Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen and Mick Lally broke the mould in Irish theatre when they set up Druid theatre company in 1975. Their commitment was such that they staged more than 20 productions in Galway in their first three years. They were young, energetic, enthusiastic, professional and provocative as they used the Jesuit Hall for their evening shows and a 47-seater space known as the Fo’castle for their lunchtime plays.
A larger premises was required. They negotiated a lease on a derelict warehouse with the McDonough Group and now had the required shell to build on. Actors became blocklayers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians and painters, making seats and sets at the same time, and they rehearsed too.
The Arts Council gave them a grant of £1,500 – surely the best investment they ever made. They opened their own theatre in 1979. They began touring small towns in Ireland and soon found themselves in Dublin, Edinburgh, London, New York and Sydney. They were no longer a Galway company, they were international.
They have given us many ground-breaking productions, often turning the classics on their head while introducing exciting new playwrights, actors and designers, all the while staying rooted in Galway.
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Joe Shaughnessy is an artist with the camera whose work is widely recognised for its storytelling power. He has won numerous national and international awards. From the very beginning, he has been documenting Druid, its people and performances and the creative energy that epitomises the company. His singular vision captures the theatrical and the human, the staged and the spontaneous, preserving the spirit and character that defines their legacy.
He has put together a selection of these images, a unique visual archive of Druid’s evolution over five decades. Joe Shaughnessy’s Druid exhibition, which is supported by the Galway International Arts Festival, will run at the Kenny Gallery, Liosbán Estate, Galway, July 12th-August 12th.
