THEATRE Lough Lannagh becomes a stage

Lough unlocked for theatre


To mark the launch of its new public art programme, Landmark, Mayo County Council is holding a weekend of events at Lough Lannagh, Castlebar, from April 20 to 22. 
The weekend will include launches, music performances, light displays, workshops, tours, boat-trips and talks at the picturesque lake setting.
On the schedule is the intriguing ‘Across the Lough’ by theatre company The Performance Corporation. Billed as ‘an intimate theatrical experience’, it takes place out on the lough itself. An audience of just three people will (weather permitting) be ferried across the lake in a wooden rowing boat by a ‘boatman’. During the performance he will engage with the audience, offering stories, songs and revelations about the challenges and opportunities of life – from youth, to old age, to our final encounter with ‘the other side’.
‘Across the Lough’ is written by award-winning playwright Tom Swift and directed by critically acclaimed director Louise Lowe. Each day over the weekend, there will be several performances of the 15-20 minute piece. A wider audience will be able to engage with the performance by downloading a specially created ‘audio companion’ to ‘Across the Lough’ and listening to it at home or on the shore. Mp3 players will be available during the Landmark weekend for people to listen to the ‘audio companion’.
The Performance Corporation is an award-winning theatre company with a mission to ‘create daring performance adventures in surprising places’. Celebrating its tenth year in 2012, the company has created groundbreaking site-specific work in Ireland, America, the UK, Finland and Kenya. The company’s recent work includes ‘Slattery’s Sago Saga’ at the Dublin Theatre Festival 2011 and ‘Swampoodle’, a play created for Washington DC’s Uline Arena and part of Culture Ireland’s 2011 Imagine Ireland programme.
While audience tickets for ‘Across the Lough’ are free, numbers are limited and must be booked in advance. They will be available from 10am this Friday, March 23, from Mayo County Council Public Art Coordinator Gaynor Seville. She can be contacted at 094 9047561 or gseville@mayococo.ie.