Galway breaks out in a fortnight-long fever tonight when this year's gospel-singing, jazz-trumpeting, puppet-dancing, play-acting arts festival opens in the city.
An Irish hurley-chasing Homer, a Franco-Chilean Alice exploring a 1.5-metre-deep wonderland, and a three-minute play running 10 times an hour are some of the highlights of the 23rd annual programme, which offers no reprieve for the faint-hearted over the next two weeks.
Chicago's highly-acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Tony Award-winning play, Sideman, by Warren Leight, and the Irish Repertory of Chicago is staging Eugene O'Neill's classic, Long Day's Journey Into Night with the veteran actor, John Mahoney.
The Lewis Carroll interpretation by the Franco-Chilean Teatro del Silencio, entitled Alice Under- ground, aims to break the barriers separating drama, dance, theatre and circus, while Spain's Increpacion Danza promises to fuse contemporary dance and flamenco in a tribute suite to the writer Lorca.
Several acts have already sold out, including the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the festival office has been overwhelmed by the response to its website, set up with the Pro-active Group, Galway.
A target of 10 per cent overall bookings on the net has already been exceeded, and the final tally is expected to reach 20-30 per cent of total, according to the festival manager, Fergal McGrath.
A record half-million hits had been made by the end of last week, with one on-line customer being only 100 yards from the festival office. "We delivered the tickets by hand" Mr McGrath said.
He denied that there were any plans for a "virtual" festival. Nor is the "actual" event confined to the credit-card classes only, with a booking office at the Cornstore, Middle Street, and a choice of street theatre acts for those who can't afford to make plans.
Macnas, now an arts festival institution, expects to draw up to 100,000 spectators for this year's parade, entitled Listening Wind, on Sunday, July 23rd. Icarus, Busby Berkeley dancers, parachute machines and castles in the air took part in yesterday's dress rehearsal, but the street theatre company is also venturing on stage. The world premiere of its presentation, The Lost Days Of Ollie Deasy - the odyssey of a young man searching for his hurling-playing father - opens in Leisureland, Salthill, on Wednesday night.
The Galway Arts Festival Office is at Locall 1890-566-577, or at website: www.galwayartsfestival.ie
