Children "need the arts as much as they need fresh air" according to the organisers of Galway's Baboro International Arts Festival for Children.
The festival, which opened last night, promises a week of theatre, music, readings, art exhibitions, workshops and an extended outreach initiative involving artist/teacher partnerships. Tribute to the organisers for the breadth and diversity of the programme was paid by the Mayor of Galway, Cllr Catherine Connolly.
Highlights of the festival include two separate shows by the renowned Danish company Teater Patrasket; a "madcap hour" of clowning, puppetry and song inspired by the nonsense poems of Edward Lear by the British company, Hoipolloi and Tiebreak Theatre, entitled My Uncle Arly; and the French company, Velo Theatre, presents Envelopes et deballages, a story of a dinosaur and an egg.
The newly-formed Fibin Theatre Company from Galway will stage An Gabha agus a Ghasuir, described as a highly visual, physical and hilarious ancient story of a group of fairies engaged in a bit of baby-swapping.
All tickets are fixed at €6.00, which means that the festival is almost sold out, but there is a selection of free events during the Baboro Saturday Jamboree this coming weekend.
