Tread Softly…
A Season of Yeats
29th July – 10th August
www.seasonofyeats.com
Tread Softly… is the inaugural festival in Sligo celebrating the link between the Yeats brothers William Butler and Jack B and Sligo. Featuring a mix of theatre, music, film, readings and visual art.
WB Yeats is considered by many to be the greatest English language poet of the 20th Century. Throughout his life he wrote about Sligo and the beauty, folklore and spirituality of the surrounding landscape. His brother Jack once said he never created a painting “without at least a thought of Sligo in it”.
Commenting on the inaugural year, Rory O’Connor of the Sligo Yeats Partnership said: “The Yeats brothers are two of Ireland’s most revered sons and the life history of both is inextricably linked with Sligo. We want to encourage Sligo residents and visitors to understand and celebrate this connection and the artistic tradition of Sligo that still lives on to this day.”
Featuring collaborations between visual artists and musicians, as well as intriguing theatre, readings and an unmissable vintage day where the whole of Sligo town will come out dressed in Edwardian style. The festival will welcome some amazing talent to Sligo for 10 days over the summer, including musicians from The Waterboys, Kíla and Dervish as well as writers such as Seamus Heaney, Kevin Barry, Belinda McKeon and Brian Leyden, all to help celebrate Sligo’s artistic heritage.
Selected Festival Highlights:
Cloths of Heaven, Tues 31st July – an enchanting mixture of stories and music weaved together by author Brian Leyden and acclaimed fiddle player Steve Wickham (The Waterboys)
Various trad music sessions across the festival, including a very special Traditional Music Extravaganza featuring Steve Wickham, Dee Armstrong from Kila and other special guests
He Tells of Perfect Beauty – a series of collaborations between 10 Sligo-based visual artists and musicians, to create a multi-media exhibition of new work that celebrates and is inspired by the poetry of WB Yeats, at the Hawk’s Well Theatre, with a live performance of the music in the exhibition on Friday 3rd August at 8pm
Yeats Vintage Day, 4th August – With vintage cars and carriages, and prizes for best dressed man and woman, this will be a great day so don’t miss your opportunity to dress up in the Edwardian style costume of the 20’s, step back in time and have a load of fun along the way
Purgatory – Lunchtime performances of W.B. Yeats’ play by Blue Raincoat Theatre
Thoughts of Sligo – Season of Yeats on film, including Sean O’Mordha’s two-part documentary Soul of Ireland, as well as a season of short films
Readings by acclaimed poets and authors Seamus Heaney, Harry Clifton, Belinda McKeon, Kevin Barry, Ciaran Carson, Sinead Morrisey, Justin Quinn, Bernard O’Donoghue, Eamonn Grennan, Peter Fallon and John Kavanagh
Yeats and Son – exhibition in The Model, Sligo, exhibiting the work of John Butler and Jack B Yeats
Exhibition of original costumes from productions of Yeats’ plays at the Abbey Theatre
Various Yeats walking, minibus and boat tours throughout the festival see the Yeats Country at its best and hear the stories and lore associated with this beautiful and richly historical corner of Ireland
Tread Softly… is an initiative of Blue Raincoat Theatre, The Hawk’s Well Theatre, The Model and Sligo Live supported by Fáilte Ireland and is produced by Sligo Yeats Partnership. The festival would also like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance from the Yeats Society Sligo.
For full information and programme details log into – www.seasonofyeats.com
Or contact Sligo Tourist Office O’Connell Street Sligo on (071) 91 61201
Ticket Booking: The Hawk’s Well, Temple Street, Sligo 071 9161526 www.hawkswell.com
