Blue Teapot brings Fairy Tree to Ballina

Blue Teapot Theatre Company is celebrating its thirtieth year as Ireland’s leading theatre company for people with intellectual disabilities, bringing its festival show Fairy Tree to Ballina Arts Centre on Wednesday, November 18th, at 11am.

Written and directed by Rod Goodall, Fairy Tree is back by popular demand having previously enjoyed two sold-out runs in Galway. It is a warm-hearted, winter’s tale, performed by an inclusive cast. The show is primarily aimed at children aged six and up and is suitable for all audiences, featuring puppetry, original music and song.

The story of Fairy Tree explores the tradition of bringing a Fir Tree into our homes at mid-winter but only for twelve days. Director Rod Goodall was inspired by “the importance of our relationship with each other, nature and perhaps the fairy world".

"It’s celebration and acceptance that we are all different," he adds.

The Galway company is set to visit Ballina Arts Centre, Roscommon Arts Centre and Glor, Ennis before finishing with three pre-Christmas shows at The Mick Lally Theatre, Galway.

Speaking about the tour, artistic director Petal Pilley commented: “I’m delighted to announce Blue Teapot’s Fairy Tree Tour along the western region which includes a fantastically festive children’s show, a theatre workshop led by our actors and exciting pre and post engagement materials for schools.

"Our Fairy Tree project was designed to span three years with a built-in pilot and evaluation in year one to support even stronger delivery in years two and three. It’s wonderful that the Arts Council has supported the life span of this project, enabling us to bring top notch inclusive theatre to many children from ages 6 to 70!”

Founded in 1996, Blue Teapot evolved from an arts project within Brothers of Charity Services Galway to become the award-winning, independent theatre company that supports an increasingly rich and diverse practice. For three decades, Blue Teapot has worked consistently to radically transform theatre practices by telling stories through the lens of disability. Theatrical highlights have included Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Christian O’Reilly’s Sanctuary (stage play and feature film), Brian Friel’s Dancing At Lughnasa, and Charlene Kelly’s Into the Dark Woods, a co-production with The Abbey.