Lots to celebrate but cause for sadness too

 IN a year where there was little reason for optimism on the economic front, the Galway arts community demonstrated that creativity can shine, even in bad times.

Theatrically, the high point of 2012 from a national as well as a local level was Druid Theatre’s celebration of Tuam playwright, Tom Murphy. DruidMurphy – consisting of three plays, Conversations on a Homecoming, A Whistle in the Dark and Famine – opened in London’s Hampstead Theatre in June before travelling to New York’s Lincoln Center. It then returned to Ireland in July for a sell-out run at Galway Arts Festival and a national tour.

The first of the trilogy captured the darkness of smalltown Irish life in the 1960s and the second explored the fate of an Irish family who carried their old tribal ways with them, when they emigrated to England. Famine, meanwhile, was Murphy’s exploration of how the great hunger of the 1840s affected one Mayo community and destroyed everything that had held people together.

The good news for those who missed out is that Druid will return with two of the three plays this April, for a nine-venue tour that will last to June. Conversations on aHhomecoming and A Whistle in the Dark will be performed in Galway, Tralee, Dublin, Portlaoise, Ennis, Letterkenny, Longford, Dún Laoghaire and Limerick.

Druid are among the best funded theatre companies in Ireland and their reputation assists them in getting support from other organisations, such as NUIG, in order to showcase their work internationally.

Other local groups are still trying to fly. One such is Decadent Theatre, run by Andrew Flynn, which embarked on an Irish tour of Conor McPherson’s Port Authority in October, despite getting no subsidies to assist with the production or tour. Decadent had already toured John Patrick Shanley’s powerful play, Doubt in February and it would be good to see a group of that calibre getting more State support, as they help keep Galway audiences in quality shows throughout the year, even on a shoestring.

The arts community also said farewell to another hugely significant figure in March when the Manager of the Town Hall Theatre, Michael Diskin, died.

Galway born Michael, who had previously served as Arts Festival Manager and Manager of Galway Arts Centre, became Manager of the Town Hall when it opened in 1995.

After a three-year career break from 2007-10, when he spent some time managing Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, he returned to the venue, and worked right up until his death.

A new name to emerge on the literary world in 2012 was Menlough born writer Mary Costello, who showed that persistence, coupled with talent, can pay off. her debut short-story collection, The China factory has received rave reviews and saw Costello, who now lives in Dublin where she is on a career break from her teaching job, long-listed for the Guardian First Book award in September.

She is currently working on her first novel and that’s something to look forward to.

All told, 2012 was an eventful year for the arts community locally, with much to celebrate, but also sadness at the deaths of people who had contributed so much over the years.

For more of the Arts Review of the year see this week's Tribune.