For the second year running, the Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick appears determined to brave the challenge of empty pockets and post-festive apathy.
From Thursday 21st to Saturday January 30th, Belltable is hosting Unfringed '99, a 10day event showcasing the brightest and best fringe productions, which have mainly been plucked from successful runs at other festivals. "We wanted to broaden the theatrical experience of audiences in the Midwest," says Siobhan Colgan, festival co-ordinator.
"Limerick has a large commitment to theatre, evident in the strong tradition of amateur drama in the city and in the long contribution of Island theatre company. Limerick Youth Theatre was established less than two years ago and already has over 40 members. The Belltable's Unfringed Festival is just mirroring this commitment."
Unfringed '98 was scheduled for January because of a programming gap. It worked so well, however, that the Belltable decided to expand on its success. Siobhan Colgan and Mary Doll, director of the Belltable, went talent scouting at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe. They were looking for "exciting and innovative" shows, with "really good performances, a small cast and a small set". Colgan and Doll giggled through, and promptly bagged the Arches Theatre Company's production of I Licked A Slag's Deodorant and Ursula Martinez's A Family Outing, performed by Martinez and her real-life parents. At the Dublin Fringe, they spied two award winners - The Corn Exchange's Car Show and Kabosh's Mojo Mickybo - as well as an adaptation of the Mikhail Bulgakov classic, The Kaos Master and Margarita, by the Gloucestershire-based Kaos Theatre Company.
A special children's programme, Unfringed for Kids, takes place from Monday 25th to Saturday January 30th and features interactive high-jinks with Dr. Palfi's The Really Dangerous Safety Show. Pca Puppets present a double bill - a fresh take on The City Mouse and the Country Mouse and The Tortoise and the Hare. Young people have already had a chance to put their stamp on the festival by participating in a poster competition sponsored by AIB. A seminar, "The Importance of Being Fringe", chaired by Loughlin Deegan, playwright and company manager with Rough Magic, is another addition to this year's line-up. Harold Fish from the British Council, Jocelyn Clarke, theatre critic, Stephen Boyd of Corcadorca and Ali Curran, director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, will all participate on Saturday 23rd.
"Some companies will always be fringe, whether they're on the perimeters of a festival or not," says Siobhan Colgan, "and that's why the seminar is so important. It's to discuss why this festival is happening and why there is only fringe theatre at this festival."
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