992 the book has
recently been made into a film, entitled Blind Flight
starring Ian Hart and Linus Roache.
Saturday 14 August
Kilbride Suite,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 4pm
Admission €12/€10
39
Meet the Artists at the Hibernian
This year the Festival offers you, the audience, the chance to meet some of
the artists. Ask questions, hear them talk about their work, and enjoy
chatting to some of the Festival’s extraordinary visiting artists in the informal
setting of the upstairs bar at Morrisson’s during the Festival.
Pat Keck - Puppets, Ghosts, and Zombies.
Monday 9 August
David Bolger, CoisCéim, talks about his work and his
latest two site-specific pieces.
Tuesday 10 August
Muriel Ramones and the cast of The Memory of Water.
Wednesday 11 August
Shane Cullen talks about The Agreement, his
influences, and the (artistic) politics of the work.
Thursday 12 August
Daniel Figgis in conversation.
Friday 13 August
Jo Mangan & Tom Swift, The Performance Corporation,
talk about their work, and Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment.
Saturday 14 August
Upstairs bar at Morrisson’s,
Ormonde Street, 4pm daily
Admission Free
40
“There is no such thing as a
conflict that can’t be ended.”
Former Senator
George Mitchell, 2002
Shane Cullen
The Agreement
This large scale sculptural work was commissioned by Beaconsfield (London)
to commemorate the signing of the British-Irish Peace Agreement reached in
the multi-party negotiations of 1998, known as the Good Friday or Belfast
Agreement.
Delivered to every Irish household for mass consumption, the text of this
public document is of celebrated ambiguity. Cullen’s piece lays out the text
and facilitates a live encounter between Politics and Art, whilst presenting a
neutral space in which to consider the seemingly irreconcilable.
Having toured to Dublin, Derry, Belfast, London and Portadown, the
installation of the piece in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle recontextualises the
work yet again, both within a historical context, and a contemporary one 45,362 out of a total poll of 48,651 people in the Kilkenny-Carlow area
overwhelmingly endorsed the Agreement.
“We have come to realise
that looking is not just
looking but that looking is
invested with identity…
aesthetics are politics.”
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 August
Kilkenny Castle Grounds
Admission Free
Meet the artist: See page 40.
It is the audience’s response which completes this work.
41
Irish exclusive
“It has always been my
experience that art attracts
the wrong kind of people.”
Jim Collins
Jim Collins (USA)
Watchers
A truly prolific artist in many mediums, Jim Collins’ work is in many private
collections, museums, churches and public spaces across America. Grounded in
the human form, Collins’ works also incorporate a sense of environmental
awareness, frequently using discarded industrial components in his sculpture
and creating mixed media collages.
Collins’ materials vary from wood, copper, bronze and rejected industrial bits,
to animal skins, neon, fabric and polyvinyl.
He brings his Watchers series to Kilkenny – pieces in steel and wood, some of
which have been fashioned specially for Kilkenny and in celebration of the
Ulysses anniversary. Each is unique either by material, colour, size or location.
The first Watcher was a life-sized silhouette made of polished stainless steel
on a park bench – nearly denied existence by reflecting everything around it.
There are ten Watchers around Kilkenny. Festival Watchers to be discovered.
42
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 August
Streets of Kilkenny
Irish exclusive
Pat Keck (USA)
Puppets, Ghosts, and Zombies:
The Sculpture of Pat Keck
A retrospective exhibition featuring works by one of
America’s most fascinating yet under-recognised
sculptors. Since the late 1970s, Pat Keck (from Andover,
Massachusetts) has created painted wood figurative
sculptures, many of them mechanical and interactive.
Pat Keck’s characteristic style is based on an
idiosyncratic abstraction of the human face and figure:
frontal and symmetrical, with highly finished and
brightly-coloured surfaces, and an anatomical
articulation more mechanical than organic. The figures
are gorgeously crafted, and each detail - from the wood
joinery, to the clothing, to the moving parts - is designed
and fabricated by the artist herself.
Keck’s imaginative world is influenced by many sources
that point roughly in the same direction. She is
interested in folk and vernacular arts, especially those
associated with carnivals, fairs, and the circus, as well as
visual elements of other performing arts, most notably
vaudeville and popular music of the 1970s and 1980s
(Glam Rock, Punk, and New Wave Music).
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 August
Butler House, Patrick Street
Admission Free
Meet the artist: See page 40.
43
Alan Phelan
Gordon-Bennett
We all know the expression, but do we know its origins? Gordon-Bennett
was a notorious playboy and newspaper tycoon from the late 19th century.
The works in this exhibition take several historical references and
connections and reshape them into a new dynamic across a range of
objects, images and situations. The various elements explore ideas
surrounding popular myth and celebrity routed through language.
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 August
Grennan Mill, Thomastown
Admission Free
Phelan’s practice is concerned with relational aspects of photography,
sculpture, installation and social interaction.
This new body of work consists of several sculptures, photographs and
drawings. They explore aspects of representation and media manipulation,
connected across a biographical narrative. Gordon-Bennett sponsored
sporting events to create media spectacles that were covered by his
newspaper, The New York Herald. These works reverse this process by
creating a series of spectacles that manipulate or misrepresent his life. They
are not so much memorials to Gordon-Bennett’s extravagant lifestyle, but
starting points for a conversation about how social events and perceptions
are constructed and remembered.
A display of modified cars, commonly known as ‘boy racers’, is included in
the exhibition. These young contemporary car enthusiasts will take the place
of the original twelve drivers from the 1903 Gordon-Bennett Race in Co.
Kildare and compete for prizes.
44
Baron Pierre de Caters approaches
the grandstand at Ballyshannon
during the 1903 “Gordon Bennett
Cup Road Race”. Photograph
courtesy of the Gordon-Bennett Race
Lúghaidh
Ó Braonain
Circle 1 and Scribe
Add your own graffiti and see the results.
Lúghaidh Ó Braonain invites you to create his next piece of work. Entirely
originated in Kilkenny, you are invited to leave your graffiti mark on a window
in the city centre. Through a shop window performance, this graffiti will then be
inscribed onto an acrylic sheet. With the aid of the latest materials and light
effects, this will then be formed into the final piece that closes the circle in Ó
Braonain’s monumental light sculpture.
Friday 6 - Sunday 15 August
City Centre & (a few days later)
Grennan Mill, Thomastown
Admission Free
Drawing on the drama of the megalithic circle setting, but dealing with
contemporary issues of politics and youth culture, 2-3m high perspex tubes,
illuminated from above, will create a modern mythic space where the banalities
of contemporary expressions play in contrast to their oracular ancestors.
Circle is the installation. Scribe is your input.
Daniel Figgis’
Motor
This music and sound installation takes the idea of sculpture into a different
realm as a natural space is shaped and mutated by a surround-sound and
light installation with live musicians. Set in a hidden clearing in Kilfane
Gardens, this is a sculptured space with a difference. See page 24.
45
Ernesto Neto
Born in 1964 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he
currently lives and works, Ernesto Neto has
exhibited internationally with solo shows
world-wide. His work is represented in several
museum collections, among them the Centre
Pompidou, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Tate
Modern, MoCA, Carnegie Museum and the
Hirshhorn Museum.
In his installations, the choice of materials is
quite crucial. Lycra, a textile typically used for
women’s hosiery, polyamide fabrics, sand and
styrofoam produce a soft and fantastic impact,
where volume is balanced with the impression
of ethereal lightness.
For the Butler Gallery, his sculptures take into
account the specific appeal of the space along
with a perception that includes all the senses,
which will transform his exhibition into an
intense experience. His work creates an
atmosphere of intimacy in space.
Currents
An exhibition of forty new art works acquired by the Department of
Finance and Personnel, Northern Ireland and the Office of Public Works.
It is the seventh joint exhibition shared by the two Departments, and the
fourteenth in the OPW touring Art of the State exhibition series.
The exhibition comprises of works ‘currently’ being purchased by both
Departments. It features art works that have been recently acquired,
covering a wide range of styles and media to include landscape,
figurative and abstract paintings, graphics and contemporary
photography. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.
Friday 6 - Saturday 28 August
Augustinian Friary, Callan
Admission Free
46
Saturday 7 August - Sunday 17 October
Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle
Admission Free
Norwegian Contemporary Jewellery
The National Craft Gallery hosts a major exhibition of contemporary Norwegian
jewellery. This work challenges conventions and displays a sense of intimacy, a
sense of humour and above all, a sense of style.
Friday 6 August - Sunday 3 October
National Craft Gallery, Castle Yard
Admission Free
Sculpture at Kells
Sculpture at Kells 2004 features Irish and international artists working in
performance, installation and sculpture, all sited in the magnificent ten-acre
monastic ruins of Kells Priory. Participating artists include Alannah O’Kelly who will be devising a site specific performance in response to the site - Ben
Reilly and Alan Mongey from Ireland, Sharon Kallis (Canada), Ginny
Hutchison (Scotland), British sculptor Glynn Williams and Irish-based artist,
Nigel Rolfe.
Friday 6 -Sunday 15 August
Kells Priory
Admission Free
Philip Cullen
90 Days
An exhibition of drawings, painting, sculpture, photographs and sound. The work
is concerned with themes such as the oppression of time, the artist and the
Muse, the darkness and light within us all and the attempted escape from
reality. Sound work includes original improvised piano and guitar music, along
with the sounds of wind and rain and digitally constructed effects. The artist
wishes to acknowledge the importance of the audience, the desire of artists to
engage with other people and the attempt to elicit an emotional response.
Philip Cullen trained as a sculptor in the Crawford College of Art and Design.
He has long experience in working in arts education in a variety of disciplines,
and works as a freelance photojournalist.
Sunday 1 - Tuesday 31 August
Watergate Theatre Gallery
Admission Free
47
Opening - Neighbourhood Watch Stilts International
The Butterfly Collection
What could be more miraculous and memorable than the arrival of a giant
flock of butterflies? High above the crowds on stilts, these noble butterflies
offer a colourful start to the Festival. Based on British butterflies, the Swallow
Tail, the Oak Blue, the Adonis Blue and the Red Admiral – these stilt insects
will adorn the streets in celebration of the opening of the Festival. So come
along and meet these gentle butterflies – and watch out for their antennae!
Friday 6 August
Streets of Kilkenny, 1pm & 5pm
Admission Free
Photograph Colm Hogan
Closing
48
Festival Drumcircle
We did it last year, and you turned up in
force. So here we go again! Come along
and drum to your heart’s delight as part of
Kilkenny’s second Festival Drumcircle. It’s
the last Sunday of the Festival, so come
and bring ten days of Festival fever to a
resounding close with a beat to beat ‘em
all and a rhythm to rock Kilkenny!
Sunday 15 August
Kilkenny Castle Grounds, 4pm
Admission Free - If you have a
drum, bring it along and a
spare to share. If you don't there'll be plenty.
Walk the Plank
(England)
Festival favourites in 2003, Walk the Plank return by
popular demand to create a pyromusical for the
opening of Kilkenny Arts Festival 2004.
With a wealth of experience of firing to music - and
having done so at both the Sefton Summer Classics
concert and at the Gunnersbury Park outdoor classical
concert in England in 2003 - pyrotechnics designer Lucy
Carlin brings her magic to Woodstock Gardens.
The audience can expect both an exquisitely timed and
visually spectacular performance. Fireworks will be fired
alongside the Northern Chamber Orchestra
performing Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks a perfect end to this magical evening.
Walk the Plank promises an unforgettable opening to
Kilkenny Arts Festival 2004. An unmissable event for all
the family. Bring a picnic and enjoy a magical summer’s
evening in the beautiful surroundings of one of
Ireland’s best-loved gardens.
For full concert programme details, see page 11.
Saturday 7 August
Woodstock Gardens,
Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny.
Gates 6.30pm for 7.30pm concert
Ends 10pm.
Admission €20 seated/
€7.50 Standing/ €15 Family Standing
(Max 2 adults, total 4)
Buses will depart from the Parade,
Kilkenny Castle, €10 return. Tickets must be purchased
in advance from the Festival Box Office.
Corporate tables are available for a pre-concert dinner
at Mount Juliet Conrad Hotel. Please contact the Festival
office for details.
Subject to Licence at the time of going to print.
Warm clothing advised.
49
Osadia (Spain)
Have you ever dreamt of the ultimate
punk hair-style but been too afraid of your
mother to do it? What about multicoloured spiky, or goth black? Renaissance
regal or just a shocker to stun the office
on Monday morning?
Well now’s your chance!
This daring and impudent Spanish street
animation company make it all OK.
Because it’s creative and innovative hairart. Taking place entirely before a
captivated audience, you can be the centre
of the show. Climb up there, get in the
chair, and free yourself into the capable
hands of Petra Rochau and Sonia Gomez
for a daring and original hairsculpture.
Stand back in curiosity, wonder or horror,
and watch the transformation.
Whose hair dares!
Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 August
Market Cross Shopping Centre
Friday 13 & Saturday 14 August
Streets of Kilkenny
12 noon - 1.30pm &
2.30pm - 4pm daily
Admission Free
MARKET CROSS
SHOPPING CENTRE
50
“Art has gone to people’s heads”
CNN, The Art Club
“Osadia gathered crowds as they
performed free psychedelic hairdos…”
The Times
Cuban Films
This year Kilkenny Arts Festival presents the films of three of Cuba’s leading film directors. All internationally
recognised and award winners, these directors’ films are classics of their time – the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s - and depict
life in Cuba in a raw, touching, and thought-provoking light. A hidden Cuba that says much about its history and
contemporary influences, and a rare chance to see these films.
La Ultima Cena
(The Last Supper)
Directed by
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
1976, colour, 120 mins
This beautifully made film tells the
story of a slave revolt during Holy
Week on a sugar plantation in late
eighteenth-century Havana. Alea
presents a fierce indictment of
religious hypocrisy and sinks his
teeth into every historical colonial
influence, crying out for a selfdetermined Cuban identity.
Tuesday 10 August
Parade Tower, 7.30pm
Lucia
Clandestinos
This classic of Cuban cinema looks
at the life and deeds of women in
Cuban modern history from the war
of Independence in 1895 to the
Revolution of 1959. An anthology
film, this tour de force offers a
triptych of stories, employing a
different idiom and visual style for
each section. Each story is hung on
a love drama as three women, from
three different classes, grapple with
the role of women in revolution.
This classic Cuban film centers on a
love affair between two youths and
their struggle in the urban
underground movement against
dictator Fulgencio Batista in the late
1950s. Full of suspense, this
inspirational film portrays the
heroism of the Cuban youth and
their sacrifices that brought the
Revolution to fruition. Fernando
Perez, who began his film career as
assistant director to Tomás
Gutiérrez Alea and Santiago
Alvarez, stands apart from his
Cuban counterparts for his ability to
portray human dilemmas in quirky,
unpredictable ways.
Directed by
Humberto Solas
1969, B&W, 160 mins
Wednesday 11 August
Parade Tower, 7.30pm
All films have English subtitles, and are not suitable for children.
(Underground)
Directed by Fernando Perez
1987, colour, 98 mins
Friday 13 August
Parade Tower, 7.30pm
Cuban band, Asere, play what promises to be a sensational gig on Friday 13 August.
See page 25.
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Banyan Theatre Company
(Northern Ireland)
The Emperor’s
New Clothes
“A puppet version of the emperor’s
new clothes’ with deceptive simplicity
and easy, persuasive humour…
a richly colourful, gently witty and
eloquently performed piece of
theatre. Highly recommended”
Time Out, London
Two swindlers come into town
pretending to be master tailors. The
vain Emperor summons them to make
him a set of clothes the like of which
has never been seen before….
This charming and humorous
adaptation is told through puppetry,
original music and storytelling, and
will delight younger audiences with its
magical and evocative simplicity.
Saturday 7 August
Paulstown Community Hall, 11am
Augustinian Priory, Callan, 4pm
Saturday 14 August
Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, 3pm
Admission €6
This project has been part funded by
Barrow Nore Suir Rural Development
under the LEADER + Programme
52
Papyrus Theatre Company (Belgium)
The Little People of the Mist
One of those unforgettable gentle tales – a blasted heath, mysteriously cold
and quite deserted… But what’s this? There are people living here, hidden
under rocks and in little holes in the ground – small sweet people, but very
frightened people.
Monday 9 & Tuesday 10 August
City Centre (see Box Office for
details), 1pm & 4pm daily
Admission €8
And no wonder. The lake houses a dragon, and a not very happy looking
dragon at that. When the dragon and the little people finally come together
the land begins to look a bit rosier.
Tiny rod puppets and live music make this a must for everyone over 6.
Comic Trust Theatre Company (Russia)
White Side Story
Told without a word of text, using dance, mime and music, White Side Story
brings smiles and laughter to the faces of children and adults alike.
See page 10 for full details.
53
Young People’s Film
A season of the best of animated film at the Watergate Theatre including: From Darkness the locally-produced
animated film, shortlisted for an Oscar nomination – made by Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny.
Belleville
Rendezvous
Director Didier Brunner
80 mins
Recently adopted by an old
lady, Champion is not a
happy boy. He leads a very
lonely life and so the old
lady buys him everything
she can think of to make
him happy - a train set, a
dog, a TV, but none of it
works. She sees him cutting
out articles on famous
cyclists from the papers
and, inspired, she buys him
a tricycle. And how it
changes their lives!
From Darkness will also be
shown before this film
(see panel on this page).
Kirikou and
the Sorceress
Director Michel Ocelot
70 mins
The classic African folk tale
of Kirikou, a brave little
boy, the bravest in all the
world, who is not in the
least bit afraid to take on
the Sorceress. So what if
she is evil, and dangerous,
he’s Kirikou, the bravest
little boy on the planet!
He’s also very clever,
outsmarting the Sorceress
when she least expects it.
From Darkness will also be
shown before this film.
Wednesday 11 August
Tuesday 10 August
The Boy Who
Wanted to be
a Bear
Director Jannik Hastrup
75 mins
11-year-old Pablo dreams
of becoming initiated as a
bear, the chosen
representative of a village,
the one in contact with the
gods. Pablo is sent off to
work at a coffee plantation
because he is careless in
his job as a shepherd, and
his dream of becoming a
bear is shattered. But
eventually his father comes
for him. Pablo is going to
participate in the annual
pilgrimage to the God of
the Snow Mountains, so his
dream of becoming
initiated as a bear is
awakened once more.
From Darkness
Director Nora Twomey
General Cert. 10 mins
A stunning animated short
film from Kilkenny’s own
animation studio Cartoon
Saloon. Shortlisted for an
Oscar Nomination for best
animated film in 2003 and
winner of Best Animated
Film at Galway Film Fleadh,
Boston Irish Film Festival
and the Kerry Film Festival,
this is a truly beautiful
wordless depiction of the
Inuit folk-tale of a lonely
fisherman who drifts into
haunted waters in search
of food and finds more
then he bargained for.
This short film will be shown
before each main film.
From Darkness will also be
shown before this film.
All Watergate Theatre, 2pm
Admission €2.50
All films PG 10 years +
54
Thursday 12 August
This project has been part funded by
Barrow Nore Suir Rural Development
under the LEADER + Programme
Martin Waddell
Martin Waddell has twice won the Smarties
Book Prize - for Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?
and Farmer Duck - as well as the Best Books for
Babies Award for Rosie’s Babies and the Kurt
Maschler Award for The Park in the Dark. In
May of this year Waddell won the Hans Christian
Andersen Author Award. A wonderful reader as
well as storyteller, a chance to spend some time
hearing Martin Waddell read from his books for
young children must not be missed.
Wednesday 11 August
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 12 noon
Admission €5
A reading for children 5 to 9 years, and of course
anyone else who loves books.
“Kate Thompson writes with
marvellous and magical ease”
Times Educational Supplement
“(The Beguilers) is a miracle of a
book and one to be taken seriously
by any reader who expects a book to
teach, enrich, bewilder, seduce and
well, beguile.”
The Irish Times
Kate Thompson
Kate Thompson, twice winner of The Bisto Award for The Beguilers and
The Alchemist's Apprentice is one of the most exciting writers currently
writing for children. She was shortlisted again this year for Origins, the third
title in the excellent trilogy which explores genetic engineering, a trilogy that
began with Missing Link. A gifted storyteller, Kate Thompson has also
trained race horses in England and the USA, studied law in London and
travelled extensively in India.
Saturday 14 August
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, 4pm
Admission €5
A reading for young people from 10 upwards.
Both Kate and Martin will be signing copies of their books after the readings.
55
Workshops
This year, we introduce a few new elements – sure don’t we always?
Craft is the focus for many of our workshops; weaving, willow-work,
instrument-making and serious recycling are all part of the programme this
year. And we’ve gone further than ever this year too, out to Kells and
Freshford, as well as our usual haunts of Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh,
Callan, Urllingford and of course The City, with puppet performances in
Paulstown and Callan – so no excuses now, it’s practically on your doorstep.
Unless otherwise stated all workshops are for
children aged 8 years upwards.
All materials are supplied, but we do supply a
“gather list” for some of the workshops,
particularly ones that focus on recycling and found
objects. Ask at Box Office. And Wear Old Clothes!
Step into your dreams
Video animation, design and 3D performance workshop. After their
experience with Katapult, some of the young people involved in the
outreach programme share their new skills and creative talent with their
younger contemporaries. Work alongside these inspiring young people and
create your own artwork. Age 12 years upwards
Sunday 8 August
The Barn at Barnstorm Theatre
Company, Church Lane, 11am - 1pm
Admission €15
Make A Show
Karen Torley, master puppeteer of Banyan Theatre Company, and
puppetmaker extraordinary leads a five-day workshop for young people.
Write the story, make the cast, draw and build the set, sort out the music,
and by Friday you should be ready to do your own show! You know you can,
and Karen can help you.
Monday 9 - Friday 13 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
10am - 3pm daily (bring lunch,
half-hour break on the premises)
Performance for an invited audience at 2pm on
Friday – this is going to be the hottest ticket in
town, these kids won’t let just anybody in!
Weave!
The smallest of working looms, (each) set up on a table-top, get your bag of fabric out, old denims, feathers,
beautiful silks, ribbons, you name it, you can weave it. All it takes is your imagination. And just a little help from
magic weaver Krisztina Dragoman to weave a wee thing to take home with you. Ages 8 upwards
Monday 9 August
Wednesday 11 August
Friday 13 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
10am - 12am & 3pm - 5pm
Graiguenamanagh Library,
11am - 1pm
Mullins Mill, Kells,
11am - 1pm
Tuesday 10 August
Thursday 12 August
Saturday 14 August
Freshford: 20/20 Building,
Freshford, 11am - 1pm
Loughboy Library,
11am - 1pm
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
2pm - 4pm
Adult and Children workshop –
Bring Your Favourite Grown-Up!
For some exciting new plays for children, please see page 61.
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Scrap Sculpture workshop - Happiness is a Load of Rubbish!
Led by Gerry Foran aka Professor Phullbinn - Master Recycologist
Create sculptural pieces in a weird and wacky way. Come and see what you
can do with cereal boxes, cardboard inner tubes, potato sacks, baling twine,
feathers, newspapers, leaves, twigs, egg cartons, wire coat hangers... you
name it! Let your imagination run riot - design your own wedding hat, or a
cowboy’s Stetson!
Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
10am - 12pm (2 day workshop)
Percussion Make and Do
Get recycling! Only this time, make a musical instrument with recycled
materials and make music! You’ll explore the music and rhythms of other
countries – Irish Traditional, Africa, India, Native America… Move to the music,
write your own songs, and discover the fun and thrill of sounds and rhythms,
with recycling thrown in! Absolutely No Musical Experience Necessary.
Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 August
Willow-weaving
Wednesday 11 August
Heike Kahle and Klaus Hartmann return to the Festival this year, following
their hugely successful Willow Weaving workshops last year. This year they
will give workshops in the county, as well as in the city, and once again
young people will have an opportunity to learn this ancient craft, one which
has been alive in Ireland for many centuries, and still flourishes in many
parts of the country today.
The Hall, Kells, 3pm - 5pm
Thursday 12 & Friday 13 August
Grennan Mill, Thomastown,
11am - 1pm
(2 day workshops)
Grennan Mill, Thomastown,
10am - 12pm & Castlecomer Library,
2pm - 4pm
Thursday 12 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
10am - 12pm & 2pm - 4pm
Friday 13 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
10am - 12pm
Saturday 14 August
Urlingford Library, 11am - 1pm
Paint It!
Let’s just enjoy painting!
Let’s not worry!
Let’s not think!
Let’s just… PAINT!!
This project has been part funded by
Barrow Nore Suir Rural Development
under the LEADER + Programme
No longer do you have to worry about painting a
masterpiece! This workshop is all about freeing up
those arms, leaving those worries at home, painting
for pure enjoyment. This two hour workshop will
give you a taste of community painting, rhythm
games, singing and above all, laughing!!
Saturday 14 August
Kilkenny City School, New Street,
11am & 1pm, 3pm & 5pm
Adult and Children workshop –
Bring Your Favourite Grown-Up!
Workshop costs:
1-day €15 (2 hours)
2-day €25 (2 x 2 hours)
5-day €75 (5 x 4 hours)
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Verge
In recognition of the extraordinary number of talented local artists, this year Kilkenny Arts Festival, in partnership
with Kilkenny County Council Arts Office, invited proposals from local artists for inclusion in this programme.
Proposals were invited from artists working in a range of media, and specifically from those who considered
themselves as emerging artists. Kilkenny Arts Festival is proud to include the following 12 local artists in the
2004 programme. All exhibitions are admission free and run from 6th - 15th August, unless otherwise stated.
Group Show: Endangered
Jean Conroy, Ailis Phelan, Richard Coghlan,
Brigid Teehan, Steven Aylin and David Beattie
Endangered is a group exhibition using various media. The work draws
influence from the experience of a residency, initiated by Kilkenny
County Council Arts Office, and based on the former Chadwick’s site in
Kilkenny. This is the first supported artists’ studio based in Kilkenny.
(Exhibition includes the work of other artists.)
Friday 6 August - Friday 17 September
County Hall and 72 John Street, 9am - 1pm & 2pm - 5pm
Home: Debra Bowden
“This exhibition is a personal celebration of returning home after five years
away. It has always been important for me to base the subject matter of my
work on my immediate environment, and the views from the front window
of my house and the back window of my studio have been the most
significant influence in my work.”
Berkeley Gallery, Thomastown
Shoes with News: Maria Casey
“A combination of being in a shop, and the ‘footwork’ of the journalists
and photographers who cover such a large county, led me to the idea to
make shoes with news. Shoes can indicate a person’s job, social life, sport
and personal taste.”
“fifteen”, Sabo Shoes & Bags, Caza Choo & Grahams Shoe Shop
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Lucy McKenna
“I like to experiment with materials and see how they work together. In this collection I
have mixed acrylics with handmade papers, threads, and sand among other materials.
Texture, form and colour are as important as each other in my work, which is inspired by
my Kilkenny surroundings. These paintings are particularly energetic and colourful.”
Langton’s, John Street
Solstice: Jimmy Meaney
“Working with whatever type of wood he can find, from bog oak thousands of years old
to discarded pieces of mahogany, Meaney sees ‘different things in different pieces. I get
my inspiration from the shape and try to bring out what’s already there, show it,
highlight it, rather than force something that’s not there’.”
Kilkenny Castle Park
Collette O’Brien
“My chosen theme for this exhibition is Roman and Greek mythology, Titans, Trojans,
lovers in the traditional style. Also metal and stone sculptures, combined with mosaic
granite and marble.” (Exhibition includes the work of another artist)
Arran Suite, Kilkenny River Court Hotel
Universal Map: Ailis Phelan
“The ‘Universal Map’, is available in various venues around the city. This is a unique
map in that it doesn’t refer to your specific geographical location, but rather, is a
reminder of your physical location in a place and at that point in time. It is a study of
tourist behaviour, the need to define geographical position, and how difficult this is
without having any sense of the area, street names, landmarks etc.”
Siân Price
“Having relocated from Manchester to Co Kilkenny just over nine months ago, the
county has had a huge influence on me and my work. The images in the exhibition are
colourful, yet I hope to capture an eerie quality that reflects the aura around nature
and the self.”
Castlecomer Library
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Collectors’ Corner
Collect@NCG
For the discerning collector, the Crafts Council of
Ireland and National Craft Gallery are pleased to
present Collect@NCG.
Curator Brian Kennedy has selected work by leading
applied artists from Ireland and Norway. Stunning
work in glass, textiles, wood, metal and ceramics.
These artists already feature in some of the world’s
most prestigious public collections. Visit
Collect@NCG and open your eyes to the beauty of
contemporary craft. Collect@NCG is one of a series
of exhibitions that will travel to Dublin, London,
Chicago and Philadelphia.
And fresh from New York’s Museum of Arts and
Design, Ireland’s top contemporary jewellers will be
showing their work. Our 13 artists stole the show at
LOOT! 2004. This is the first opportunity to see that
work in Ireland.
There’s more jewellery downstairs in the National
Craft Gallery, where Contemporary Norwegian
Jewellery runs until October 3.
Friday 13 - Sunday 15 August
Upstairs at the National Craft Gallery, 6pm
Admission Free
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“Who Killed Granny?”
Barnstorm presents New Plays for Young Audiences
Who’s writing for children in Ireland today? How do we excite children about
theatre? What does the future hold for theatre in Ireland if we don’t nurture
our young audiences?
Monday 9 & Thursday 12 August
Led by well-known playwright Ken Bourke (Wild Harvest, The Hunt for Red
Willie, The Ballad of Rory Roe) and Barnstorm’s Artistic Director Philip
Hardy, Barnstorm Theatre Company’s New Plays project has been working with
several writers over the last seven months focusing on the specific demands of
writing for children and young audiences in Ireland today.
Tuesday 10 August
Wednesday 11 August
The plays, which include Who Killed Granny? by John Connolly, will be read,
rather than performed, by an ensemble of actors, followed by a discussion of
the play between playwright and audience. Come and tell us what you think…
Parade Tower,
Kilkenny Castle, 3pm & 4.30pm
The Garden Room,
Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel,
3pm & 4.30pm
Admission €5 per day (i.e. for two
readings), season ticket for all four
days €15.00
Plays range in suitability from 6 yrs to older
teens - please check details of specific readings
with the Box Office.
Plays on Words - What’s so special about Irish theatre?
Open discussion
To wrap up the New Plays for Young Audiences programme, on Friday
August 13th there will be an open discussion (chair to be confirmed), with
a panel of well-known, leading theatre practitioners. The discussion will
explore creating theatre in a changing Ireland, in particular the writer’s
role in the process. All welcome.
Friday 13 August
Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, 4pm
Admission Free
Barnstorm is Ireland’s leading producer of theatre for children and young audiences whose
work is experienced by more than 30,000 young people annually. Barnstorm is funded by the
Arts Council and Kilkenny County Council.
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Funding Bodies
The
British
Council
Programme Sponsors
Media Partners
General Sponsors
Hotel Sponsors
THE IRISH TIMES
FLOWERS
BY LUCY
POE KIELY
HOGAN
MARKET CROSS
SHOPPING CENTRE
The KK Ormonde Hotel is the official accommodation provider to Kilkenny Arts Festival.
Festival volunteers supported by National Irish Bank.
Stena Line is the official maritime transporter for the Festival.
62
Kilkenny City
and County Map
Ballyragget
CASTLECOMER
FRESHFORD
URLINGFORD
PAULSTOWN
Tullaroan
KILKENNY
Goresbridge
Gowran
Kilmanagh
Bennettsbridge
CALLAN
KELLS
GRAIGUENAMANAGH
THOMASTOWN
INISTIOGE
(Woodstock)
Stoneyford
Knocktopher
Ballyhale
New Ross
JO
HN
St. John’s Church
Slieverue
Mooncoin
ST
To
Lo
ug
hb
oy
Mullinavat
Carrick-on-Suir
Glenmore
Langton’s
Castle
Grounds
Kilkenny Castle
The Parade Tower
AN
ER
KI
H ST
HIG
ST
NT
ME
LIA
PAR
Rothe House
oy
ughb
To Lo
OR
MO
ND
ES
T
Venue Bar
Kilkenny
Ormonde Hotel
Market Cross
Shopping Centre
Kilkenny
City School
W
NE
ST
AN
DE
ST
Barnstorm
Theatre
Coda Club
Butler House
Hibernian Hotel
ST
Watergate
Theatre & Gallery
Castle Yard
ST
ICK
PATR
RE
R NO
RIVE
Greens Bridge
TH
EP
AR
AD
E
Kilkenny
River Court
Hotel
St. Canice’s Cathedral
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Day-by-day Main Programme
• Opening • Theatre • Classical Music • Jazz & World Music • Irish Traditional Music
• Literature • Visual Art • Meet the Artists • Street • Movies • Umbrella Events
Friday 6 August
Tuesday 10 August
Dream City
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
The Memory of Water
Turlitawa & Les Manouches
The Butterfly Collection
The Memory of Water
Chamber Made - Room 409
Callino Quartet
Trans-Fusion residency
Shooglenifty
Cuban Film
New Plays for Young Audiences
3
6
7
18
48
Saturday 7 August
Opening - Fireworks Concert
Northern Chamber Orchestra
Walk the Plank
Dream City
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
The Memory of Water
Chamber Made - Room 409
Turlitawa & Les Manouches
Boi Akih
5, 21
6
7
9
20
Monday 9 August
The Memory of Water
Chamber Made - Room 409
Colin Currie
Camille O’Sullivan
New Plays for Young Audiences
7
9
13
14
23
51
61
Wednesday 11 August
5
5, 11
5, 49
3
6
7
9
18
19
Sunday 8 August
Woodstock 2004
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
The Memory of Water
Chamber Made - Room 409
Andy Sheppard &
Joanna McGregor
page
7
9
12
22
61
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
6
The Memory of Water
7
Chamber Made - Room 409
9
Swept
9
Callino Quartet
13
Trans-Fusion residency
14
Daniel Figgis’ Motor
24, 45
Liam O’Flynn &
The Piper’s Call Band
28
Claire Kilroy in conversation
with Tobias Hill
37
Osadia
50
Cuban Film
51
New Plays for Young Audiences 61
Thursday 12 August
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
6
The Memory of Water
7
Swept
9
Trans-Fusion Concert 1
14
Daniel Figgis’ Motor
24, 45
Michael McGoldrick Quartet
29
Dermot Bolger in conversation
with Sean O’Reilly
38
Osadia
50
New Plays for Young Audiences 61
Friday 13 August
page
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
6
Swept
9
White Side Story
10, 53
Trans-Fusion Concert 2
15
Steven Isserlis Concert 1
16
Daniel Figgis’ Motor
24, 45
Asere
25
Osadia
50
Cuban Film
51
New Plays for Young Audiences 61
Saturday 14 August
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
Swept
White Side Story
Trans-Fusion Concert 3
Trans-Fusion Concert 4
Daniel Figgis’ Motor
DJ Steve
New Cool Collective
Brian Keenan
Osadia
6
9
10, 53
15
15
24, 45
26
27
39
50
Sunday 15 August
Dr. Ledbetter’s Experiment
6
Swept
9
White Side Story
10, 53
Steven Isserlis Concert 2
16
Kíla
30
Sharon Shannon & Friends
35
Closing - Festival Drumcircle
48
Running throughout the Festival
Shane Cullen
Jim Collins
Pat Keck
Alan Phelan
Lúghaidh Ó Braonain
64
41
42
43
44
45
Ernesto Neto
Currents
Norwegian Contemporary
Jewellery
Sculpture at Kells
46
46
47
47
Philip Cullen
Verge
Collectors’ Corner
Meet the Artists
47
58
60
40
Day-by-day Young People’s Programme
• Young People’s Theatre, Film, Readings and Workshops
Saturday 7 August
Dream City
The Emperor’s New Clothes
page
3
52
Sunday 8 August
Workshop
Step Into Your Dreams
56
Monday 9 August
The Little People of the Mist
53
Workshops
Make A Show
Weave!
56
56
New Plays for Young Audiences
61
Thursday 12 August
page
Young People’s Film
54
Workshops
Make A Show
Weave!
Percussion
Willow-weaving
56
56
57
57
New Plays for Young Audiences
61
Friday 13 August
Tuesday 10 August
White Side Story
10, 53
Workshops
Make A Show
Weave!
Percussion
Willow-weaving
56
56
57
57
New Plays for Young Audiences
61
The Little People of the Mist
Young People’s Film
53
54
Workshops
Make A Show
Weave!
Scrap Sculpture workshop
56
56
57
New Plays for Young Audiences
61
White Side Story
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Kate Thompson
Martin Waddell
Young People’s Film
55
54
Workshops
Make A Show
Weave!
Scrap Sculpture workshop
Percussion
Willow-weaving
56
56
57
57
57
Workshops
Weave!
Willow-weaving
Paint It!
New Plays for Young Audiences
61
Wednesday 11 August
Saturday 14 August
10, 53
52
55
56
57
57
Sunday 15 August
White Side Story
Closing - Festival Drumcircle
10, 53
48
65
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