WELCOME TO THE 2011 Synge Summer School

30 June to 3 July

LATEST NEWS, 30 June 2011

The programme for the 2011 Synge Summer School is online NOW

Lectures (including the Colm Toibin event) are open to the public, but places are very limited. Please email Patrick.lonergan@nuigalway.ie for details of entry fees (at least 24 hours in advance if possible).

Tickets for Una McKevitt’s plays are available from The Mermaid Arts Centre.

Other events (seminars, book launch, tour of Synge country) are not open to the public.

The Synge Summer School is held in Avondale House, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. See here - http://www.visitwicklow.ie/attractions/avondale_house.htm - for more information about the venue

You can now download this year’s brochure from this website – click on this link

Recommended readings for seminars are now online. You can also read short summaries of some of the papers here.

We will also be launching the second volume of essays from the Synge Summer School: Synge and His Influences .

We are proud to be working again this year with the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray. They have some great productions lined up during the coming months – see http://www.mermaidartscentre.ie/

So Please feel free to email Patrick.lonergan@nuigalway.ie or info@syngesummerschool.org to register your interest.

While visiting the Synge Summer School, do consider visiting the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. They will be showing Friel’s Translations during the period June/July.

ABOUT the 2011 SYNGE SUMMER SCHOOL

The Synge Summer School is a gathering of people who are enthusiastic about Irish theatre and drama. Each year, we welcome participants from many different professions (academics, students, teachers, public servants, theatre practitioners, journalists, and people from many other walks of life), and from many different countries (Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, China, Japan, and elsewhere).

Participants attend a series of talks, seminars, and social events over the course of a long weekend (from Thursday afternoon to Sunday evening) in the beautiful setting of Avondale House in County Wicklow.

Lectures are given by leading scholars of Irish drama. They focus not only the works of J.M Synge but also on other Irish dramatists and performances.

Lectures usually last for between 45 minutes and an hour, and are followed by about 30 minutes of discussion, which all participants are welcome to contribute to, if they wish. Lectures are intended to be accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences. A reading list will be provided: it is not essential to read any of the play on the list in advance, but doing so may enhance your appreciation of the lectures.

Seminars This year, we are offering four seminars; participants select one from that list. A seminar is a small group of people (usually no more than eight), who will meet twice (on Friday and Saturday mornings) to discuss a specific theme. The discussion will be led for about 90 minutes by a dedicated specialist, who will ensure that all participants have an opportunity to share their views with each other. Seminar participants should read the recommended plays in advance (again, a reading list will be provided). Seminars are intended to take place in a relaxed, friendly and informal setting; as with the lectures, they will prove rewarding for both academic and non-academic participants.

Social events . These include:

A visit to the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray to see two plays by Una McKevitt, one of the most exciting young theatre-artists currently working in Ireland. Her play Victor and Gord was a prize-winner at the 2008 Dublin Fringe Festival, and 565+ was one of the hits of the 2009 Dublin Theatre Festival.

Participants will also have a chance to hear Colm Toibin deliver a memoir-style lecture about Irish theatre in the 1980s.

There will also be a tour of Avondale House (the home of Charles Stewart Parnell and the venue for the School) and of Synge country.

We look forward to welcoming you to Wicklow for what promises to be a stimulating and enjoyable weekend.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with the School’s Director Patrick Lonergan (Patrick.Lonergan@nuigalway.ie) or email info@syngesummerschool.org/

 

 

 

 

 

RECENT NEWS

The Irish Times names the Synge Summer School one of the 'top events' of summer 2010

We have recently added images to the Gallery

DruidSynge DVD now onsale

Old Synge Summer School website now online in our ARCHIVE

 

If you have queries about the programme, please feel free to contact Patrick Lonergan, the Director of the School at patrick.lonergan@nuigalway.ie

 

VIEW OUR ARCHIVE

 

Programme 2010 

Programme 2009

Programme 2008

Earlier Programmes

 

 

Page Updated 14 February 2011

 

© 2011 The Synge Summer School