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2008
● Spraoi
produce a new touring street theatre show “The Box”, a zany and hilarious piece of physical street theatre. Directed by Dermot Quinn
and designed by Mike Leahy, with an original soundtrack by Jamie
Beamish, it
attracts
enthusiastic audiences when it appeared at several festivals throughout
Ireland.
Complete
with an original sound track, The Box draws it inspiration from a
diverse range of imagery ranging from cold war sci-fi and espionage, to
slapstick silent movies of the 1920’s.
● An extended and enlarged programme
of street theatre and music is presented and produced by the company at
the Dublin Docklands Maritime
Festival, in blazing sunshine, in June.
Spraoi
Festival
● Unfortunately June sees the last of the summer
sunshine, as it once again rains just about all summer long. But the
Spraoi Festival is luckier than most as the weekend stays dry in the
main, with just the odd shower.
● The 2008 festival features acts from 13 countries, and
several Irish premieres, including the large scale street
theatre production “Hydromania”, presented by one of Britain’s
leading street spectacle companies, Avanti Display, at the
Waterford City Courthouse, and “The Station” by Bash St Theatre, which
is co-commissioned by Spraoi
in association with ten other international festivals.
●
Spraoi’s
2008 own production for the Festival is inspired by the tradition of
shipbuilding in Waterford, when the city was home
to the largest steam ship fleets in the world, and shipyards dotted the
riverbank, forging great ships from iron. Spraoi embarked on an epic
production to celebrate this nearly forgotten time in the city’s
history. “The Iron Tide” took to the streets on her maiden voyage at
9.30pm on Sunday, August 3rd. Along the length of the Quay five docks
awaited the arrival the great ship. Waterford’s quays are one of
Europe’s great urban spaces, and it is this setting that was the
inspiration for this unique one- off theatrical spectacle, celebrating
the City and its heritage on a truly monumental scale.
●
Spraoi
features several Irish premieres, including Sienta La Cabeza from Spain,
Italy’s Oplas Teatro with their stunning stilt choreography, the USA
Breakdancers with their amazing dance moves and Mimbre with their
stylish choreographed piece “Sprung”.
● Increased promenade
performances are a major hit at the festival, with large scale walkabout
performances by companies Close Act from Holland, Larkin’ About and Los
Kaos from the UK, and Waterford Youth Arts with a specially commissioned
piece, “The Rubbish Pirates
● For 2008 The
Guinness Rhythm Route plays host to varying sounds from around the
Globe. Highlights include The Red Stripe Band, with their unique blend
of boogie woogie and jazz, and the stylish old time sound of the Fat 45.
2007
● November sees Spraoi host
the very successful "Perspectives" initiative, in association with
Waterford Institute of Technology. In what is hoped will become an
annual event, a series of masterclasses and seminars takes place.
Artists from around Ireland, in both Street Arts and Theatre
disciplines, attend the four-day exchange of ideas on various aspects of
outdoor performance led by some of Europe's leading practitioners.
● Spraoi
is commissioned to produce a show for St. Patricks Festival Cork, while
also performing shows in Dublin and Waterford, so March 17th is a busy
one for the company.
● The company
programme and produce the shore-based performance and music elements of
the Dublin Docklands Maritime
Festival again in June.
Spraoi
Festival
● Some of the worst weather excesses of "Summer 2007" pours
down on the Spraoi Festival, but rain doesn’t stop play. Many
performances are moved indoors or under marquees, but just about all the
events happen in some form or other.
● One magical highlight is the John Roberts Square outdoor
concert with the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on Saturday night,
when both band and audience get drenched together, but the show goes on
to a rapturous ovation from the huge attendance.
● The Beat Stage on the WVW Plaza becomes a showcase for
original bands, mostly from the city. Saviours of Space, Ilya K,
Gorbachov and Floyd Soul and the Wolf are just a few of the many acts
who play over two days.
● The new AOL stage in John Roberts Square is a big hit, with
Saturday afternoon crowds reaching an all time high, watching and
listening to the varying sounds from the funky tunes of Scottish band
Das Contras, to the Latin American rhythms of Havana Sôn, and the Irish
traditional melodies of Two Time Polka.
●
Several street theatre companies present new work at the festival,
including Avanti Display with "Stormbringer", Ramshacklicious Theatre
Co with "The Road to Nowhere", Bureau of Silly
2006
●
Spraoi is
commissioned to programme and produce the
shore-based performance elements of the Dublin
Docklands Maritime Festival in June. An
international programme of street artists and
world music is staged over three days and an
estimated audience of 100,000 attends. This
commission was secured for 2007 also.
●
Also in
June Spraoi co-presents a promenade production of
the opera "Tosca" with the Theatre
Royal, Waterford. Spraoi has specific
responsibility for the design, presentation and
performance elements of the outdoor aspect of the
production, staged in a city centre location.
"Tosca" adds considerable weight to
Waterford’s artistic summer calendar and is
a critical and box-office success.
●
Spraoi
continues to provide studio space for rehearsal
and design and construction to other companies,
artists and organisations on a regular basis. For
example, three young emerging visual artists
attached to the Waterford Institute of Technology
use studio space to complete large-scale works
associated with their Diploma Show.
●
The company
is busy again for St. Patrick’s Day, with
large scale entries in both the Dublin and
Waterford parades.
Spraoi Festival
●
The Royal
Drummers of Burundi headline a new location for
the main stage on Saturday evening - John Roberts
Square. Thunderous power, pure precision,
amazing acrobatics and sheer rapture from one of
the greatest percussion ensembles in the world.
●
Spraoi in
the Park: Saturday evening sees the festival move
to the Peoples Park where huge crowds enjoy music
and street theatre acts perform in brilliant
sunshine. Waterford City Council re-open Wyse
Park in the city centre and large crowds enjoy
three days of programmed activity in the relaxed
atmosphere of this family orientated space.
●
An Irish
street theatre company, Fidget Feet, are
co-commissioned to produce a new large scale
outdoor show "Wired and Free".
●
French
company Delit de Façade take over the top floor
windows of Sherwoods Electrical with another
Irish Premiere to present a street show
completely out of the ordinary.
●
South
African band Freshly Ground are a huge hit on the
outdoor music stage and in the Festival Club.
●
Spraoi
Parade; Waaargh! Monstrous
monsters and panicking people are a good mix,
particularly when Spraoi are involved. Hideous
creatures born of Water, Earth, Wind and fire
create havoc on the quays of the city
I●
ndependent
audience research was commissioned by Spraoi for the first time. Key
findings included: 98% satisfied or very satisfied with the event,
18% were visitors to Waterford for Spraoi, and 68% said it was their
third or more visit to the festival.
2005
●
Spraoi
produces its’ biggest show to date in
January, Awakening, for the Opening
Ceremony of Cork 2005 European Capital of
Culture. The show, on January 8th,
takes place along the River Lee, spanning the
main three city centre bridges of the city, and
features an international team of designers,
lighting specialists, sound engineers and
pyrotechnicans.
●
St. Patrick’s Day sees the
company commissioned to provide a large scale
entry for the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day
Parade once again. Spraoi also take part in
the Waterford parade, in partnership with
Waterford City Council, while also designing and
producing an entry in partnership with AOL.
●
A busy summer beckons, with the
company producing three festivals over a five
week period. As well as the Spraoi
Festival, and Tráfest, Spraoi is commissioned to
programme and produce the festival to coincide
with the first ever visit of the International
Tall Ships Sail Training Race to
Waterford. An estimated audience of
over 400,000 people attends the event throughout
the three days in July.
Spraoi Festival
●
The
largest, and most technically challenging show,
ever brought to the city for the festival wows
huge crowds over two nights of the festival as
Transe Express present the Irish Premiere of
"Les Maudits Sonnants".
●
German
company Bangditos are another huge hit, with
their fiery and watery production of
"The Guardian Angels".
●
Waterford
Music Network’s "Teenage Kicks"
stage, featuring young, original bands, is
extended to two days, due to popular demand!
●
Cuban band Asère,
and English band The Magnets, are big hits
on the outdoor stages. The New Band stage
moves to a new location on O’Connell Street.
●
Spraoi
Parade; The Oz that Woz: Dorothy
emerges from six decades of obscurity and finally
decides to reveal the gritty truth, spill the
beans, and kiss and tell all about her real time
spent "Over the Rainbow".
●
Spraoi
Parade; The Oz that Woz: Dorothy
emerges from six decades of obscurity and finally
decides to reveal the gritty truth, spill the
beans, and kiss and tell all about her real time
spent “Over the Rainbow”.
2004
●
Spraoi
performs in three cities simultaneously, when the
company participates in St Patrick's Day
Celebrations in Waterford, Cork and Dublin. It
takes top honours in Waterford with Trash It,
and in Dublin with Siege.
●
Spraoi are
commissioned to build more conference sets and
this year add the G.A.A. to their list of
clients.
●
Ireland
welcomes twelve accession states into the E.U.
Waterford welcomes Malta and Spraoi are
commissioned to devise and manage the city's
celebrations. Included in the day's schedule of
events are Maltese folk group Etnika and Spraoi's
own production Knight Time.
●
Spraoi
provide the outdoor entertainment element for the
visit of the E.U. Environment Ministers visit to
Waterford.
●
The company
receives it biggest commission to date when
invited to stage the Opening Ceremony for Cork
2005 European Capital of Culture celebrations
scheduled for January 8th 2005.
Spraoi Festival
●
The
Festival basks in summer sunshine and draws
record crowds to the city.
●
Acts from
Australia, France, Italy, Britain, Ireland,
Germany, the U.S.A., Brazil and Zimbabwe take
part.
●
Local acts
are again a major element of the festival, with
big band, Opus Pocus, in particular, taking
centre stage.
●
This years
parade, State of the Art, has a darker
feel, and sees Spraoi take a look at the edgy
side of a society which turns it back on the arts
as mob rule takes over.
2003
I●
n February
Spraoi move to it's new home at CarrickPherish
●
The first
production to emerge from the Studios is Dream Train Steam Train,
which takes the top award at St Patrick's Day Festival, Dublin in
March
●
Several
conference sets are commissioned and built by Spraoi in the Studios
including the sets for the A.S.T.I. and P.O.A. annual conferences.
●
Spraoi
produce Speaking Stones, a show commissioned by Waterford
City Council to celebrate 1000 years of the landmark building in the
city, Reginald's Tower.
●
Spraoi use
its new facility to full advantage when the company stages its first
indoor production Jonah. Devised by Artistic Directors Dermot
Quinn and Mike Leahy, the critically acclaimed show represents a new
departure stylistically for the company.
Spraoi Festival
●
Elixir,
from France, stage a parade and evening performance as part of this
year's festival, to much acclaim.
●
Urban Drum
and Bass, from Switzerland, are a definite highlight with their
unique style of bass and percussion.
●
Norwegian
accapella group Apes and Babes are a big hit on the Carlsberg Rhythm
Route.
T●
he Spraoi
parade Jinxed draws record crowds to the Quays.
2002
●
Building
work begins on the new 10,000 sq ft Spraoi
Studios in Carrickpherish.
●
Bedbugs
goes to St Patricks Day Festival Dublin with a
cast and crew of 60
●
Spraoi
begin a three year collaboration with Waterford
Area Partnership, devising and running a series
of workshops. Using the parade as a vehicle the
workshops are aimed at arts development and
social integration.
Spraoi Festival
●
The
Festival's 10th Birthday. A collection of
memorabilia, as well as a film showing highlights
from the last ten years, is exhibited at the
Theatre Royal for the duration of the festival.
●
Ten Tall
Tales is the theme and title of the parade, a
celebration of urban myth and little white lies,
which draws an audience in excess of 60,000
●
Spraoi and
Waterford Youth Drama work together again this
year to produce E-tales.
●
Musiklab
present an outdoor music production at Spraoi for
the first time.
●
Dream
Engine present The Candle, a night-time,
outdoor, aerial production
2001
● St. Patricks Day Festival is rescheduled due to the Foot and
Mouth outbreak and takes place on May 20th. Spraoi take silver with
their production 2001 - A Greek Odyssey.
● Waterford City Council lease a site at Carrickpherish on the
outskirts of the city to Spraoi in order for the company to begin
building a new, permanent, home. Planning permission is sought in
December and a massive fund-raising campaign begins.
●
The company secure several
new contracts to undertake commercial projects, which include
appearances at the Budweiser Irish Derby, the Mansion House in
Dublin and the Guinness Hop Store.
Spraoi Festival
●
The world famous London
Community Gospel Choir visit the city for the festival and wow the
huge audiences who come out to see them.
●
Spraoi and Waterford Youth
Drama, in association with The Arts Council, Waterford City Council
and Waterford Youth Committee, combine to produce About Time,
a dance/percussion project involving 63 young people who spend a
month in workshops devising the piece.
●
Spraoi parade By Hook
or by Crooke sees the Quays of Waterford swept back in time,
with crusty oul' seadogs and giant squid, ghost ships and pirates,
performing to the thunder and echo of cannon fire and the smell of
gunpowder
2000
● TráFest, the festival in Tramore, Co. Waterford
which Spraoi helped to establish, grows from strength to strength, with
the introduction of workshops, exhibitions and readings, to complement
the ever-increasing music sessions.
●
Spraoi
employ five young full-time apprentices on a FAS Arts and Culture Scheme
for a year.
●
Les Géants
Portés, a festival in Steenvorde, France
sees the company bring their work to mainland
Europe for the first time.
●
Waterford
City Council are asked to lease land to the
company, and the Arts Council award Spraoi
capital funding.
Spraoi Festival
●
The Spraoi
festivals' first fringe event, sprÓg is born.
Aimed specially at 4-8 year olds, the festival is
based in Garter Lane Arts Centre and runs for
five days, with performances and workshops. All
shows are booked to capacity.
●
A magical
indoor world of light and colour, The Luminarium,
visits the city. An inflatable, monumental
labyrinth of tunnels, mazes and spacious domes,
it has an immediate impact.
●
The Spraoi
parade Dr. Diabolical and his Doomsday Devices
carves out a new route, down the Quay, to finish
at Adelphi Wharf. An audience of 50,000 turn out
to watch both this and Furnace, a show specially
devised by the company, incorporating one of
Waterford's best known maritime landmarks, the
dock crane.
1999
●
Sea of
Temptation, Spraoi's production for the St.
Patricks Day Festival Parade in Dublin wins Best
Overall Entry Award.
● In
association with Millennium Festivals, Spraoi
joins with Macnas and Bui Bolg to create Ghost
Train for the Wexford Opera Festival in
October. An old steam train
is transformed into three separate performance
areas and the show is staged on the Quays in
Wexford.
●
Spraoi is
commissioned by the city of Waterford to stage Phoenix,
a spectacular fire and light show, on the Quay,
Waterford for Millennium Eve.
Spraoi Festival
●
Black
Umfolosi from Zimbabwe wows the huge audiences in
the city over the weekend. The festival programme
in general includes, for the first time, a strong
international element.
●
Waterford
Area Partnership and Spraoi undertake a series of
community workshops, and the results of one
project, with Ferrybank Women's Community Group,
sees a spectacular display of flags adorning the
entrance to the city on the Festival weekend.
● To cope
with the ever increasing audience size, a new
parade route is devised, to take in Parnell
Street, the Mall and the Quay. Time stands still
for an hour and a half on Sunday evening as Time
wends its way through the city. This year, it
snows (!) as the company use snow machines and
other special effects to great effect. An
estimated audience of 40,000 become part of the
whole experience.
1998
●
Spraoi
moves to a new base on The Glen, Waterford.
● The company
is contracted by St. Patricks Day Parade, Dublin to design and construct
a section of the national St. Patricks Day parade.
● A new Arts and Culture training scheme
is undertaken in partnership with FAS, involving 15 trainees based in
the Spraoi workshop for three months. This culminates in
Alcatraz,
a production at Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford, which attracts a
capacity audience.
Spraoi Festival
●
Spraoi
Junior Drummers make their debut.
● New areas of the city, such as Cathedral Square, Alexander
Street and Lady Lane are opened up to street theatre as the volume
of street theatre acts and the size of the audience grows.
●
It rains again - but just for the Parade on Sunday evening!
It's no deterrent, however, for the 30,000 strong crowd who turn out to
watch Here Comes
the Night,
featuring all the things that night brings out; ghosts, ghouls, cats,
nightmares, the moon ……… and the biggest firework display yet brings
another great Spraoi to a close.
1997
● The largest section yet of the Waterford St. Patricks Day
Parade is built by Spraoi,
with commissions from companies including Waterford Crystal, Bausch &
Lomb and Waterford City Council.
● Various workshops are undertaken by the company,
including Home/School Liaison workshops between Spraoi
and parents in St. Pauls National School and St. Saviours, Ballybeg.
Spraoi Festival
●
The year of
the rain - so torrential that the Sunday Street
Carnival has to be brought indoors to various
hotels, pubs and social centres.
●
The parade,
Sleepstealers is postponed 24 hours, and
finally takes to the streets, still under a
downpour, on Monday evening. 25,000 people brave
the weather to come out and watch.
●
Acts from
Africa, India, South America and all over Europe
take part in the festival. Highlights include
Abasindi from the Caribbean, the Chaski Inkas
from South America, a local choir, Janus, and the
trash percussion sound of Urban Strawberry Lunch.
● The Spraoi
Festival wins The Jury's Overall Achievement of
the Year Award.
1996
●
Spraoi
office and workshop moves to the Auction Galleries (now Waterford Museum
of Treasures).
● The company
writes and produces Voodoo Nation involving twelve trainees as
part of a FAS Arts and Culture course run by Spraoi.
●
Spraoi take
their work abroad for the first time
when they are invited to take part in the Notting Hill Carnival, London.
The company also visits several other festivals around Ireland.
Spraoi Festival
●
Spraoi
present their first street parade Ragnorak
with a cast of 150, based on an ancient Norse
legend. An estimated crowd of 20,000 turns out to
watch the event, followed by a fireworks display,
which takes place on the Sunday evening.
●
Carlsberg
are the new sponsors of the Rhythm Route
●
Outdoor
music sessions include Ebony Steelband on stage
in Red Square and the Café Orchestra playing an
exquisite set in the French Church.
●
Taiko
drumming band, Sen Ryo Taiko, travel from Japan
to take part in the festival. Street theatre acts
include Swamp Circus, Pat Bracken and Bui Bolg.
1995
●
Spraoi
brings it's work outside Waterford for the first
time when it visits the Cats Laugh Festival and
the Kilkenny Arts Festival with specially
commissioned shows.
●
The company
begins to provide training and workshop
opportunities to community groups.
●
The Spraoi
Festival finally decides to anchor itself to the
August Bank Holiday weekend.
Spraoi Festival
●
The Spraoi
production Bibelot is staged on Saturday
evening, followed by a firework display. It
attracts over 10,000 people to Red Square.
●
The Sunday
Street Carnival is added to the festival
programme.
●
Hoffmans
Rhythm Route features The Frames, The Tallafornia
Mandolin Band and The Prayer Boat.
●
Percussion
is once again a central theme with performances
from The Belfast Carnival Band, Lambeg Drummers,
Metronomes Steel Orchestra, Drogheda Samba Band
and Spraoi Drummers.
●
Streets and
buildings are decorated with weird and wonderful
creatures.
1994
●
Spraoi's
first full-time staff begin work as twelve people
are employed on a FAS Community Employment
Scheme. The company is based in a former cattle
shed on The Quay
●
Spraoi
takes part in Waterford St. Patricks Day Parade
for the first time.
●
The company
begins to do other commercial work throughout the
year, including interactive Christmas production,
Darkwood
Spraoi Festival
●
Based on
rhythm in all its forms, with the Drogheda Samba
Band, Different Drums of Derry and the Spraoi
Drummers performing over three days.
●
Lighting
the Walls becomes Spraoi's most ambitious
project to date, incorporating 200 volunteers and
500 flaming torches.
●
Hoffmans
Music Fringe is added to the programme. Bands
appearing include Harmonious Wail, The Madrigal,
the Freudian Slips and Lion's Den.
●
Macnas
present Tribes on Sunday afternoon, with
an estimated crowd of 15,000 people watching.
1993
● The first Spraoi
Festival is officially launched and called “Summer Spraoi’93”.
● Footsbarn Theatre Company
present “Romeo and Juliet” in a circus tent in
Kilbarry Sports Centre.
● Macnas present “Noah’s Ark” on
Sunday afternoon in the city centre.
●
Spraoi
present their first ever production “Africa to Arann” with percussion led by Tommy Hayes and
choreography by Camila Dorcey.
● Live music sessions are held outside five city centre pubs
after the parade on Sunday evening.
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