Fregoli

 

Fregoli are back at the Galway Theatre Festival

Dispersia - The Place Where Lost Things Go

We are currently in production of a new play by our in-house writer Shane McDermott.  Fresh from his critical success with his last play "Mosaic of Dreams",  Shane has cooked us up yet another

Dispersia, the place where the lost things go. Things off all shapes and sizes, of all colours and states of existence. Ever lost a sock? It’s here.  A phone? It’s here. So is your ipod, and the back door keys. Your daughter? We’re not sure…but we’ll check out the back… A play about the difference between misplacing things and losing things. Can you find something if it's been there all along?

 

Thursday 22nd Oct @ 8pm 

Firday 23rd Oct @ 10.30pm

Nuns Island Studio

Tickets and further information about the festival can be found here

Fregoli Summer: Bedbound is Back, Boyle Arts Festival and bringing Theatre to Electric Picnic

 

Bedbound

Fregoli's critically acclaimed production of Bedbound will return for a limited time in early July.

Described as "ultimately moving...fast-paced, gripping and brave... addictive" by Galway Theatre Magazine, it stars Rebecca Ryan and Shane McDermott. See review further down the page

Bedbound will show @ Bank Of Ireland Theatre NUI Galway Thurs 2nd - Sat 4th July @ 8pm. Tickets at the Door €10 (€8 Concession)

 

Boyle Arts Festival

Fregoli will also be performing Producing Playmates and Mosaic of Dreams by writer in residence Shane McDermott at the Boyle Arts Festival. See review below

King House Boyle County Roscommon Thurs 23rd @ 1pm and 4.30pm. Tickets available from Boyle Arts Festival Office: Tel. 07196 63085 for credit/Debit Card Bookings

 

Electric Picnic

This August Fregoli teams up with our friends at Vendetta Theatre to run the theatre section at Electric Picnic. Last years La Scala theatre stage was a great success but this year promises to be bigger and bolder with an entire tent dedicated to theatre. Fregoli will perform Roald Dahls Fantastic Mr Fox at the festival and Vendetta will perform their ever popular Reduced Shakespeare. More info will be posted soon.

 

"New Works" Reviewed by

Irish Theatre Magazine

Matthew Harrison from Irish Theatre Magazine came to review a night of Fregoli's ‘New Works’.  The following is taken from www.irishtheatremagazine.ie

"Fregoli Theatre’s latest oeuvre is a bright and well-drawn triptych of dramas portraying gently malfunctioning and eccentric relationships: new or nearly-new one-act works awash with a colourful mishmash of theatrical techniques and ideas.    

New the works may be, but Fregoli are not flogging conceptual avant-garde angst. Meadhbh Haiceid’s jovial Making Babies (taking its own title rather literally) has a mawkishly enamoured couple build the perfect designer offspring from pillowslips and buttons. As the two idealists practise playing mums and dads, they realise that their supposedly heavenly relationship may not create the child they feel they, or society, deserve. It’s a heavily stylised piece, not only in the baby/doll conceit mirroring reality but in the strophic nature of the dialogue and director Rob McFeely’s heavy choreography of the performers. Accessible, enthusiastically delivered, well-meaning and short.

Ann Blake’s At a Loss is an analysis of the often subtle tipping-point that can be the catalyst for shift and change in a relationship; since bad news is always more dramatic, the relationships in this play go from bad to worse. A muddled and mucky flirtation with a rugby player sours domestic arrangements between lovers in this comparatively prosaic and conventional two-hander. Whilst the text might have worked in rather more mysterious ways (it is dialogue straight from prime-time TV), director Maria Tivnan is firm and decisive in her mustering of her actors, ensuring that the many transitions between past and present are as fluent and as snappy as they can be.      

However, there is a rara avis on show here: nesting in the fold of these two is Shane McDermott’s more striking Mosaic of Dreams. To a five-foot tall Dali-esque/ Van Gogh ear that wanders on stage and sits at a kitchen table by a vase of sunflowers, a child narrates the story of her unconventional upbringing – a childhood dominated by an art-obsessed, increasingly unconventional, surreal mother. Eventually the mother’s childrearing is deemed inappropriate, madness rises, the ears duplicate, and the authorities intervene.        

So far, what’s new? Well, Mosaic of Dreams is patterned in a pleasing collage of corny jokes (the child fears her mother may die of an “art attack”), some rather more profound pokes at parochialism and social repression told in a couple of comic vignettes, and the whole twenty minutes is genero usly annointed by co-directors/performers Maria Tivnan and Rebecca Ryan with a plethora of theatrical high-jinks.        

Most refreshingly, though, Mosaic of Dreams shows McDermott shamelessly practising his art in public: in the process, a newcomer demonstrates hints of a new voice. There is a clear influence of Irish ‘Dirty Realists’ like Walsh or McPherson on the plot (social manners stifle individuality), the genre (domestic dystopia), and the style (repetition and the juxtaposing of surrealism and realism). However, the pl ay is less demonstratively clever and much more self-deprecating. It is artfully crafted craic with hints of a darker subtext.          

Incidentally, just as enlightening as the inventiveness of the company, the fun they have on stage and their determination to present new writing, is the fact that they manage a full house every night with shows that are not by Walsh, McDonagh, Friel or Synge.            

Matthew Harrison is an English Teacher in Coláiste Iognáid, Galway. He is also theatre critic with the Galway Independent and a regular contributor to arts programmes on RTÉ Radio."

© IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE

Fregoli Present "New Works"

Fregoli ‘New Works’ presents three shorts from three young Galway based writers.  .
Making Babies by Meadhbh Haiceid tells the story of two people in love who decide to have children, but can’t decide who they want their children to be most like. Is it possible to be too much in love? Is the world too scary to bring a child into? What if the children are given all the faults but none of the attributes of their creators? Making Babies was awarded best direction and best Actor at the Jerome Hynes One Act Series 2008.

At a Loss by Ann Blake explores how one decision can have a devastating effect on people’s lives and how one moment no matter how small can change one's idea of attraction, truth, loyalty, and freedom.  Winner of Jerome Hynes Award 2009 including awards for best direction, best actor and best actress.

Mosaic of Dreams by Shane McDermott is a play about a mother’s unique way of raising a child. About art and the art of story telling. About those people we suspect just because they are not necessarily subscribing to the norms of society.
Fregoli are delighted to have the opportunity to present these works to a Galway audience as there’s nothing they love more than bringing a new script to life. Fregoli New Works combines elements of physicality colour and imagination to deliver four nights of electric theatre.

These plays will be performed Wed 25th - Sat 28th at 8.30pm in Nuns Island Theatre.

Tickets €10 / €8
For tickets or further info contact:

Galway Arts Centre 
47 Dominick Street,
Galway.
Ph: + 353 (0) 91 565 886 / Fax: + 353 (0)91 568 642
Email info@galwayartscentre.ie

Galway Theatre Festival

The first Galway theatre festival starts on Wed Oct 22nd and runs until Sun 26th, thats five days with over 20 performances. The festival is run by the Galway Arts Centre in conjunction with six up and coming Galway based theatre companies, Fregoli being one of them!
As part of this festival Fregoli presents Producing Playmates, a new script by our very own Shane Mc Dermott.

Producing Playmates.
"How far can you step over the lines of reality into your imagination before you can't come back? A play about frustration, fantasy, fiction, and ultimately; a choice..."
Written by Shane McDermott. Directed by Tracy Bruen.

Fregoli also presents:

Savage Love.
"Real and imaginative moments in a love affair"
Written by Joseph Chaikin/Sam Sheppard. Directed by Lucia Smyth

Both these plays will be performed in an hours slot on Wed 22nd at 10.30pm and Thurs 23rd at 4.00pm in Nuns Island Theatre.
It promises to be a great festival and we are very excited to be part of it all!
For tickets or further info contact:

Galway Arts Centre 
47 Dominick Street,
Galway.
Ph: + 353 (0) 91 565 886 / Fax: + 353 (0)91 568 642
Email info@galwayartscentre.ie

Maids at the Town Hall studio

Jean Genet's The Maids is a deep and violent exploration of enslavement and poverty and on the love hate relationship those in servitude feel for those who hold their figurative chains.

Based on a high profile murder case involving two young sisters working as maids and their mistress in 1930s France, Genet chooses absurdist drama to explore this dilemma. Fregoli Theatre Company have become known for their fast energetic theatre are bringing new fluidity to this script with physicality and colour.

This is a play where roles are played and reversed, where no one is who they seem, where games are played and games taken too far, where the rawness of relationships is all to apparent, where every slight makes an open wound.

An absolute success at the Edinburgh Fringe,Fregoli are delighted and proud to take to the stage in their hometown with a piece of theatre abundant in raw forceful energy and a climatic ending that has left fringe audiences gasping.

The Maids runs in The Townhall Studio, from Mon Sept 29th to Oct Sat Oct 4th

For booking call The Townhall Theatre at 091 569777

Tape - 5 star review in "Three Weeks" at Edinburgh Fringe Festival

'Tape' is a modern play about three former school friends, which follows the classical unities of action, time and space. Although performed in real time, it never lost my attention, as the acting and directing were truly exceptional, at times feeling like a West End production. Addressing themes such as morality, betrayal and drug-use, it is a hard-hitting piece, which is sensitively developed by an outstanding cast, especially Shane McDermot, who fantastically portrayed the turmoil of a man with a regrettable past. The company is only at the festival for 5 days, in a venue with the capacity of 30, so this is definitely a production to catch before the festival ends, as you won't see better acting in such an intimate space.

tw rThe Maids runs in The Townhall Studio, from Mon Sept 29th to Oct Sat Oct 4th publFor booking call The Townhall Theatre at 091 569777

Coming Late Summer...

Coming Soon we have "Maids" by Jean Genet which will accompany "Tape" to the Edinburgh Fringe.... Also We're in Production stages with Vendetta Theatre Company and Marty Mulligan for hosting Electric Picnics First Theatre Stage LaScala...

 

Sunday Tribune Review Magazine listed Fregoli Theatre as no.3 in the 5 best Irish acts at the Edinburgh Fringe

''For all the celebrity comedians and star venues that more or less guarantee you'll see something good by somebody with a reputation,
the beating heat (and growling bowels) of the Fringe are the students. Galway company Fregoli, formed by former members of UCG's dramsoc, are trying their hand this year, bringing two shows, 'Tape' by Stephen Belber and 'The Maids' by Jean Genet. Maria Tivnan is disarmingly modest, and realistic, about their objectives. 'We want to see how we can sell a show, and live together in a really small space.'
The cast for each show (which have successive runs) will do the publicity work for each other. They'll have 8,000 flyers and a collection of paper flower bdages themed on 'The Maids' that they're making themselves as a further gimmick. They're also planning to busk, with a street act based on their concept for 'The Maids' which has the actors tied together with six foot lengths of material. They'll learn alright... they've spent 6,000 so far, and are planning a fundraiser in Galway for August 8th *.''

* this fundraiser has been postponed until a later date.

Stephen Belbers "Tape" @ Town Hall Theatre Studio

Cementing their reputation as Galway's hardest working Theatre Company, 'Fregoli' are now ready, proud and happy to launch one of their new productions "Tape" by Stephen Belber.

Set in real time in a seedy hotel room, we first meet Vince (Ronan McMahon) a twenty something slacker, part time drug dealer and part time fireman, who is awaiting a visit from his old school friend John (Shane McDermott) who is in town for the premiere of his small time film.

This should be a happy reunion of friendship, but Vince has other plans for the evening. What transpires is an hour of tough questions, some answers and an old flame of both – Amy (Lucia Smyth) whose appearance and attitude are not what one might expect.

Tape runs from the 16th - 21st of June in the Town Hall Studio at 9:30pm and also from the 18th – 23rd of August in Edinburgh's intimate Venue 3 at the Roxy Art House.

For Booking information please call the Town Hall Theatre Booking Line on 091 569777 or alternatively visit their website here

 

Presenting Roger Doger

After their sell out success at the Trim Festival of Masks Fregoli are back in the rehearsal rooms. Their new production will be a stage adaptation of Dylan Kidds Roger Dodger by the kind permission of the author. The show will take place in Cuba Club, Galway in the first week of March. Dates TBA.

Bedbound at Trim Festival of Masks

All going to plan Bedbound will soon be on its way to the prestigous Trim Festival of Masks. Its early days yet but we hope to share more information as it comes to us.

Review - Bedbound

A white-faced girl lies asleep in a grubby bed, illuminated by bright lights; her hair is tangled about her face. A nursery rhyme plays in the background. As the lights dim, casting the bed into shadow, she awakes. Rising from her slumber, she murmurs ‘I give into the words’. The nursery rhyme stops. A man leaps from beneath the stained covers, startling me, and begins an agitated rant, as he paces back and forth. He was the girl’s father (Shane McDermott), also white-faced and dishevelled, and seemed anxious as he marched across the stage, shouting about his job in a furniture store and interacting with characters from the shop. His daughter (Rebecca Ryan) reluctantly mimics these colleagues form the past; Dan-Dan, Mr.B; and Fat Eugene. Breathlessly he takes charge of the stage, with tale after tale of his glory days. Then he stops, falls flat on the covers, and is silent. His daughter watches him intently. ‘We are in a fairytale’ she whispers, shortly before puking into the bed.
Crude and often shocking, it was packed full of crap, sex, curses, vomit, snot, farts, sickness and death. It was violent and disturbing. And although the audience laughed as The Father impersonated how he wished his life could have been, rather than the reality, it was ultimately moving. Typical of  Enda Walsh, it was fast-paced, gripping and brave. Even braver were Fregoli Theatre Company to dare undertake it as their first production. Directors Rob McFeely and Maria Tivnan created just the right amount of suspense, humour and sadness, really waking the script and bringing it to life. It was addictive. Sitting in the dark corner of the cellar bar, as father and daughter reconciled, the nursery rhyme softly playing once again, it seemed the whole audience was mesmerized. As the daughter had first told us, ‘I give into the words’, I really did. And as I reluctantly left, the characters once more sleeping in their illuminated corner, I could only hope to see a lot more from FregoliTheatre Company, as Bedbound, their debut was well worth getting up for. 

Galway Theatre Review - Issue 2

 

 

Bedbound at the Cellar Downstairs

This Sunday sees the opening of our Bedbound by Enda Walsh. It promises to be an intense, shocking, energetic piece of theatre. Shows run on

Sunday 22nd at 13:30 and 20:00

Monday 23rd at 20:00

Tuesday 24th at 20:00

The lunchtime show on the Sunday has been perfectly timed so that everyone can get out afterwards in time for the macnas parade. MMMM the perfect sunday

Unfortunately we have been unable to set up a secure credit card booking system with our bank so for more info please contact 0861734074. We will set up ticket system through the bar instead. For the moment tickets are available on the door only

Welcome to Fregoli Theatre Company

Fregoli is a Galway Theatre Company born in 2007. Welcome to our new site. Our website is currenty under construction so please be patient. Please contact webmaster@fregolitheatre.com for further info etc..

Currently we are in rehearsal for an Enda Walsh Play Bedbound. This will run:

Sunday 22nd - Wednesday 25th July in Cellar Bar