Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival Blog – Liam McCarthy
The Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival exists so we can encourage as more children and their families to engage with world-class art. Unfortunately many children and families experience barriers to access. We want to welcome as many children as possible to our venues this year, whether it’s their first time coming or even if they are regular attenders. Our city’s artistic spaces are for our city’s citizens – and Bualadh Bos prioritises our youngest. We’ve been working hard to make this year’s festival as accessible as possible – with a brilliant programme of dance, theatre, film and music – as well as an extensive community engagement and workshop programme taking place in our venues, our partnering schools and in libraries and community centres across the city and county. While we are some way away from universal access, we are confident that this year more children than ever before will experience the festival for the first time.
We are delighted to welcome Branar Theatre back to the Lime Tree Theatre, with their debut performance of their new show Scéal Lae/Story of a Day, taking place from the 3rd to the 5th of October. This is a fantastic blend of live performance, music and animation – telling the story of a day in the life of a child, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Mary Lou McCarthy and Once Off Productions are producing The Dead Letter Office in the Belltable (4th and 5th of October) – a very moving story exploring migration and belonging – and our need for connection. Selma Daniel Dance comes to Dance Limerick on the 12th of October with Moving Words – a story time and live dance performance event for young audiences that combines the art of contemporary dance and the reading of selected picture book, with the aim of making live dance performance accessible to a wider audience. The inimitable Boss Rob comes to Limerick City Gallery of Art for his Masterclass with Aspiring Artists – an interactive workshop/comedy performance exploring creativity and our attitudes to art and who it’s for.
It has been a privilege to work alongside the Bualadh Bos Children’s Panel, a group of children who support the curation and logistical delivery of our festival. They have been constantly brilliant, hilarious, challenging and surprising. They are our inspiration and their buoyant spirit enlivens our entire programme. They have informed what shows and art forms are represented – and are responsible for our Bualadh Bop Festival Day – a fabulous day of dancing, music, craft and storytelling takin place in the Belltable on the 12th of October. The panel also had the inspired idea of presenting a film that their own parents might have enjoyed as children. As such, and in an effort for inter-generational connection, The Muppets take Manhattan will be screened at the Belltable (12th October) as a special 40th Anniversary celebration.
In response to feedback from schools and our Bualadh Bos Children’s Panel, there is a particular focus on our Bualadh Bos on Tour programme this year. As well as presenting outstanding work in our own venues, we are delighted that so many of our events and workshops will take place in schools, classrooms and in libraries, as well as in our wonderful partnering venues and institutions across the city and county.
We hope there is something for everyone at this year’s festival, from age 3 months and upwards, for the young, and for the young at heart. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of Bualadh Bos. A significant milestone and a long lasting legacy from its origins as part of Limerick City of Culture in 2014. Here’s to the next 10 years.
– Liam McCarthy, curator of the Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival.
Discover the festival programme here.