It all started with the Calipo Theatre Company 22 years ago
THERE were plenty of celebrations around town to mark the success of Mad Mary.
Director Darren Thornton established the award-winning Calipo Theatre Company in 1995. He has directed numerous stage productions during his tenure as Artistic Director. He made his television debut directing the IFTA award-winning Love is the drug’ in 2004, a six-part comedy-drama series for RTÉ.
Meanwhile, Louth Contemporary Music Society’s co-founder and curator, Eamonn Quinn has also been announced as the winner of the 2018 Belmont Prize for contemporary music by the Forberg Schneider Foundation in Munich. The Belmont Prize honours ‘innovation, daring, and courage’ in music and is awarded every two years. It is one of Europe’s largest artistic awards and puts Eamonn in the company of leading lights in the world of music including composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, and Serbian composer Milica Djordjevi.
Both prizes are good news for Drogheda Arts Festival as Darren Thornton’s first short film Frankie, which won the Prix UIP award at the Berlin film festival in 2008 and the European Academy Award for best short film in the same year, will feature as one of six films in the Festival’s Short Film Fest on Tuesday 25 April at 8pm in Droichead Arts Centre.
On Saturday 29 April, audiences can discover why Louth Contemporary Music Society is held in such high regard when they present the premiere of a new work by one of the UK’s most internationally celebrated composers, James Dillon. The Louth Work: Orphic Fragments promises to be a stimulating adventure into the most contemporary sounds in new music and will be performed by Ireland’s top contemporary music group, Crash Ensemble with soprano Peyee Chen conducted by Sinead Hayes. See this wonderful performance in St. Peter’s Church of Ireland at 8pm. Tickets 10 euro.
The Drogheda Arts Festival runs from 24 April – 1 May. Booking and full details available from www.droghedaartsfestival. ie or +353 (0) 41 9833946.