Solstice Arts Centre

Next Script Club: Wednesday 23rd June @ 7pm. Discussing Deirdre Kinahan’s new play Bogboy.

SCRIPT CLUB is a new venture being launched by Tall Tales Theatre Company and Solstice Arts Centre in association with the Meath County Council Arts Office.

What is it?
SCRIPT CLUB works along the same lines as a book club. Tall Tales have picked out various different types of plays that members of SCRIPT CLUB read during the month and then everyone gets together in The Solstice for a cuppa or maybe a glass of wine to discuss the play in question. That’s it, simple! Aswell as monthly get togethers we will also be organising for the odd cheap tickets trip to the theatre to coincide with plays we are reading at the time as well as getting speakers down every now and then to give us some ‘insight’ into the plays.

How do I join and how much is it?
All you have to do email Tracy at info@talltales.ie to say you’d like to attend. Then you buy your copy of that months play in Bookwise in Navan town centre. Read the play and come along to see what everyone else thought of it. Apart from the price of the play membership of SCRIPT CLUB is free!!

What plays will we be reading?
The following plays have been picked out by Tall Tales Artistic Director Deirdre Kinahan.

Do I have to speak at the meetings and do I have to attend each one?
Absolutely not! You can come and go as you please and if your preference is to just come and listen to others wax lyrical then that’s perfectly allright.

< go back to February events

Since opening in 2006, Solstice has been the cultural anchor for Co. Meath, presenting and commissioning works of artistic and cultural importance. We have embraced a vibrant local arts community and have connected strongly with a core, loyal audience.

To help us continue nurturing and developing the arts in Meath and  reach new audiences, we are calling on you – our supporters, our customers to become a Patron of Solstice.

Being a Patron of Solstice your contribution will help us to develop our artistic programme, bringing top quality national and international works of artistic and cultural importance to Co. Meath while also helping us assist with local arts development.  As a Patron you will, at first hand, experience this worthwhile and valuable development while also benefiting from your contribution in a number of meaningful ways.

There are three levels to our  Patronage scheme. Click on the Patronages below to purchase.

Single Patronage       € 60

Double Patronage     €100

Gold Patronage        €150

We have made a conscious move from our existing Membership scheme to this new Patronage scheme as we feel our supporters will not only benefit more from such scheme, but play a vital role in the development and growth of the organisation.

Choose from one of our Patronage schemes and your benefits will include;

A Special Patrons Evening, includes ticket(s) to a performance and hospitality (1 ticket for Single Patrons, 2 tickets for Double and Gold Patrons)

Priority Booking (Book for popular events before they go on general release)

Discounted Patron Ticket Rates (Based on 1 ticket for Single Patrons, 2 tickets for Double and Gold Patrons

10% discount on gallery sales

Recruit a new Patron and receive extra benefits

Regular 2 for 1 offers

…….Exclusive to Gold Patrons

Entertain guests or simply enjoy 4 complimentary tickets to use at your leisure.

Please contact Áine Kiernan if you wish to pursue with becoming a Patron of Solstice or if you have any further questions..  T: 046 909 2300| E: aine.kiernan@solsticeartscentre.ie

We look forward to welcoming you to Solstice on your future visits to the centre.
Registered in Ireland No. 387313/ Charity No. CHY 17588

Date: Saturday 18th September               Time: 8.00pm

Opera Theatre Company presents

(One Act, 53 minutes)                                         
Vivid and insightful, this heartrending opera recreates the world of 13 year-old Anne Frank in hiding, living in hope and fear, longing for normality for herself and her family.

Opera Theatre Company’s 24th year of touring opera throughout Ireland continues with this memorable and atmospheric opera. Russian composer Grigory Frid, whose own family suffered enormously under Stalin, was so inspired by Anne Frank’s diary that he created the opera in 1969.

Sung in English, her powerful optimism and unbending will to live continue to instill awe. The focus is on Anne Frank’s original words – her joy over a glimpse of blue sky, the budding love for her friend Peter, her determination to remain courageous, her humour and resilient hopes for freedom – all find moving and eloquent expression in the poignant score.

With Andrew Synnott conducting Opera Theatre Company’s eight-piece chamber orchestra and with direction by Ingrid Craigie and Annilese Miskimmon, this compelling production should not be missed.

Duration: (1 Act, 53 minutes)

Early Bird Booker: Book before 10th September for only €16!

Tickets €20/€16 concession

< go back to SEPTEMBER events 

Date: Thursday 7th October           Time: 1.30pm & 8.00pm

Presented by Calipo Theatre Company

10 Dates with Mad Mary: A Romantic Comedy (sort of)
By Yasmine Akram

Mary McArdle is the toughest fighter in town, a title that earned her the moniker ‘Mad Mary’ when she was 15. Now she’s 25 and just out of prison. Back home, everything has changed. All the old gang have grown up, and the only thing Mary has to look forward to is being bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding. But even this comes at a price - she has to find a date for the big day, and finding a date in a town where everyone knows your name is not going to be easy.

Calipo Theatre Company invite you to join Mad Mary as she searches for a ‘nice boy’ among the geeks, freaks and misfits of small town Ireland, learning the hard way that sometimes being a lover is tougher than being a fighter.

Directed by: Darren Thornton

Set Design: Kieran McNulty

Lighting Design: Sarah Jane Shields

Costume Design: Suzanne Keogh

Sound Design: Jack Cawley.
REVIEWS “Laugh out loud funny………..an accomplished piece of work”.
Irish Theatre Magazine.

“Sets the serially abused monologue back on its feet for one last stagger through the underbelly of Irish Urban Life”. Irish Independent.

Early Bird Special Offer: Is your name Mary? Book before 23rd September for only €10

Ticket PRICE €15/€12

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Date: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th OCTOBER                                                      

Time: 8.00pm

Ballet Ireland is delighted to announce plans to present a brand new production of Romeo & Juliet choreographed by Morgann Runacre-Temple. The production will have its world premiere at the Gaiety Theatre on Tuesday October 19th. Shakespeare’s tale of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, is one of the greatest love stories of all time. Against a backdrop of ancient feuds and gang warfare, the ill-fated young couple falls instantly and hopelessly in love. But their families are bitter enemies, and in order to be together the two lovers must be prepared to risk everything…

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL OFFER :  Book tickets for Romeo & Juliet before 17th September for only €16!

Ticket Price after 10th September: €20 full price /€16 concession /046 9092300

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Date: Friday 22 October                         Time: 8.00pm

Up in that Pantheon inhabited by the biggest selling recording artistes of all time in Ireland,  rubbing shoulders with Bono and the Boys, you might be surprised to bump into Phil Coulter.  You shouldn’t be!

It’s now twenty years since the distinctive sound of Tranquility, featuring Phil’s piano and orchestra, first seduced the whole of Ireland with its easy melodic charm, before going on to make believers around the world.   With record sales now counted in millions, as well as a Grammy nomination, several appearances in the White House and sold out international tours, it’s been quite a ride.

Not that Phil Coulter had been a stranger to success in the music biz prior to that.   In the twenty years before Tranquility he had achieved world-wide recognition as a hit songwriter, notching up chart entries with a diverse list of acts from Elvis Presley to Waylon Jennings, from Bobby Vinton to The Bay City Rollers.   His production credits include Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Elvis Costello and Richard Harris  while in Ireland his successes have ranged from the Dubliners to Planxty, from Paddy Reilly to the Furey Brothers.

He has performed with everyone from James Galway and the London Symphony Orchestra to Nanci Griffith and The Blue Moon Orchestra, not to mention Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein and Quincy Jones!

He has contributed at least four titles to the list of Great Irish Songs  - the anthems ‘The Town I Loved So Well’ and ‘Ireland’s Call’ and the haunting ‘Scorn Not His Simplicity’ and ‘Steal Away’.

Now he has brought all of that musical experience and his boundless enthusiasm to help create another phenomenon, Celtic Thunder.   His well honed craft as a songwriter, coupled with his command of orchestral textures and an unerring ear for a great song, combine to make this show a treat for the ears.   As he says himself  “I can’t remember another project when I had so much fun!”

Phil Coulter with Special Guest Chloe Coyle (Winner of The All Ireland Talent Show) will play at the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan on Fri 22nd Oct at 8pm.

Ticket Price: €27.50 Full Price / €25 concessions. Call 046 9092300

< go back to OCTOBER events

Date: Friday 24th September                  Time: 8.00pm

“Golden” the debut album by the Kit Downes Trio has been shortlisted for the highly prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2010

Pianist/composer Kit Downes exploded onto the British Jazz Scene playing with the band Empirical, taking him through Europe and America, and then with Troyka, Fraud and Acoustic Ladyland. He then went on to win the BBC Jazz Award for Rising Star in 2008, as well as a Yamaha Scholorship in 2009. Now, two years on, Kit has moved on to his own trio project and this debut album sees him developing as a strong voice both as a performer and composer. Joined by his two Royal Academy colleagues award winning bassist Calum Gourlay and rising drum star James Maddren the music displays a level of understanding and intelligence between players that can only come from working closely together for a number of years. They read each other perfectly.
The band has spent these years developing their own personal sound. The music is immediately arresting and stands repeated listening. It uses melody, inspired from a range of sources ranging from Bela Bartok to Keith Jarrett to Rufus Wainwright, and endeavours both to celebrate the classic piano trio tradition as well as develop it. They have recorded live sessions for BBC Jazz on 3 as well as playing at the London Jazz Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Glasgow Jazz Festival.

2-4-3 OFFER: Buy 2 tickets get a third FREE

Ticket Price: €15/€12 concession / 046 909 2300

< go back to September events

Dates: Wednesday 17th - Friday 19th November 

Times: 8pm nightly, 12noon school’s performance on Wednesday 17th

St Patrick’s Classical School, Navan in conjunction with St Michael’s Loreto, Navan present the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” is set on a tropical island during World War II where U.S Navy nurse Nellie Forbush  falls “In Love With a Wonderful Guy” , a French planter named Emile de Becque.

Meanwhile clean cut Lieutenant Joe Cable has fallen in love with young Liat. Both couples’ happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. Also on the island are dozens of locals and Navy , all of whom break into wonderful song at all the right moments. The show’s gorgeous score includes “Cockeyed Optimist“, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair“,   and “Honeybun“.

Ticket Price: €10              Call: 046 909 2300

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Date: Saturday 6th November        Time: 8.00pm

Music Network present

WINNERS OF MUSIC NETWORK’S YOUNG MUSICWIDE COMPETITION IN 2009

Cappa Ensemble

Named after the celebrated 17th century Italian violin-maker Gioffredo Cappa, this exciting young chamber ensemble has quickly established itself as a quartet of outstanding artistry, equally at home playing classical and contemporary works. Previously a very successful string quartet, in July 2008 the group shifted its focus to performing works for both string trio and piano quartet. It has toured extensively in Australasia and Japan as well as enjoying a busy concert schedule performing to audiences throughout the UK. Its four members are all top-notch performers in their own right – and both Brian O’Kane and Michael McHale are former winners of the Camerata Ireland Young Musician of the Year. McHale has established himself as one of the leading Irish pianists of his generation, while cellist O’Kane has collaborated with artists such as the Vanbrugh Quartet, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Polish violinist Bartosz Woroch has toured with the Bern Symphony Orchestra and the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra and performed at the Barbican and the Wigmore Hall, and violist Adam Newman has played with the London Steve Reich Ensemble, the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Conchord Ensemble

PROGRAMME:

Mozart Piano Quartet in G minor k.478

Walton Piano Quartet in D minor

Elaine Agnew String Trio – 3 Angry Men

Schumann Piano Quartet in E flat major Op.47

REVIEW “This young award-winning Belfast pianist has an intuitive feel for music, and can cross musical boundaries effortlessly.” Sunday Business Post on Michael McHale

3-4-2 Special Offer: Book 2 tickets get a third free!

Ticket Price:  €15/€12 concession

< go back to NOVEMBER events

Date: Friday 4th DECEMBER             Time: 8.00pm

Music Network presents

Prepare for a night to remember as opera star Cara O’Sullivan reveals a more intimate side to her singing with a collection of gorgeous art songs and lieder. Famed for her sparkling voice, Cara has enraptured audiences in many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Sydney Opera House, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Opera de Paris and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Her wide-ranging repertoire includes the roles of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, as well as singing solo soprano in choral works such as Handel’s Messiah and Britten’s War Requiem. For this tour Cara is joined by award-winning Irish pianist Ciara Moroney.

Programme includes;
H. Purcell
Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation
(realisation by B. Britten)

Five songs by Schubert
Der Müsensohn (Goethe)
Litaney (Jacobi)
Ganymed (Goethe)
An die Musik (Schober)
Versunken (Goethe)

C. Debussy
Ariettes Oubliées (P. Verlaine)
C’est l’extase
Il pleure dans mon Coeur
L’ombre des arbres
Paysages belges:
Cheveax de bois
Aquarelles 1: Green
Aquarelles 2: Spleen

A. Fleischmann
Trí Ámhrain (or Wallace commission)

J. Rodrigo
Cuatro madrigals amatorios

(Anon)
“Con qué la lavaré”
Vos me matásteis
“De dónde venís, amore”
De los álamos vengo, madre

Three songs by Reynaldo Hahn
Si mes vers avaient des ailes (V. Hugo)
Quand je fus pris au pavillon (C. d’Orleans)
Chloris (T. de Viau)

Art songs written by acclaimed operatic composers

C. Gounod Serenade
G. Rossini Pastorella delle Alpi
V. Bellini Vaga Luna
G. Donizetti La Zingara
G. Verdi Lo Spazzacamino

REVIEW: “O’Sullivan is undoubtedly the Irish superstar of her generation.” The Irish Times

3-4-2 Special Offer: Book 2 tickets get a third free!

Ticket Price: €15/€12 concession

< go back to DECEMBER events

Date: Friday 1st OCTOBER                    Time:8.00pm

This talented piano/violin duo present a delectable programme including the classical works of Beethoven, Poulenc and Strauss.

For a full programme for this concert, click on this link

3-4-2 Special Offer: Buy 3 tickets get a third free!

Ticket Price:  €15/€12 concession / 046 909 2300

Héloîse Geoghegan, born in Ireland, began violin at age 6 and went on to win many national competitions both within and outside her age group. Described by Franco Gulli as very gifted, at 16 she recorded the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No.3 with the RTE Concert Orchestra for the ‘Rising Young Star’ series. Upon finishing school she won a scholarship to study in Florence, Italy, at the renowned Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. There she immersed herself in intense chamber music training, studying with the critically acclaimed Trio di Milano - Bruno Canino, Mariana Sirbu and Rocco Filippini. After Florence Héloîse continued her studies with Professor Mariana Sirbu at one of Germany’s most historic music colleges, the Felix Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig. During her studies there she was awarded a place in the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig. Héloîse went on to complete both her degree (2006) and her masters (2009) with 1st class honours. Heloise has taken masterclasses with Franco Gulli, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Stefan Georghiu, Rainer Kussmaul, Nora Chastain, Bruno Giuranna and Menahem Pressler. In 2004 Héloîse made her successful debut as soloist with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, with a captivating performance of Chausson’s Poème. She returned in 2006 and received a wonderful reception for her performance of Bruch’s violin concerto in G minor which was broadcast live throughout Europe. Héloîse has given recitals at the Lago di Como and Pontino Festivals (Italy), L’ASAM Concert Series in Siracusa (Sicily), Toscana Classica Concert Series (Florence), West Cork Chamber Music, Kilkenny Arts (Ireland) and Suolsalmi (Finland) Festivals. In chamber music she has collaborated with Mariana Sirbu, Rocco Filippini, Bruno Giuranna, Phillip Moll, Michael Joyce, Christian Giger, Tatjana Masurenko and Massimo Paris. 2009 highlights included performances of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor with the NSO in the National Concert Hall in Dublin and a tour with L’Orchestra del’Instituto Bellini in Italy. In December 2009 Héloîse became the new second violinist of the Callino Quartet. They were awarded a winter residency at the Banff centre in Canada in February and went on to make their Carnegie Hall debut in March 2010.

Michael Joyce began his piano studies at the Cork School of Music with Dr Bridget Doolan and Jan Čáp and where he himself currently teaches.  He continued his studies with Nerine Barrett and Renate Kretschmar-Fischer at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany, graduating with a first class honours BMus degree. After completing his studies in Germany, Michael worked as a teaching assistant at Yale University while pursing a Master of Music degree with Peter Frankl. Michael has performed in recital with singers Pauline Tinsley and Edel O’Brien, violist Nobuko Imai, violinists Héloîse Geoghegan, David Stewart, Keith Pascoe, Catherine Leonard, cellist Pavel Gomziakov and pianist Ciara Moroney. In 2006 Héloîse and Michael founded the Bellatrix Piano Trio with cellist Gerald Peregrine with whom they were artists in residence at the University of Limerick.  The Trio reached the semi-finals of the 2006 Vittorio Gui International Chamber Music Competition, in Florence Italy and performed recitals in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.

Héloîse and Michael perform regularly as a duo. Recent performances include Music for Wexford, the Felix Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik and Theatre, Leipzig, the Ponte de Lima opera and chamber music festival in Portugal, the Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal and the University of Limerick, Ireland. Later this year Héloîse and Michael will be performing at venues in Ireland, Germany and the UK, including Mendelssohn Haus in Leipzig, Germany, and culminating with their Wigmore Hall debut in London this December.

< go back to OCTOBER Events

Dates: Wednesday 10th - Thursday 11th November

Time: 8.00pm

Gúna Nua Theatre Company & Civic Theatre present the multi award-winning play LITTLE GEM by Elaine Murphy and directed by Paul Meade

‘…as hilarious as it is poignant’ The Sunday Times
‘…intimately told and beautifully acted’ The New York Times
‘ Little Gem delivers on the promise of its title’ The Times, UK
**** The Guardian, Time Out, The Financial Times, The Evening Standard, The Scottish Herald
WINNER BEST OF EDINBURGH AWARD 2009

This remarkable first play has sold out theatres in New York, London, Dublin and Paris, and at The Edinburgh Festival, winning the hearts of audiences and the admiration of critics.

Kay’s got an itch that Gem can’t scratch (but maybe Kermit can)… Lorraine attacks a customer at work and her boss wants her to see a psychiatrist … Amber has fierce bad indigestion and the sambucas aren’t getting rid of it. Then there’s Paul, who’s just using Amber until he can get to Australia … and there’s the hairy man who fancies Lorraine but fails to rise to the occasion… and of course Gem , who doesn’t like the neighbours coming in to ‘mind’ him. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, Little Gem makes his presence felt and well….life is never the same again.

‘ … any woman out there facing down the barrel of marriage, childbirth or old age would be well advised to ditch the sambuca and come to Little Gem instead.’ – ***** Time Out, London Caroline McGinn

See for yourself audiences reactions to LITTLE GEM in the Bush Theatre, London

Tickets €16/€13 . 

Early Bird Special Offer. Book before 22nd October for only €13!

< go back to NOVEMBER events

Date: Thursday 4th November                    Time: 8.00pm

Tickets €25 Full Price/ €22.50 concession. Call 046 909 2300

SPECIAL DEAL: Solstice have teamed up with The Newgrange Hotel to offer you a full nights entertainment. Enjoy a Pre-Show 3 Course Meal in The Newgrange Hotel and live music by Sandy Kelly, singing all of Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits, Overnight Accomodation with Full Irish Breakfast included. All for ONLY €75.00per person sharing > http://newgrange.profitroom.net/

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Patsy Cline - The Concert features the star of the original West End Production Sandy Kelly and her musicians in a non stop evening of hits. The evening will include all of Patsy Cline’s biggest hits including Crazy, I Fall To Pieces, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Your Cheatin’ Heart, After Midnight, Sweet Dreams, San Antone Rose and many many more.

Sandy Kelly is undoubtedly one of the finest entertainers Ireland has ever produced.  Her career stretches right back to her childhood and her family’s “Fit-Up” Roadshow.  Sandy Kelly first appeared on stage at the early age of 3.

Sandy Kelly represented Ireland in the Eurovision in 1982, she was a European ‘Gold Star Award’ winner in 1985, in 1986 and 1989 she represented Ireland at ‘Fan Fare’ in Nashville.  She had her own RTE TV series from 1990 – 1992 – the show never left the top ten Tam Ratings and was later aired on both Border and Sky TV in the UK.   She has appeared on British and American TV on numerous occasions.

Sandy Kelly has recorded with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, George Hamilton IV, Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Jett Williams (Hank William’s daughter), Randy Van Warmer, The Jordanaires, Chet Atkins and more recently Hal Ketchum to name but a few worldwide stars.  She has had two gold records with Johnny Cash: “Woodcarver’ and ‘Ring of Fire’ and a Gold Album and Single for her ‘Patsy Cline’ tribute recordings.  Sandy has toured with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Slim Whitman.  The list goes on and on and it shows the true talent that Sandy possesses that so many of the world’s top artists are now associated with her.

One of her biggest successes in her glittering career was the Lead role in “A Musical Tribute To Patsy Cline” which toured Britain for a record 37 weeks before opening in London’s West End.  Sandy made over 500 appearances in this show before moving onto writing and directing her own Patsy Tribute Show ‘Patsy Cline: The Concert’ which has been a phenomenal success.

Sandy released a Greatest Hits CD, “The Best of Sandy Kelly”, in 2009. It contains some of Sandy’s finest work from her enduring and magical musical journey.  The 22 track album has many of Sandy’s hit songs through the years and features some wonderful duets with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and Glen Campbell.

Johnny Cash: “It was my pleasure to sing with my favourite female artist, Sandy Kelly.  In America she has been Ireland’s greatest ambassador.  She won the hearts of everyone who saw her.  I am honoured to be included as one of the guest artists on her album”.

Willie Nelson: “Sandy Kelly is, in my opinion, one of the top 15 female artists in the world”

< go back to November events

Date: Thursday 9th - Thursday 23rd December

Gallery Opening Hours:  11am - 4pm

Meath County Council Arts Office & Solstice Arts Centre present the Going Solo Award Exhibition

Image credit: ‘Battery’: Sinead Fahey

Going Solo is an exhibition of work by Sinead Fahey from Dunboyne, the 2010 winner of the Meath County Council Arts Office in association with Solstice Arts Centre ‘Going Solo Award’. This award is intended to support recent graduates of art living in, or from Co. Meath and to assist young and emerging artists in the development of their professional careers.

Taking her inspiration from artists such as David Shrigley and Canadian artists Marcel Dzama and Neil Farber, her work toes the line between surrealism and comic book art.

Of her work Sineád says’ the first step in making the work I make, and the main point of consideration in looking at the finished product, is to understand that it is an art that does not, and should never, take itself too seriously. It comes from two things, a disregard for logic, and a distortion of childhood memory. I enjoy making my images and above anything else I want the viewer to enjoy the experience when looking at them. The best reaction I could hope to receive is a smile because then I know that the work has done what its supposed to do, what I wanted it to do…’

A past pupil of St Peters College, Dunboyne, Sineád Fahey graduated from NCAD with a BA (Hons) in History of Art and Design and Fine Art in June 2009. She has exhibited in group shows in the Cross Gallery and Monster Truck Gallery, Dublin and was a winner of the AXA Purchase Prize, NCAD June 2009.

Admission Free

< go back to DECEMBER Events

Date: Saturday 25th - Sunday 26th September

Time: 11 - 2pm

Solstice Arts Centre in association with Tall Tales Theatre Company and in partnership with Meath County Council Arts Office present a series of Professional Theatre Workshops.

Peter Sheridan is a writer, theatre director, playwright, screenwriter and film director. In 2000 he wrote and directed the film Borstal Boy, based upon the Brendan Behan memoir. Sheridan also recently directed the acclaimed Shawshank Redemption world stage premiere in the Gaiety Theatre.

Fee for the 2 day workshop: €80 / 046 909 2300

Fee for this workshop includes admission to An Evening with Peter Sheridan on Saturday 25th September.

Other workshops in the series: 

Set Design with Maree Kearns - 23 - 24 October

Screenwriting with Eugene O’Brien - 27 - 28 November

< go back to SEPTEMBER events 

Date: Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th OCTOBER

Time: 10am - 5pm

Recieving her first Irish Times Theatre Award for her set design for the Nomad Network play “Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme”, Maree has worked with most of the established theatre and dance companies in Ireland. For this workshop Maree will go through the basics in technical drawing and model-making.

Fee for the 2 day workshop: €80 / 046 909 2300

Other workshops in this series:

Screenwriting with Eugene O’Brien: 27th - 28th November

< go back to OCTOBER events 

Dates:  Saturday 27th - Sunday 28th NOVEMBER

Times: 10am - 5pm

Eugene’s screenwriting credits include RTÉ’s ‘Pure Mule’, ‘Eden’ and ‘Cold Turkey’. Eugene will present different processess used when writing for the screen including characterisation, scene selection and formatting.

Fee for the 2 day workshop: €80 / 046 909 2300

< go back to NOVEMBER events

Date: Saturday 25th SEPTEMBER        Time: 8pm

SUPPER AT SOLSTICE 

Join Peter Sheridan as he conjures up the voices and accents of his 1960’s childhood. This is a coming of age story, peopled with deliciously eccentric characters and surreally bizarre incidents. Brilliantly funny and seriously moving, it pulls at all the emotions.

Duration: 90 minutes

Praise for the author’s work:
‘Peter Sheridan writes at the crossroads where hilarity and heartbreak, tenderness and savagery meet.  The people who live there are often cruel, often agnificent, and always, always human.  He captures them perfectly.’  Roddy Doyle

‘Memorable entertainment…wonderfully turned comic scenes.’  Robert Cremins, The Houston Chronicle

‘A funny, tender, and vividly rendered (show)…Sheridan has brilliantly re-created his delightful, poignant boyhood.’  Kirkus Reviews

‘Peter Sheridan has remade the lost world of sixties Dublin in this knock-out memoir, a gently powerful act of memory and love.’  Sebastian Barry

Ticket Price:€16 / 046 909 2300

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Dates & Times: Saturday 13th, 8pm & Sunday 14th, 2pm

Dance Force Academy once again take to the stage at Solstice showcasing their talents. This vibrant, energy packed dance show is one not to be missed. Dance Force Academy is one of Meath’s most sought after dance schools based in Trim, classes are taught by Australian dancer/choregrapher Pauline Dwyer.

Ticket Price:  €15/€12 concessions    CALL: 046 909 2300

< go back to NOVEMBER events 

Date: Sunday 7th NOVEMBER             Time: 8.00pm

SOLD OUT!

< go back to NOVEMER events

Opening Night: Thursday 2nd September          Time: 7.30pm

Exhibition continues untilThursday 23rd September

The Bend of the Boyne, or Brú na Bóinne is internationally renowned for its elaborate Neolithic passage tombs, containing the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe.  Lost and Found explores the Megalithic Art of County Meath by conencting investigative practices of archaeologist and artist.

Prof. George Eogan’s prolific factual study of Megalithic art of the county interlinks with the diverse work of four contemporary artists.  Curated by Brian Fay, Niall de Buitléar, Fiona Hallinan, Anna MacLeod and Sabina Mac Mahon query the modern day relation of iconic Megalithic art and sites in County Meath.

Admission Free

 < go back to SEPTEMBER events

Date: Sunday 3rd October           Time: 8.00pm

A celebration of spiritual, gospel & inspirational songs from our greatest liturgical artists including Liam Lawton and Graham Kendrick.  Performed by international award winning singer Jenny McCabe with special guests Athboy Community School Choir,  Ray O’Hare, Stephanie Finney, Vincent Russell & Catherine Traynor.

Musical Director: Gay Kirwan.

Choir Director: Jackie McGowan.

Ticket price: €15.00  Call: 046 909 2300

< go back to October events 

Date: Tuesday 19th October                 Time: 8.00pm

The All Island School Choir Competition will take place during the Autumn 2010 school term. This exciting competition culminates in four Regional Finals in October at The Royal Theatre, Castlebar,  Cork School of Music,  Solstice Arts Centre Navan and Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh, followed by the Grand Final at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast televised, live on RTÉ 1 on November 14th 2010. The concept behind the competition is to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution that music and choirs make to school life.

Solstice Arts Centre will play host to five schools battling it our for a place in the live Grand final on Tuesday the 19th of October.  For information on tickets, please contact choir@cooperationireland.org

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Dates: Wednesday 24th - Sunday 28th Novemeber

Time:  8.00pm

Navan Theatre Group are proud to present the award winning play Translations by Brian Friel and are delighted to return to Solstice following last year’s sell out production of Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde. Translations is regarded as Friel’s finest play – a powerful work of theatre, a gripping and challenging drama. Set in Donegal in 1833, the play tells the story of a small Irish speaking community on the brink of huge change. Friel’s drama touches the heart as he skilfully examines the lives of local people during the time when the first ordinance survey maps of Ireland were made and the effect that had on their lives, their language and their identity. This is a real opportunity to see a classic masterpiece performed locally.

“Brian Friel is not only Ireland’s greatest living playwright but one of the worlds greatest.”  - Irish Times

Ticket Price: €15 full price/€13 concessions  Call: 046 909 2300

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Date:  Wednesday 8th September           Time: 8pm

SOLD OUT !

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Date: Thursday 30th September - Friday 22nd October

This exhibition demonstrates a range of painting techniques that Reel has employed through his career; from the detailed layered abstractions, to his current colour based atmospheric compositions.  Reel’s work reflects an ongoing absorption with stone of both city and country, particularly that of Megalithic Meath.

Patrick Reel held his first solo exhibition at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, in 1973, around which time he featured in a number of contemporary Group shows including the RHA, the IELA and the Oireachtas.  His work is featured in numerous public and private collections.  As owner of the Oriel Gallery, Reel practices and resides in Navan Town.

Admission Free. Gallery Opening Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 4pm

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Date: Thursday 30th SEPTEMBER      Time: 8.00pm

When the crowd ripped up the seats during the film ‘Rock Around the Clock’ at Dublin’s Carlton Cinema in the first Rock ‘n Roll riot in Europe, in the audience was a young man who never thought he would go on to become a legend in his own lifetime.
One of Ireland’s most successful singers ever, Dickie Rock had 25 Irish hits from 1963 to 1983, surpassed only by the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, David  Bowie and the Rolling Stones.  During his time with the Miami Showband, Dickie attracted the kind of mass hysteria normally reserved for the Beatles and more recently, for boybands like Westlife.  Dickie is still in great shape with the voice as good as ever and performing up to sixty concerts and shows a year. Last year, Merlin Publishing talked him into writing his autobiography “Always Me”, which went on to be a best seller. He also released an album of contemporary Irish hits by artists such as Van Morrison, U2, Thin Lizzy, Paul Brady and many more.
Another highlight for this year Dickie will be honoured by An Post, with the release of a showband stamp for his contribution to the Irish music scene. The stamp will be on sale from all Post Offices throughout the country from September 23rd .

Tickets €25 euro, with a special gift of a free hardback copy of his autobiography ‘’Always Me’’ for every ticket purchased.

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Date: Thursday 20th NOVEMBER         Time: 8.00pm

Born in Belfast in 1966, Kennedy moved to London when he was eighteen.  He quickly started making a name for himself on the London scene.  Spotted by Van Morrison singing in a West End club, Brian was invited to join Van’s renowned Blues and Soul World Tour, which lasted on the road for an incredible six years.  This tour gave Brian the opportunity to perform with some of the World’s legends in the Music Industry including, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan to name just a few.  Kennedy also backed Van on several Albums including Days like this and back on top.  Brian released his debut Album The great war of words in 1990 along with the highly successful singles Captured and town.  Apart from two hundred and ninety performances as lead singer in Riverdance on Broadway, ten albums, vast appearances on T.V. shows around the World, Kennedy also toured from Europe to the USA.

Brian is celebrating 20 years in the music business with a new album out now ‘’The very best of Brian Kennedy’’. The album has been album of the week on BBC 2, and is getting extensive airplay on all the Irish stations.

Tickets €27.50 /€25 concession / 046 9092300

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Dates: Friday 29 October - Saturday 27 November

Alan Phelan is interested in ideas of reproduction, repetition, manufacture, and presentation. He navigates several narrative structures drawn from popular culture and art history – in this instance cartoon superheros, Paul the psychic octopus and baroque plasterwork vegetables. The resulting artworks are often caught in a seemingly unfinished space with his use of found and raw materials. This has been described as an ‘infrastructural aesthetic’ which not only encodes the materiality of the artwork but demands that the work be read from several possible positions. Added to this Phelan also collaborates with groups and individuals in fabricating the work, actively engaging the audience with the work by helping to make it.

At Solstice he will be holding a series of workshops with Meath flower clubs and secondary schools in the run up to the exhibition

Dates:  Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th OCTOBER

Time: 8.00pm

Hands of Friendship Productions in association with Navan Travellers Workshop

A true life story of a Travellers Wedding, Wedding Bells reflects on the changes and challenges that faced Travellers in ‘them’ turbulent times. The drama unfolds on stage through the medium of music, song and dance.

Tickets €15/€12 concession

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