Pic: Brendan Gleeson
UNFOLD the small and very pink brochure to Limerick Fringe Festival to open out a big, brave and beautiful world of many players.
Taking place in five city venues at the end of March – Shannon Rowing Club, Mother Mac’s, No. 1 Pery Square Hotel, The Loft @Locke Bar and Dolan’s Upstairs and Warehouse – 30 something alternative acts will electrify the scene.
Performance names such as ‘Unplugged, Intimate or Plain Crazy’, ‘Comedy Shenanigans Improv’ and ‘John in Heels’ suggest a lot.
This festival takes place on March 30, March 31 and April 2, organised by a seven strong not-for-profit committee forging an impressive skillset.
A big crowd of actors, producers, venue managers, sponsors, techies and designers gathered at Da Vincenzo’s Food and Wine Hall to bang the drum. Arts page talked to Fiona-Marie Booth, an agent of the festival and herself a singer/ song writer/ dancer.
“I did a Master’s in Festive Arts at Irish World Academy and that’s where I met Simon Thompson [co-founder]. I was always interested in working on a multidisciplinary arts festival in Limerick and this opportunity was a perfect marriage. What I am most excited about is that there are national and international and local acts together”.
Music is her major passion and Fiona-Marie cites one highlight ahead as Cua band in Shannon Rowing Club: “The are Irish and draw from traditional music around the world and Europe and there’s a bluegrass influence. A unique, original band”.
Check out the trio Hoodman Blind also, again Irish with Scandinavian tones, “a twist on trad and drawing from other countries as well”.
“We also have a great one woman artist who will perform two shows for a late audience as they are more risqué. Dolan’s Upstairs is ideal for Cameryn Moore’s [break for laughter] ‘Phone Whore; A One-Act Play with Frequent Interruptions’ and ‘Nerdfucker: A Solo Play with Bad Boundaries’.”
Yikes. Take refuge in Mother Mac’s beautiful back room for other stories and from The Young Gaff, Kelly McDonald. She has written a short play, ‘Life on the Inside’ which will be staged with three young actors from Limerick. “It’s a dark comedy concerning the interior life of a cat. This was a written piece I brought to The Young Gaff [performance development resource] where I had a lot of workshops and that really helps”.
Credit to Marie Boylan as facilitator.
That Limerick Fringe Festival is for artists as much as we the audience is core to its mission. As Simon Thompson of Clown Noir said in his address to the pizza-munching floor, they are looking “to build a shared platform that is really good for artists as well as the audience”. The cross-pollination of ideas, talent, network is key.
See www.limerickfringe.com to book; all €10 other than cabaret €15.
