News

Apr 11 2024

3rd Lasta National Arts Festival

Town Hall Theatre Galway today announced some of its highlight events for the 3rd Lasta National Arts Festival, a festival of events programmed for young people by young people, which will take place nationally between 1 and 12 June. Town Hall Theatre is one of seven venues nationwide who have teamed up to present this exciting event in cities and towns across the country, from Letterkenny to Tralee, from Galway to Portlaoise.

Galway's highlight events for Lasta 2024 include international touring Galway DJ Shampain who will bring the Irish silent cinema classic Irish Destiny back to life with a new soundtrack mixed live as the film is screened; pioneering Irish theatre company Brokentalkers with their critically acclaimed production Masterclass and chart-topping podcasters I'm Grand Mam aka Corkonians, PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey. Tickets for these three events are now on sale on the Town Hall website  www.tht.ie and full programme details of the Galway Lasta programme will be announced in May.

The Lasta Festival, based on a project originally conceived and delivered by Backstage Theatre in Longford and now in its third year, has blossomed to include venues and individual curators nationwide, and an expanding programme of exciting, multidisciplinary work.  In an innovative and exciting approach to programming, 19 young curators have been engaged by seven regional venues (including the Town Hall Theatre) to programme a festival of work for young people nationwide. Under the guidance of theatre artist Maisie Lee, these young people will work collaboratively to deliver an ambitious line up of work.  Featuring multiple disciplines and reflecting the diversity of modern Ireland, this festival offers a unique opportunity to develop our future arts programmers and producers. The line-up for this year's festival will feature theatre, music, comedy, dance, film, photography and experiential moments promising a fresh, fun, and exciting festival.

The seven regional venues involved in the initiative are Backstage Theatre (Longford) www.backstage.ie Dunamaise Arts Centre (Portlaoise) www.dunamaise.ie glór (Ennis) www.glor.ie An Grianán (Letterkenny) www.angrianan.com The Lime Tree Theatre (Limerick) www.limetreetheatre.ie Siamsa Tíre (Tralee) www.siamsatire.com and Town Hall Theatre (Galway) www.tht.ie

Join the conversation here: Facebook.com/lastafestival2021 and Instagram: @ lastafestival and Twitter: @Lastafestival and TikTok @ LastaFestival

The Lasta programme for the Town Hall Theatre has been curated by three young Galway-based curators selected through an open call - Lucy Birmingham, Tara Mackin and Noel Minogue. Throughout the year, these Young Curators have had the opportunity to meet up with curators from the other venues nationwide. They received mentoring from industry professionals in marketing, touring and venue management and learned about negotiating deals, how to approach artists and companies, and how to manage budgets.

The Young Curators Programme is targeted at young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who want to gain experience in working in the arts, especially those interested in venue and festival management and programming. The curators were selected on the basis that they were from, live in or have a strong connection to Galway (city or county) and its communities; had a passion for the arts and for attending performance; enjoyed working with a small team; liked organising events and making things happen; and being able to make the commitment to the programme if selected. The project is about programming and producing creative work in the performing arts - selecting shows that they may have seen for Town Hall Theatre’s programme of events or making a show in collaboration with the young curators in other venues. Curating will include managing the event from the first conversation with the artists to the day of the performance, making sure everything runs smoothly on the day. In this, the young programmers will be supported by the team at Town Hall Theatre, the young curators at the other participating venues, and the professionals hired to support the programme including project co-ordinator Maisie Lee.

Lucy Birmingham is an emerging theatre artist  and technician based in Galway, originally from County Meath. She has recently graduated from Drama, Theatre and Performance in University of Galway. Lucy has had a deep interest in theatre from a young age but found a new love for design, production management, and technical theatre while in college. Lucy won ‘Best Lighting Design’ at the Irish Student Drama Awards 2023 and has since worked as lighting designer for local Galway bands, as well as theatre and production companies. She has previously worked with Galway Theatre Festival in 2022 as artist liaison and took part in Galway International Arts Festival’s SELECTED Programme last July. Lucy also has a keen interest in visual art, immersive mediums, and their potential to merge into future theatre and performance projects.

Tara Mackin is a theatre maker and producer hailing from Co. Louth. She has just graduated from a BA in Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies and Gaeilge at the University of Galway. During her degree, she had the opportunity to research community engagement through the arts which sparked her interest in programming work for venues. Alongside her studies, Tara was heavily involved with the University’s dramatic societies, taking on roles in directing, stage management and performing. Her interests lie in many art forms, working with theatre, dance & music. Tara has immersed herself in festival scene in Galway with her recent internships with Galway Theatre Festival and Galway International Arts Festival through their SELECTED programme. She looks forward to welcoming audiences to the LASTA Festival in June. 

Noel Minogue is a theatre practitioner based in Galway, currently working in marketing and administration for Branar. Noel is a graduate from the University of Galway having attained an MA in Drama and Theatre Studies (2021) and a BSc in Computer Science and IT (2020). Noel has been heavily involved in the Galway arts scene having previously taken part in the Galway International Arts Festival Selected Programme (2020) as well as interning with Galway Theatre Festival (2021). Noel is currently involved with a new Galway theatre and events company, Púca Productions and is a regular performer at the monthly Galway Drag show, Club GASS. Noel is excited to for audiences to experience this year’s Lasta Festival!