by Alan Jacques
MARY Immaculate College and the Lime Tree Theatre have welcomed Branar, the first ever theatre artist-in-residence at the city third-level institution.
Established in 2001, Branar is dedicated to producing high quality bilingual shows for young audiences, and is particularly noted for its distinctive use of hand-held puppets and its vivid physical style. The theatre company’s residence, which commenced earlier this Autumn, sees the company’s artistic director, Marc Mac Lochlainn, leading workshops for students in drama education classes, in Irish classes and with members of student societies. In addition the company, in association with the Lime Tree Theatre, has been planning a series of workshops for children which will commence early next year.
“We are very excited to be the first theatre artist-in-residence in Mary Immaculate College. The residency provides us with a wonderful opportunity to engage with the educational community. We will have the chance to create partnerships, learning opportunities and also to share our art form with the future generation of teachers,” enthused Branar’s artistic director Marc Mac Lochlainn.
Branar will next month perform their production of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’, a bi-lingual show, loosely based on a well-loved Christmas poem, combining storytelling, original live music and puppetry.
President of Mary Immaculate College, Prof Michael Hayes welcomed Branar to the college campus. “We are all excited about having Branar on campus and we trust that the artist-in-residence programme will be of enormous benefit not just to the Department of Arts Education and Physical Education and their students, but to all of our students, the entire college community, and indeed, to the young people of Limerick city and its environs,” said Prof Hayes.
The theatre artist-in-residence is funded by the Arts Council as part of its commitment to the provision of artists in residence in all colleges of education. Branar’s residency at Mary I is the first in a series of three artist residencies planned for the college.
