When asked to put some thoughts and memories of Siamsa Tíre into no more than 300 words it seemed an impossible task, as it has being such a big part of my life for over 30 years.
Siamsa Tíre is where I learned my craft, it is where I got my grounding in many aspects of theatre, as well as allowing me the freedom to be creative. It has given me the opportunity to travel the world, to experience and appreciate other cultures , it’s where I met my wife and even now I am fortunate that Siamsa Tíre is very much part of my children’s lives. Having retired from Siamsa nine years ago, my passion for theatre is a strong as ever. Apart from my position as General Manager of the Rose of Tralee International festival, I run my own stage school in Tralee and I also direct several shows from Musicals to panto annually, so theatre is still very much part of my daily life.
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| Final touches before going on stage! |
Highlights have been many: at the age of eleven I was privileged to perform on Broadway, in 1987 I travelled to the Netherlands and performed for Queen Beatrice on the occasion of her birthday, in 1988 we undertook a tour of Australia, the World Expo at Seville, Spain in 1992, and in 2000, we travelled to Hanover, Germany where we received a standing ovation from 4000 people, which went on long after we had left the outdoor auditorium.
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| Siamsa Tíre program for world expo in Seville |
During my time as Artistic Director from 2000 – 2005, the company embarked on three very successful national tours which for me was an important dimension to my directorship - to bring folk theatre to the Irish theatre-goers on an annual basis, just like Druid or the Abbey theatre companies. We performed in venues from the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, to the Cork Opera House, with exceptional box office sales and outstanding critical and audience reaction. Thus, confirming that folk theatre is not just for the foreign tourist but has a wide appeal to theatre audiences in Ireland and that the delivery of a summer season should not be our only focus.
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| Oileán - Celebrating the Blasket Islands |
One of my proudest moments as Artistic Director was in 2003 when we created Oileán- A Celebration of the Blasket Islands, which I am glad to see is still very much part of the repertoire, and now features my children as performers.
Even though I no longer work at Siamsa Tíre, I am happy to say that Siamsa has made me who I am in many respects. It gave me a clear focus in my youth, it trained me in all aspects of theatre, and it gave me friends for life.
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| Oliver on stage his wife Geraldine holding the "baby" in Ding Dong Dedero (1991) |
They say folk is about the people and it is certainly the people that I met through Siamsa that shaped my path in life and gave me a sense of place; from Fr Pat Ahern for all the inspiration, to Fr Tom Hickey and the late Muiris Curtain for always giving that gentle push along the way, and of course, the late Martin Whelan for believing in me. I am a firm believer that when creative forces come together greatness can happen, indeed I always remember the professional company who created Oileán with me - if it were not for this passionate group of creators believing in the idea and in my directorship we may not have created such a beautiful piece of theatre. So, it is people that have made my experience with Siamsa Tíre as special as it is, the fellow performers, the creators, the carriers of our rich tradition and to my friends, here’s to another 40 years of the jigs and the reels.
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