Flanders Residency at Baboró Festival 2024

Project Name

Flanders Residency at Baboró Festival 2024

Project Partners

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children

Role of Galway Culture Company

Partner and Funder

Strategic Aim

This project falls under our second strategic aim;

Support and Develop Place-based Cultural Programming

Project Description

Baboró will shine a light on the innovative, groundbreaking work of artists and companies from Flanders in Belgium in the Baboró Festival in October 2024. We will invite robust discussion about the work being made in Flanders, how it boundaries and how it is funded to allow room to fail. We will explore opportunities for artist exchange and collaboration between Flanders and the West of Ireland in the future.

The invited companies are Cie Barbarie, BRONKS and Kopergietery.

• Compagnie Barbarie is a Belgian theatre collective consisting of five women. 
• BRONKS is a Brussels-based theatre creating, touring and presenting performing arts for young audiences, doing extensive educational work, running community projects and organising festivals, amongst which the international biennale EXPORT/IMPORT.
• KOPERGIETERY is a creative venue for young people, focusing on drama, dance and music in Ghent. It is a place where children and young adults are confronted with art, where artists and children create together and inspire one another, and a place that puts on performances, invites guest performers and organises drama workshops.

Project Outcomes – what we expect from this project

Baboró will present two exciting new shows from Flanders at the festival, 11 performances in all for schools, families, artists and industry delegates. Performances will include:

The Pale Baron, Kopergietery, Belgium (theatre) 10+ yrs

The Pale Baron is the great leader of the underwater state. He dislikes poets very much – their poetry can have all sorts of double meanings and that makes him feel very uncomfortable. Luckily, Felix and Felka are not poets. They are singers…

A new musical fable about a great friendship between two musicians during a repressive regime that hunts down anything or anyone deemed to be superfluous or different. A story full of heart and conviction that celebrates the power of friendship, words and music, told with gentle humour by the makers of The Queen Has Vanished.

The Pale Baron will be performed in English.

The Pale Baron performance dates are Wed 16 October 19.00, Thu 17 October 09.30, 12.30, Fri 18 October 09.30, 12.30 and Sat 19 October 14.00.

Book tickets to The Pale Baron here. 

Grown Ups, Cie Barbarie/BRONKS, Belgium (theatre) 5+ yrs

Grown-ups work. And children play. Or they go to school. Or they sleep. While grown-ups have to continue working. In the living room. On their computers. Once they’ve cleaned the kitchen.

Yet what do grown-ups really do while the children are at school? Do they put the world to rights? Do they have a nap? Or do they mess things up?

Do grown-ups really have everything under control? Do they really clean up the mess others have left behind? Or is it up to the children to clean up later?

An absurd, tragic horror-comedy about the ups and downs of being a grown-up. This hilarious show will have both children and adults in fits of laughter.

Grown-Ups will be performed in English.

Grown Ups performance dates are Sat 12 October 17.30, Sun 13 October 12.30, 15.30, Mon 14 October 11.00, 18.00 and Tue 15 October 09.30, 12.30.

Book tickets to Grown Ups here. 

There will also be a free talk:

Let’s Talk About Theatre in Flanders

Performances for children made in Flanders are world renowned for their ambition, sophistication and innovation. They don’t shy away from difficult topics, they don’t patronise. What makes Flemish work so unique? What can we in Ireland learn from this innovative approach? Hear about the rich theatre for young audiences scene in this area of Belgium from some of the leading makers. Followed by a reception and networking opportunity for creatives, presenters and funders.

Book tickets to Let’s Talk About Theatre in Flanders here. 

How this project is funded

Galway Culture Company, which is supported by the Government of Ireland under the National Development Plan through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Duration

October 2024.