Bealtaine events run for month of May in Kilkenny

The Watergate Theatre is hosting a series of free events this month to mark the Bealtaine Festival.

The vibrant, fun and contemporary festival is set to unfold across Ireland throughout the month of May, promising an expansive lineup of performances and activities championing generational interdependence and diversity.

On May 8 there will be a free screening of The Great Escaper at 7.30pm starring none other than the acting legend, Michael Caine. In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines.

He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can- do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing.  But of course, it wasn’t the whole story.

It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war. Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene (Glenda Jackson) . The Great Escaper celebrates their enduring love but always with an eye to the lessons we might learn from the Greatest Generation.

On May 9 (Thursday) there will be a screening of Birdsong, also at 7.30pm, which tells the story of ornithologist Seán Ronayne from Cobh, Co. Cork who is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland – that’s nearly 200 birds.

Often joined by his partner Alba, he travels to some of the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland free from road noise in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island; a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands. Along the way the viewer gets to know Seán, whose hypersensitivity to sound has proven both a struggle and a strength. At once inspiring and cautionary, Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.

The Other Selves will be shown on May 16 at 8pm as part of the Bealtaine festival.

A reflection on ageing and the memory and anticipation of ordinary traumas and tragedies. The Other Selves was made during three residency periods at the Fabrik Potsdam, Studio

ADA in Berlin and Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company in Derry/Northern Ireland, between November 2018 and March 2020.
Book online at watergatetheatre.com or through the box office on (056) 7761674 Wednesday to Saturday from 2 – 6pm.
Meanwhile at the Butler Gallery there will a Sketching Tour of the Permanent Collection with Learning & Public Engagement Curator Bryan Hogan on Thursday, May 2 to celebrate Bealtaine

Participants are invited to respond to the collection through discussion and drawing. As participants are guided through the collection a slow looking approach will be taken to allow the participant to fully appreciate and see the work enabling us to understand the image which we will then sketch. Places are limited, booking is required.

Developed by Age & Opportunity, Bealtaine Festival is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE and supported by communities nationwide and a vast and accomplished array of local and national bodies.

For more see bealtainefestival.ie