The first children's theatre festival to be staged in Cork will run from August 1st to 12th, marking a new departure for this sector of the arts in the region.
For some years Mr Pat Byrne and his Seven Ages Theatre Company have been blazing a trail in this area of theatre, but he was of the opinion that festivals always seemed to run fringe events for children - adjuncts, more or less, to the main programme. There would be merit, he thought, in running a festival solely with children in mind.
"It will be the first time that such an event has occurred in this part of Ireland exclusively for young people. The idea and rationale for this new event is based on our four years of experience in developing summer theatre for children. In that time, there has been recognition that there is a lack of children's theatre in the southern region, especially during the long summer holidays," he said.
Over the past few years Seven Ages has put on Alice In Wonderland, The Elves And The Shoemaker and, last year, Hansel And Gretel and the Clowns From Outer Space. "The reason for our success is threefold," Mr Byrne said. "First, we are committed to producing high-quality children's entertainment that treats young people as an audience in their own right. This provides an opportunity for young people, often for the first time, to explore the magical world of theatre.
"Second, it is important to create an amicable environment where theatre practitioners have the room for creativity to thrive; and, third, we believe this type of theatre should be kept affordable to everyone, making it inclusive to all. Hosting a children's festival is therefore a natural progression in the building process. The plan this year is to lay a secure foundation stone for a bigger festival next year."
The festival, billed as the New Children's Theatre Festival, will run at two venues, Monday to Friday throughout August. The Three Little Pigs by the Eight Onion Theatre Company from Devon will be staged at the Triskel Arts Centre, while Pinocchio And The Clowns From Outer Space will be offered by the Seven Ages Theatre Company at the Granary Theatre. The afternoon performances will begin at 3 p.m. The evening shows start at 7.30 p.m.
Pat Byrne is a librarian at UCC, who has had an association with theatre going back to his days in the Red Cross in Dublin, when he performed as a clown.
Due to an error in the editing process, last week's Southern Report suggested that Duchas was responsible for the development of a number of pilgrim paths throughout the State as part of a millennium project. This was incorrect. The project was conceived by the Heritage Council and is being administered by it. The original, correct information supplied to the column was made available by the project co-ordinator, Mr Ted Creedon.