Druid commemorates the centenary of J.M. Synge’s death (March 24th, 1909) during the Galway Arts Festival with a series of readings of works from his prose, poetry and plays on Sunday July 26th, 2009. Set in the beautiful surrounds of St. Nicholas’ Church, the Synge Centenary promises to be a once off intimate evening celebrating the life of a playwright who remains, 100 years after his death, one of the greatest voices for Druid and for the whole of Irish theatre.

Garry Hynes, Mick Lally and Druid cast members from the last thirty four years, including Aaron Monaghan, Catherine Walsh and other members of the DruidSynge company will honour his work and life, covering everything from his plays to his book The Aran Islands and looking at Synge the writer alongside Synge the man.

Considered to be one of Ireland’s great dramatic giants and the founding father of Irish drama, Synge’s influences can be felt in many of the writers who came after him. Druid has a long association with the writer and for a time was described as the company’s house playwright. The Playboy of the Western World was the first play staged by Druid in 1975 and since then the company has revisited his work and been credited with reinventing his plays for audiences both at home and abroad. DruidSynge, a unique staging of all six of J.M Synge’s plays by Druid on the same day, received its world premiere at the 2005 Galway Arts Festival.

PARTICIPANTS ON THE EVENING
Denis Conway
Garry Hynes
Mick Lally
Aaron Monaghan
Eamon Morrissey
Mikel Murfi
Gemma Reeves
Catherine Walsh
Eileen Walsh