Druid present
THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM
Written and Directed by Enda Walsh

DATES: Weds July 9th – Sat July 26th - Druid Theatre, Galway Arts Festival
PRESS NIGHT: MONDAY JULY 14th @ 8pm

‘Staring back behind the blusher and the eye shadow a girl who’s yet to be kissed. Properly kissed.’

Hot on the heels of the critically acclaimed run of Enda Walsh’s The Walworth Farce in New York and the Cannes Camera d’Or for the film, Hunger, (co-written by Enda Walsh and director Steve McQueen), this summer Druid will present The New Electric Ballroom by Enda Walsh at Galway Arts Festival as part of an Enda Walsh Season. This summer also sees the welcome return of the acclaimed Druid Debuts as part of the festival.

In this new play, written and directed by Enda Walsh, (creator of Edinburgh Fringe First winners Disco Pigs, Bedbound & Druid’s The Walworth Farce), three sisters in a remote fishing village, trapped in the years that have passed since their halcyon days at the New Electric Ballroom, are still obsessed by darker memories of something resembling romance.

This is a coiled, dark, glitter-dusted fable of the emotionally stultifying effects of small-town life. Enda Walsh is internationally celebrated for his exhilarating wordplay and the sheer visceral power his stories release in performance. This latest work promises to be among the most explosive and compelling yet from one of the leading playwrights of our time.

Commenting on Druid’s latest plans, Artistic Director, Garry Hynes said: “We are delighted to present the Enda Walsh season at this year’s Galway Arts Festival and in particular are very proud to be giving an unprecedented commitment to the new work of one writer. Enda has already taken us on a very compelling journey with The Walworth Farce and we’re looking forward to working with him again on The New Electric Ballroom. We can assure you that audiences in Galway are in for another theatrical treat this summer.”

Enda commented, “It’s a great honour to have three pieces produced by Druid this summer at Galway Arts Festival. I am very much looking forward to working with an exemplary cast and production team on The New Electric Ballroom. Druid have always meant a great deal to me and it’s very exciting to be working with them so soon after The Walworth Farce.”

In addition to the Enda Walsh Season, Druid and Galway Arts Festival presents the welcome return of the acclaimed Druid Debuts. The company is presenting new work from three talented, fledgling writers Maria Elner, Stephen Jones and John McManus. Druid’s Literary Manager, Thomas Conway, commenting on the Druid Debuts “Druid is delighted to be working with these three very talented writers making their professional debut. We’re on record as saying that new work is the lifeblood of the company, and we’ll certainly feel our pulse quickening with these three plays. Our thanks to Galway Arts Festival for helping to make this possible”.

THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM

Written and Directed by Enda Walsh
Designed by Sabine Dargent
Lighting Design by Sinead McKenna
Sound Design by Gregory Clarke

Cast:
Val Lilley
Rosaleen Linehan
Mikel Murfi
Catherine Walsh

Venue: Druid Theatre, Galway
Dates: Monday 14th July – Saturday 26th July
Previews Wednesday 9th – Saturday 12th July
(No show Sunday 10th July)
Evening show time: 8pm
Matinee dates & time: Sat July 19th & July 26th @ 2.30pm
Duration: 1 hour 30 mins
Tickets: €24 (€18 conc.) €16 Previews

ENDA WALSH’S ONE ACT PLAYS

Lynndie’s Gotta Gun
Directed by Sarah Lynch

Gentrification
Directed by Thomas Conway

Lynndie’s Gotta Gun and Gentrification together give a concentrated look at the darker themes animating Walsh’s work. Lynndie’s Gotta Gun is a disquieting, highly charged riff on the US female soldier, Lynndie England, notoriously pictured at Abu Ghraib humiliating Iraqi prisoners, while Gentrification examines the perils of parenthood and Coke can rings in Walsh’s inimitable style.

Venue: Druid Theatre, Galway
Dates: Tuesday 22nd July – Saturday 26th July
Time: 1.10pm
Duration: 45 mins
Tickets: €10

DRUID DEBUTS

Those Yellow Boots
By Maria Elner
Directed by Rachel West
Monday 21st July

A Lock of Fierce Roars
By John McManus
Directed by Garry Hynes
Wednesday 23rd July

A Certain Romance
By Stephen Jones
Directed by Mikel Murfi
Friday 25th July

Venue: Druid Theatre, Galway
Dates: Show dates above
Time: 3pm
Duration: 2 hours
Tickets: €5

For further press information, contact Kate Bowe or David McCadden at Kate Bowe PR +353 1 6713672 or email: kate@katebowepr.ie or david@katebowepr.ie