DANCE HALL DAYS

Dance Hall Daze - Riverside Studios - 12 to 14 August 2004

Riverside Studios and Irish Repertory Theatre are bringing back the sell-out show, "Dance Hall Days" for a short run from Thursday 12 August until Sunday 15 August 2004.

When "Dance Hall Days" last ran at Riverside Studios in 2001 it was completely sold out. This time around is likely to be just as successful and early booking is advised.

Scripted and directed by Rosalind Scanlon, the production combines a vivid drama, dance and live music, set in a rural Irish community in the 1950s. The tradition of storytelling is central to the piece which was devised from the original stories told by the elders of the community who attended the dance halls -from which the piece draws its inspiration- in their youth. The sense of community is further carried through by a large cast of 40 actors who will fill the stage with energy and emotion.

Learn more about the production and other works in Riverside's season. More...

Ireland has a rich literary tradition and has produced some of the best known playwrights in the world. And, it is a tradition that continues to flourish. The Irish Playography is a fascinating online resource that documents all professionally produced Irish plays and playwrights since 1975.

If perhaps you're interested in some of the less recent Irish playwrights, why not have a look at some of these items on the "classics"

Brendan Behan
Sean O'Casey
J.M. Synge

Closely associated with these playwrights was the poet, W B Yeats. Yeats was one of the defining forces behind the Abbey Theatre which has recently celebrated its centenary as Ireland's national theatre. Yeats was a prolific and influential poet. Why not judge for yourself from these collected works...

Of course, it's not only the literary arts that have a long history in Ireland. Wondering what Irish visual artists have been up to? The online gallery of the Irish Arts Review has a lot of interesting images produced by artists working in Ireland today. More...

There are a number of newspapers aimed at the Irish communities in Britain. Like many Irish publications, they also follow cultural affairs with a keen interest. Here are links to some of their sites:
The Irish World
The Irish Post

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