Magic in the Lane (07 05 2015)

They opened in the Jesuit Hall on July 3rd, 1975 with a production of The Playboy of the Western World. The following night it was Its a two foot six inches above the Ground world by Kevin Laffan and on the third night it was The Loves of Cass Maguire by Brian Friel. Druid were up and running. Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen and Mick Lally were on their way to becoming icons in Irish theatre.

It was not easy, people doubted their ability to survive. Cast members boosted the ticket sales by selling tickets on the streets. The Jes Hall was in constant use by other groups, so they had to arrange the seating before each performance, and store it away afterwards. Within two months, they were producing lunch time theatre in the Fo’Castle, a small entertainment space at the back of the Coachman Hotel in Dominick Street, but this meant carrying the props and lights from the Jesuit Hall before and after each performance. As the Jes Hall was unavailable during the day, they had to rehearse their next productions between 11pm and 6am at night. It was very awkward, so they decided to lease the Fo’Castle in 1976. They converted it into a 47-seat theatre and put on a number of productions there but the space was too small, so they negotiated a lease with the McDonogh group on a derelict grainstore in Courthouse Lane. It had a suitably high ceiling and was in poor shape but at least they had a building to work on.

And work on it they did! Seán McGinley, Paul O’Neill, Garry Hynes, Mick Lally, Maelíosa Stafford and Marie Mullen aided by Pádraic Breathnach and Tom Roche did all the plumbing, carpentry work, the blocklaying and electrical work themselves, and slowly they developed it the way they wanted to. It is hard to believe that they were rehearsing all through this process and that these blocklayers and electricians were able to put on an outstanding production of The Threepenny Opera on May 19th, 1979.

This little theatre became a magic space. When one crossed the threshold, one never knew what to expect ---- a black and white production for Dial M for Murder; a large comic strip painting for The Rivals; green and red flags for Dario Fo’s Accidental death of an Anarchist; the entire theatre , sidewalls, the ceiling and the set all painted as a graveyard by Brian Bourke; the meticulous recreation of a 19th century sheebeen. These creative sets were matched only by the originality of approach by the directors and the wonderful ensemble playing of the actors. Each production became a distinct seamless whole, an intimate theatrical experience. As the first professional drama group in the country outside Dublin, they realised there was a hunger for good theatre in rural Ireland, and so they organised their first tour in 1982. Since then, they have played in venues all over Ireland, ranging from large theatres to tents. This touring policy has taken them to Britain, to Australia and to the U.S.A. They have won countless awards and accolades.

Druid are very much an international company today but are still firmly rooted in Galway. They have always drawn great support from the Galway audiences who regularly meet them in the street or in the cafés and tell them exactly what they thought of their performance. When you think back on it, they have provided us with 40 years of dramatic highlights.My personal list of Druid highlights is too long to list here. In recent years, their productions have been staged in the Town Hall, but their space in the lane is still where the magic is created. Our photographs today show what the lane was like when they moved in in 1979, and the construction work going on in the interior.

Their first production of Shakespeare was Much Ado about Nothing in 1981. Now, they are about to celebrate their 40th birthday with DruidShakespeare, a distillation of the narratives of Richard II, Henry IV (parts 1 & 2)and Henry V into a unified dramatic action. It is an exploration of English history through an Irish lens and should not be missed.