For 48 years our funders and partners have played an invaluable role in helping Kilkenny Arts Festival to flourish. We greatly appreciate their continuing support!
PRINCIPAL FUNDER
PUBLIC FUNDERS
SPECIAL EVENT PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNERS
CULTURAL PARTNERS
Conductor
Fergus Sheil
Director
Conall Morrison
Set, Lighting & Video Designer
Paul Keogan
Costume Designer
Catherine Fay
Choreographer/Movement Director
Liz Roche
Assistant Conductor
Elaine Kelly
Assistant Director/Chorus Director
Elaine Kelly
Répétiteur
Aoife O’Sullivan
Irish National Opera Chorus
Irish National Opera Orchestra
The Castle Yard forms a magnificent setting for Irish National Opera’s fully staged performance of Richard Strauss’ Elektra, based on the famous Greek myth. Acclaimed soprano Giselle Allen stars in the title role of this powerful opera about a family of killers living out the consequences of a divine curse.
Fully staged outdoor performance with pre-recorded orchestra. Sung in German with English surtitles.
Please note: this is an outdoor performance. Please dress for the weather. No umbrellas allowed.
Duration 1 hr 40 mins approx. (without interval)
CASTLE YARD THURS
PAN PAN AND KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL IN ASSOCIATION WITH WATERGATE THEATRE PRESENT
WHAT IS THE WORD is an audio cinematic experience presenting a curated collection of Samuel Beckett poems. Featuring some of Ireland’s leading actors, WHAT IS THE WORD offers an immersive sensory journey into some of Beckett’s most rarely performed works.
A Pan Pan production in collaboration with Cork Midsummer Festival, Poetry Ireland, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Irish Film Institute and the Trinity Centre for Beckett Studies.
Supported by the Arts Council and Dublin City Council.
Duration 63 mins approx.
WATERGATE THEATRE
WED 11 & FRI 13 AUGUST 6PM & 9PM
SAT 14 AUGUST 3PM & 6PM, €10
DEIRDRE GRIBBIN, EOIN HEANEY & CRASH ENSEMBLE
Invitation to a Journey is a new film installation inspired by the inimitable Eileen Gray. Directed by Eoin Heaney and accompanied by a pre-existing score composed by Deirdre Gribbin and performed by Crash Ensemble, Invitation to a Journey is an evocative exploration of the life and work of one of Ireland’s greatest designers.
DIGITAL GALLERY AT THE BUTLER GALLERY SAT 7 - WED 11 AUGUST 10AM-5PM (SUN 8 AUGUST 11AM-5PM)
[Reactions] is a breathtaking series of film installations presenting brand new works from nine of Ireland’s most innovative composers, performed by the country’s foremost new music ensemble and accompanied by stunning images from Crash’s resident filmmaker Laura Sheeran.
Duration 63 mins approx.
DIGITAL GALLERY AT THE BUTLER GALLERY
FRI 13 - SUN 15 AUGUST
FRI 13 & SAT 14 AUGUST
One of the highlights of last year’s Festival returns this year, offering bespoke mini-concerts for individuals and family units in locations around the city.
For two days, musicians participating in the Festival will be embedded around the city, playing a series of intimate concerts for small groups. These unique encounters are always a surprise: you never know who will be performing until you enter the room!
Duration 20 mins approx.
Please note: places are limited. To register your interest for your household group or pod, please complete the booking form. A refundable deposit of €10 per booking is required on booking.
VARIOUS VENUES
FRI 13 & SAT 14 AUGUST TIME TBC FREE BUT TICKETED
PRESENTED BY KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE IRISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, WITH SUPPORT FROM FORAS NA GAEILGE
Award-winning singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh joins the Irish Chamber Orchestra for this exciting new project that pairs her peerless vocals with fresh orchestral arrangements of sean nós songs by six leading composers. Co-commissioned by Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Roisin Reimagined explores the connections between classical and traditional music, and reimagines these timeless songs for a new era.
AVAILABLE FROM FRI 13 AUGUST FOR A LIMITED PERIOD TICKETS TBC
The Festival’s ever-popular Secret Music Series returns with a stellar line-up of musicians filming a series of short pop-up concerts in some of the city’s most iconic spaces. Recordings of their performances will be released online at regular intervals throughout the Festival.
NEW FILM WILL BE RELEASED ON: FRI 6, SUN 8, TUES 10, THURS 12, SAT 14 & SUN 15
Casey has no vocal peer
KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WATERGATE THEATRE AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE EVERYMAN PRESENTS
Director Sophie Motley
Performer
Karan Casey
Lighting Design
Sarah Jane Shiels
Sound Design
Niall Vallely and Karan Casey
Originally developed with Olwen Fouéré
Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval)
Folk and traditional music legend Karan Casey is walking the corridors of her mind, looking for her voice in this brand-new show that’s part song-poem, part music performance. Exploring grief, airports, motherhood and the unrealistic expectations of a female muse, I Walked into my Head is a moving celebration of life as a singer.
Presented in association with Solstice Arts Centre
Cast
Cal Fionn Foley
Jude Juliette Crosbie
Lar Aoife Kelly
Company
Writer/Composer
Fionn Foley
Director
Ronan Phelan
Set & Lighting Design
Zia Bergin Holly
Costume Design
Jack Scullion
Production Manager
Rob Furey
BREDA CASHE PRODUCTIONS?
Produced by
Breda Cashe Productions
Composed by
Ellen Cranitch
Libretto
Tom Swift
Direction
Jo Mangan
Set Design
Niamh Lunny/Kevin McFadden
Costume Design
Niamh Lunny
Lighting Design
Kevin McFadden
WATERGATE THEATRE
SUN 15 AUGUST TIME TBC
Based on James Joyce’s famous short story, this acclaimed musical drama takes you on a journey through life, love and death.
Composer Ellen Cranitch and playwright
Tom Swift tapped into the musical references in the original story, creating an evocative and moving adaptation that has enjoyed several successful revivals, most recently at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. This film of the theatrical production beautifully captures the performances of the talented cast.
enigmatic and beautiful in equal measure … so captivating that you would relish a further hour
THE IRISH EXAMINER
Company Stage Manager
Cian Mulhall
Stage Manager
Zoe Reynolds
Sound Engineer
John Norton
2047. Civilisation is on the brink of collapse when a miracle tonic is discovered. Charged with spreading the good news, the Calibri Triplet Family Band embarks on its most challenging tour to date. Rough Magic presents this blisteringly satirical new musical play for the times we live in.
Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval)
CATHEDRAL ORCHARD
SUN 8 - WED- 11 AUGUST
SUN 8 & MON 9 AUGUST 7.30PM, TUES 10 AUGUST 2.30PM & 7.30PM, WED 11 AUGUST 2.30PM, €25
Please note: this is an outdoor performance. Please dress for the weather. No umbrellas allowed.
FIONN FOLEY AND ROUGH MAGIC
Celebrated portrait artist Blaise Smith continues his fascinating Village People project, capturing fellow residents of Dungarvan, Co. Kilkenny. Live-streamed throughout the Festival, Village People offers viewers a window on a master at work. Join Blaise online every day to track the progress of his project and watch his village come to life on canvas.
the photographic artist of the moment
THE GUARDIAN as a figurative artist, Blaise Smith is … in a class of his own SUNDAY TIMES
harrowing yet spellbinding THE EVENING STANDARD
The award-winning Kilkenny-born artist Richard Mosse documents the tragedies of our times, from the Balkans to the US-Mexico border. Filmed in six countries across three continents, Incoming is a timely response to the migration crisis in the Mediterranean that asks urgent questions about the ways in which the West tends to think, or not think, about refugees.
Incoming is presented as part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh, a nationwide, ten-day season of arts experiences brought to you by the Arts Council.
BUTLER GALLERY, EVANS’ HOME, KILKENNY +353 56 776 1106, WWW.BUTLERGALLERY.COM
11 JUNE - 29 AUGUST 2021
TUES, WED, FRI, SAT 10AM-5PM, THURS 10AM-8PM, SUN 11AM-5PM
FREE BUT TICKETED. MORE INFORMATION ON TICKETING AVAILABLE PENDING PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDANCE. FOR UPDATES SEE BUTLERGALLERY.IE
DESIGN & CRAFTS COUNCIL IRELAND PRESENTS
KILKENNY CASTLE PARK
THURS 22 JULY - WED 6 OCTOBER 2021 PARK OPENING HOURS
Irish Craft Heroes is a major outdoor exhibition celebrating makers whose work has changed the way we look at the world. The exhibition charts the evolution of the craft and design sector in Ireland and pays homage to 50 makers whose work has contributed to the rich tapestry of craft and design practice in Ireland.
SPARSILE IN ASSOCIATION WITH ONCE OFF PRODUCTIONS AND KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENT
Concept, Design & Direction
Peter Power Composers
Peter Power & Michael Gallen
Video Design
David Mathúna
Lighting Design
Sarah Jane Shiels
Sculptural Design Realisation
David O’Brien & Sophie Gough Producers
DESIGN & CRAFTS COUNCIL IRELAND PRESENTS
ERA showcases the craftsmanship honed by students during the intensive two-year DCCI Jewellery & Goldsmithing programme. Taking inspiration from everything from delicate natural forms to bold geometry, and from personal narratives to contemporary refined design, each maker demonstrates their own signature style.
NATIONAL DESIGN & CRAFT GALLERY, KILKENNY +353 56 7796147, WWW.NDCG.IE
THURS 22 JULY - SAT 9 OCTOBER 2021
TUES - SAT 10AM-5.30PM
Join a virtual Meet the Makers as the 12 ERA exhibitors speak about their inspirations, design ideas and processes.
TUES 10 AUGUST 2PM
TO BOOK GO TO XXXX
Visual artist, composer and sound designer Peter Power (fLux) marks St Francis Abbey’s latest transformation with a multi-media live theatre installation on the grounds of this iconic site.
Text by Peter Power & the Health and Safety Authority
Sparsile in association with Kilkenny Arts Festival and Once Off Productions
ST FRANCIS ABBEY FRI 13 - SUN 15 AUGUST OPENING TIMES TBC TICKETS ON SALE FROM FRI 16 JULY
Roisin McCabe Niamh BarryKILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL ARTS OFFICE PRESENTS
Curated by Aoife Banks as part of their Emerging Curator in Residence Programme 2021
Designed to be viewed through the gallery windows, Shiftings explores the untold stories of Ireland’s colonial past, bringing alternative histories and othered voices to the fore. Focusing on artists whose work teases out hidden narratives, Shiftings provides new lenses with which to view our world.
Together Now is an exhibition of painting, drawing, installation and sculpture by artists from the Kilkenny Collective for Arts Talent (KCAT) in Callan, and artists from very different practice contexts from all over Ireland, who have been working together in residencies and other forms of engagement since 2014.
Kilkenny’s new Abbey Quarter skatepark provides the canvas for Carnival of Shadows, an atmospheric blend of music and film projection by the award-winning Dumbworld. Writer-director John McIlduff and composer Brian Irvine have crafted a unique multi-sensory experience that explores the ways in which history is made, lost and rediscovered.
The installation is free, but in line with current public health restrictions tickets must be booked in advance.
Each ticket holder will be provided with a pair of sanitised headphones. €10 refundable headphones deposit to be paid in advance.
Please note: this is an outdoor performance. Please dress for the weather. No umbrellas allowed.
Festival stalwarts Crash Ensemble return to Kilkenny to perform this brilliant work of ecstatic intensity from Julius Eastman, the black, queer composer, pianist, conductor, choreographer and vocalist who took the classical music world by storm in the 1970s. Created from just five pages of handwritten sketches, Femenine is a groundbreaking work full of surprise and optimism.
Presented by Kilkenny Arts Festival in partnership with Crash Ensemble, in association with Watergate Theatre.
Supported by the Arts Council and Dublin City Council.
WATERGATE THEATRE
THURS 12 AUGUST 11PM, €20
nothing can prepare you for the ecstatic ritual as it actually unfolds GRAMOPHONE ON JULIUS EASTMAN’S FEMENINE
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROUGH MAGIC IN ASSOCIATION WITH WATERGATE THEATRE
by Mike McCormack in an adaptation by Michael West
Blurb
Duration 90 mins approx.
hauntingly sad, but also frequently very funny LITERARY REVIEW ON SOLAR BONES
Director Lynne Parker
Cast Stanley Townsend
Set & Lighting Design
Zia Bergin-Holly
Sound Design
Denis Clohessy
Costume Design
Kathy Strachan
AVAILABLE TO VIEW
In these most strange and challenging times for us all it’s difficult to know what is ahead and how we chart pathways forward. This is as true of how we experience the arts as all other aspects of our lives: how we work, how we socialise, how we learn, how we travel, how we experience the world around us. In this crisis, we all remain most urgently concerned with looking after the health and well-being of our families, our friends and our communities.
Since we cancelled the original Festival we’ve set about making a programme available in a way that would allow you to engage, or re-engage, with the arts and creative world in as many different and safe ways as possible. As we adjust to new daily realities and change our behaviours and habits to keep each other safe, together with artists and our partners we offer you a programme to enjoy online, in exhibitions and installations across the city, and at live performances. These performances have been made carefully within all public health guidelines. Those who choose to attend these live performances will go through a new process of booking, contact tracing, understanding and agreeing to all measures in place such as wearing face masks throughout and adhering to physical distancing measures. So, while we’ll still be apart, we’ll also be together with artists and transported by their work. We know that our audience will work with us and play their part in keeping everyone safe.
In this most unique of years, we want to thank the people and organisations that have helped us to make Kilkenny Arts Festival X possible: Maureen Kennelly, Liz Meaney, Karl Wallace, the Festivals team and all at the Arts Council; Colette Byrne, Mary Mulholland, Mary Butler and all at Kilkenny County Council; Gillian Binchy, Colin Hindle and all at Fáilte Ireland; Dean David McDonnell, Liz Keyes, Vivien
Thompson and all at St Canice’s Cathedral; Mary Heffernan, Anne Teehan, Jacki Jordan, Aisling Doyle and all at the OPW/ Kilkenny Castle; Virginia Teehan, Ger Croke and all at the Heritage Council; Trish Duffe, Mary Pyke and all at Rothe House; Ciarán Conroy and all at Butler House.
More than ever this year we thank our Sponsors, Local Hospitality & Business partners and wonderful Friends of the Festival for supporting us for so many, many years.
Huge thanks to our creative and artistic partners and colleagues in making this programme: Lynne, Selina, Gemma and all at Rough Magic; Gerry, Cathriona, Katherine and all at ICO; Kate, Neva and all at Crash Ensemble; Luke and Gwen; Mick, Sarah, Amelia and Pat Moore, RIP; Anna, Ailis, Rebecca, Steve and all at the Butler Gallery; Paul, Colette and Suzanne and all at OCI; Susan, Louise and all at DCCI and NDCG; Joanna, Gerry, Cara, Emma and all at the Watergate Theatre; Laoise, Ben, Cormac and Piaras.
We give heartfelt thanks to the artists that were due to perform at Kilkenny Arts Festival 2020 for working with us to reimagine or postpone projects and performances; original programme and new commissions are ongoing and we look forward to bringing that work to audiences in the future.
We especially thank Martin Hayes, co-curator of the Marble City Sessions, for his musicianship and steadfast support.
Our colleagues across the cultural sphere here in Kilkenny and beyond have all supported us in all sorts of ways, and we couldn’t be more grateful to them and the work they do: John Cleere, Naoise Nunn, Matt Smyth, Gary Kehoe, Medb
Lambert, Donal Gallagher, Conor Langton, John Purcell, Malcolm Noonan TD; Lorraine Maye, Conall Ó Riain; Paul Fahy, John Crumlish, Sinead McPhillips; Jo Mangan; Willie White; Benjamin Perchet; Ruth McGowan, Shannon Lacek; Paul Brown; Francis Humphreys; Julie Kelleher, Majella Hollywood, Eugene Downes, Catriona Crowe, Maura O’ Keeffe, Maria Buckley, Angela Rohan and Gary Sheehan.
And finally, we wish to thank and salute everyone at NCFA –the National Campaign for the Arts – led by Angela Dorgan, Liv O’ Donoghue, Cian O’Brien, Aileen Galvin, Tom Creed, Eoghan Carrick and Aideen Howard.
We are stronger together. #SaveTheArts
Olga Barry – Festival Director, Festival Team & Board, Kilkenny Arts Festival