First Light
by Dónal Gallagher and Medb Lambert
We’re delighted to be bringing our unique brand of community theatre to Carlow Arts Festival
First Light is an immersive adventure - part street theatre, part spectacle, part circus show - specially created with and for the people of Carlow
or see below for more details…
Why are we doing this?
Since the first covid lockdown Medb & Dónal have been on a mission – to decarbonise our personal lives. It’s been a tricky road but we’re getting there.
We were a bit daunted by the idea of the entire country decarbonising our national grid by 2030. It seems impossible…
But then we thought about the Rural Electrification Scheme – the single biggest challenge undertaken by the state. In a post-war, still fledgling state we had neither the resources, nor infrastructure, nor suitably educated workforce to electrify the entire country.
But we did it anyway.
The project was driven not by profit motives, but by a notion of social solidarity and a greater good for society.
That’s the story we thought we’d be telling.
But of course we’re theatre people, with an unhealthy attraction to alternate realities, a streak of mischief, and we never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
First Light will not be a history play. But it is a chance for us to invite the people of Carlow to come play with us.
Together we’re going to make a show about electricity without much electricity. We’ll tell a story about division, through an act of solidarity. Together with some other local theatre makers - inc. co-director, Janice De Bróithe (SlapDash), Cian Kinsella (Lords of Strut), Deirdre Griffin (THISISPOPBABY) and writer/performer Shannon O’Doherty (Lambert’s Open Mic), we’re going to make an electrifying spectacle and we’d like you to be part of it.