A Personal Prism
I am pleased to announce that playwright David Joyce and I will be working together to bring Dave’s beautiful play “A PERSONAL PRISM” to the Black Box Theatre Galway, and thence on a mini-tour to Portumna and Tuam this November. Our core team also includes Galway performer and artist Órla Mc Govern.
Dave and I wish to acknowledge the support of The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. We were pleased to win a Theatre Projects Award 2024 to bring “A PERSONAL PRISM” to the stage and undertake an integrated programme of regional workshops and conversations over coming months.
The play introduces Lee Hanley a young man with a disability living in a small regional town, who struggles with anxiety, family pressures and the myriad of additional challenges faced every day by wheelchair users, all the while pursuing a dream. It raises themes of creativity, community, isolation and friendship in a humorous and yet searingly honest story.
In April, shortly after winning our award, Dave and I went on a whirlwind trip around Co. Galway to meet some of the key partners who have worked with us over months and years to get to this point. (See photos). This project would never have happened without the support of these local arts partners: Town Hall Theatre Galway; Portumna Town Hall and Creative Places Tuam; and our local disability partners The Galway Centre for Independent Living and Irish Wheelchair Association, Galway.
Additional national and regional partners with whom we shall work over the summer are: Arts & Disability Ireland, Disability Federation of Ireland; Spinal Injuries Ireland and County Roscommon Disability Support Group.
We owe special thanks to Pamela Mc Queen whose previous input as dramaturg was invaluable: also to actors Eoin Ó Dubhghailll, Joe MacCarrick and Cáit An Fhile who took part in developmental workshops in 2022.
FULL DATES AND BOOKING DETAILS WILL BE PUBLISHED HERE IN DUE COURSE
IMAGES:
Above: Dave and I received a warm welcome from Phil and the staff at Galway Centre for Independent Living: Top row below: Dave at IWA Galway; with Fergal McGrath at Black Box Theatre; with Jim Hynes at Portumna Town Hall: Bottom row below: Planning meeting with Carolann Courtney of Creative Places Tuam.
So that’s the news. The rest of this page is the permanent stuff…
Welcome to the website of Declan Gorman Arts & Events!
I am a playwright, director, performer and public artist with a practice that has covered many aspects of the arts. At the core is an unswerving belief in the power of live performance – the working towards it and the sharing of it – to change, entertain, question, and somehow to make the world around us a better and more exciting place.
This website contains information about current projects; selected archive materials; resources and a “News & Views” section which combines news with occasional reflections and personal essays, mainly but not exclusively about the arts.
The artist is grateful to Fingal County Council and Monaghan County Council for recent bursary supports
Declan Gorman 