What we've learnt about the Irish

When we were in Dublin, we asked Lizzy (front of house) how old the children were who would come and see the show. She said: 'Today we have 5th class, 6th class and 4th year. The 5th class kids are 11, 6th class 12, and 4th year...' She was thinking.
'10?' we suggested.
'No, no. About 15-16.'

We hadn't noticed her differentiation between 'class' and 'year', so initially there was a lot of confusion.
Then she explained that the 4th year is an optional year. Optional??? In my days you had to take every year, unless you were one of those high IQ kids or something and you were allowed to go straight to university.
Not so in Ireland. The 4th year is optional, a transition year is what they call it. Where you learn about life and life skills. Such as going to the theatre, I guess.

We asked if you could take the 4th year at a later age, like at 30, if you feel you are lacking some knowledge about life. But you can't. You get one chance and that's it.


The other thing we've learnt is about the compatibility between Galway and Bath. But that is all quite complex, so I will keep that for a more anthropological blog.

On Sunday we all meet in Cambridge to continue and finish making Everything Falls Apart.

Where's the Byrne?

The Byrne's in Nuremberg, but we sensed his presence in Castlebar.


Castlebar is a very nice town, though we got hit by strong wind and horizontal rain. All shows were sold out when we arrived, which is a great feeling.
Bob demonstrated his Irish dancing skills, but I'm keeping those to myself. If you want to see them, you'll have to ask him very nicely.

Have you seen the size of my ginger???

After Dublin we drove to Galway, where we had three days off before playing the trilogy. Galway is by the Atlantic ocean, and our hotel had a view over the ocean and the Aran islands. It's a very nice town, with great pubs serving very good Guinness.

We played in the Town Hall Theatre: morning shows for 350 children and evening shows for mixed audiences. All shows were very well attended and received, and we all enjoyed being there and playing there.

The festival in Galway has been a long standing affair. We met Lali many years ago but due to availability, we didn't manage to come here until now.

I went to a small deli to buy the stuff to make tea, and I found the biggest piece of ginger so far. I put a pen and a pot of honey next to it for reference.

The Ark in Dublin

The Ark in Dublin is a lovely space, but it gave us something new to deal with - playing the show almost in the round. We had to work out how and where to move the wardrobe so that people sitting at the sides could still see Iva inside the wardrobe.

What you can't see in this picture is that behind the black curtain behind the wardrobe is a massive gate that opens out to a square. The stage can be used the other way around, with the audience standing or sitting on the square. We were all very impressed by that.


The show is being very well received in Dublin, and it is fun to play here. Yesterday there was a food market on the square at the back of the theatre, so we all went for food there in between the shows.



Today is our last day in Dublin, tomorrow we go to Galway. We haven't really had time to see much of Dublin, but what we've seen of it so far was great. Mark, the production manager of the Ark, has been leading us to the best places in the area for coffee, sandwiches, a meal, or a beer. Local knowledge is good.