Druid Theatre unveils plans for Galway playhouse

Druid Theatre Company has unveiled plans for a new 240-seat theatre which could become an “anchor” performance space in Galway.

The award-winning international company said the new theatre would be more than double the size of its existing Mick Lally Theatre in Druid Lane, where it has been based for more than 35 years.

Artistic director Garry Hynes said the new theatre could be ready in time for 2020 when Galway is shortlisted to be the European Capital of Culture.

The company has bought Lowstrand House on Flood Street, for an undisclosed sum.

The three-storey building is next to Druid’s 100-seat theatre, and close to the Red Earl’s Hall, the late 13th-century building once owned by Richard de Burgo.

Part of it had been rented by Druid over the last number of years for office space, and it was advertised in late 2014 as an investment property with a guide price of €740,000.

Ms Hynes estimates that it would cost €5 million to develop, ideally under a public-private partnership.

Outline plans were presented to Galway City Council on Monday evening.

The Mick Lally Theatre, refurbished several years ago, will be retained as a smaller performance and rehearsal space, Ms Hynes said.

“The purchase is an investment in the future of Druid and theatre in the west,” Ms Hynes said, stating that the new space has the potential to become a “creative hub in the heart of the city”.

It could benefit “the whole artistic community in Galway, especially in the development of new artists and new work”, she said.