An Taibhdhearc to tour Mayo secondary schools with Lá Buí Bealtaine

This October, An Taibhdhearc, Ireland’s National Irish Language Theatre, will tour secondary schools in Mayo with a production based on Lá Buí Bealtaine by Máiréad Ní Ghráda, which is on the T1 Junior Certificate Irish syllabus. 

The show is designed for the classroom, and will take place during the school day, providing a resource and support for Irish teachers and for students studying the text. The main aim of this project is to share the magic of theatre with the students in their own classroom, with their participation, alongside a professional cast and director. Séamus Hughes will be directing, and the cast will feature Áine Kilgallon (Celtic Exodus) and Kevin Hussey (Ros na Rún).

Lá Buí Bealtaine is a well-known one-act play written by Máiréad Ní Ghráda in 1953. The setting is a beautiful May day, with an elderly man and woman sitting in the garden of a care home. The woman begins to reminisce about a beautiful May day decades earlier, and the fateful events that occurred. 

Lá Buí Bealtaine reflects An Taibhdhearc’s commitment to community engagement and outreach and is their second production in Mayo this year. In August, An Taibhdhearc, together with The Performance Corporation, presented a major new site-specific production in Béal an Mhuirthead - Tír an Traonaigh. This production took the audience on a bus journey around the Mullet peninsula where live performance, music, projection and the landscape itself were brought together to create an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Muireann Kelly, Artistic Director and Co-CEO of An Taibhdhearc, said:

“As the National Irish Language Theatre, we are committed to developing and producing work in a different Gaeltacht community each year. As part of that ambition our outreach and community engagement work is a vital part of that programme of work. This year we focused on the Mayo Gaeltacht.”

An Taibhdhearc will tour secondary schools with Lá Buí Bealtaine from the 12th until the 23rd of October. Schools wishing to participate can apply here. There will be no fee or booking charge.