Culture Night in the National Opera House Friday, 18 September

(Friday, 11 September 2015) The National Opera House is delighted to participate in Ireland’s national Culture Night next Friday, 18 September with a full programme of free events.  This will be the first year to celebrate the event as Ireland’s National Opera House with a variety of programmes reflecting the diverse mix of events that perform in this internationally award-winning venue year-round.

Beginning at 4.30 and running straight through until 8pm, delve into a variety of drama, dance and music.  Olga Conway and her students from Discovering Drama kick off the evening performing excerpts of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.   Deirdre Grant/Myriad Dance, no strangers to Wexford audiences, perform a special piece entitled, PlayDance, while Newline Theatre, well known for writing sight-specific theatre pieces, make their debut in the National Opera House with The Dawn: A dynamic dip into short stories, plays, sketches and poems.  And just for a laugh, Wexford Improv Group will perform their usual zany and off-the-cuff comedy cocktail.

But of course what would the National Opera House be without music?  This year audiences can come along to hear the New Ross Singers, the award-winning Wexford Light Opera Society, the Wexford Festival Opera children’s chorus under the direction of Elizabeth Dwral and of course, the highlight of every Wexford Culture Night, a showcase of singers who will be performing in this year’s Wexford Festival Opera.

All events are free, suitable for all ages and are approximately 20 minutes in length.  Whether you are a regular participant of the arts or would like to get a sample of the immense talent that exists in County Wexford, the National Opera House is the place to be on Ireland’s Culture Night 2015. And if you can’t make it into the National Opera House, tune into RTÉ Radio 1 ARENA programme beginning at 7pm to hear a full programme of entertainment including the British Baritone David Stout who will be performing live from Meeting House Square in Dublin’s Temple Bar ahead his appearance in Wexford Festival Opera’s production of the Italian gothic drama, Guglielmo Ratcliff.

For more information and schedule, visit www.nationaloperahouse.ie

Culture Night is brought to you by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with the regional arts offices, local authorities and other cultural organisations throughout the island of Ireland.