Paul Curley - Theatre Artist in Residence 2022-2023

We are delighted to announce the continuation of Paul Curley as Draíocht's Theatre Artist in Residence for 2022 and 2023.

The residency began in August 2021 with an intense period of planning, research and consultation with schools in Dublin 15, in partnership with Draíocht and Fingal County Council. This was followed by a ‘pilot’ period for the presentation of live theatre in schools. This model will be further developed and rolled out in the early part of 2022 and 2023.

There is also time allocated in 2022 for development of 2 new projects and collaborations with other theatre artists.

The residency will conclude with a rigorous evaluation that will help provide a model for the provision of a diverse range of excellent theatre experiences for young audiences in schools in Dublin 15.

‘I am delighted to be awarded this opportunity with Draíocht. The commitment and passion that the entire team at Draíocht have for providing access to and experiences of excellent theatre for young audiences, is inspiring. I am very excited to broaden the reach of my work by presenting live theatre in schools, while also encouraging schools to continue to visit the theatre. I will also ignite 2 new theatre projects and forge meaningful audience engagement throughout this period.’ Paul Curley

Since 2015, Director Emer McGowan and Draíocht have supported Paul Curley’s work as a theatre artist specialising in making and presenting the highest standards of theatre for young audiences. This has been evident in the numerous presentations of Paul’s work including Bake! (2014) and THE DIG (2019). More recently the partnership has been augmented by the support of two new theatre projects for young audiences along with support from The Arts Council YPCE Project Award: ‘Polar Bear & Penguin’ in collaboration with John Currivan and ‘Grey Matter’ a new play commission from Draíocht written by Paul Curley, designed by Ger Clancy.

'Paul Curley’s Residency supported by Draíocht & The Arts Council will facilitate a partnership which will allow us provide children with on-going access to theatre performances in the 2021/22 period, when coming out of schools to visit theatres may not be possible for some. Draíocht has always placed its audience and artists at the heart of our vision. Paul’s Residency will connect us to this important demographic while supporting an artist of note. We envisage the Residency to have a real impact in terms of our own public-engagement strategies and how these move forward through COVID-19 and beyond.’ Emer McGowan

Paul Curley’s Theatre Artist Residency in Draíocht is supported by The Arts Council, with additional funding provided by Fingal County Council and Draíocht.