2. This is Bridge Street.Could be any street in Ireland.But it’s not.It’s our street.And our street has
stories to tell.Yes it does.Like the day Mick Jagger came to town and bought a block of Galtee cheese from
Lynch’sandabarmbrackfromBillyKeogh,orthestepwhereCillianMurphyandNeilJordansathavingtheir
Breakfast on Pluto,or the day that Mrs Fennelly’s cock didn’t crow,or the John Lennon jumpers,or the great
flood of the seventh of the seventh seventy seven where pigs heads and hearses floated down the street.Oh
yes.Remember that one?‘Cause people come and go.But the street’s still here,and them walls are still here.
The street may have gone too small for this world,but it still has it’s stories to tell.
3. TRASNA PRODUCTiONS
Trasna Productions was born out of the arena of creative players emerging from Callan over the last ten
years.With KCAT as a catalyst for inclusive arts education,the arts in Callan have seen many highlights.From
The Big River parade with Macnas (Galway) through the streets (2006); to Asylum Production’s moving and
memorable site specific theatre work Six by Sundown at Callan Workhouse;(2009); to the extraordinary
architectural interventions and training curated by Commonage (2010-14), the town is a fertile ground for
exciting emerging work and cross collaborations between art-forms.
At the heart of what we do is to foster inclusion and innovation.
Trasna Productions’aim is to facilitate innovative, inclusive collaborative arts projects that involve multiple
stakeholders.The complexity of participants and the cross over of arts disciplines requires dedicated
experience.
Trasna Productions is project-based production company and draws on experienced collaborators from the
Abhainn Ri Festival,KCAT Art & Study Centre,Equinox Theatre Company,Callan Workhouse Union,Camphill
Community,Fennelly’s and others.
For Bridge Street,Trasna Productions have brought together four companies with vastly differing
approaches and experience to create a site-specific piece on Bridge Street itself and inside it’s buildings.
4. Equinox Theatre Company
We are an inclusive theatre company,which
means to us that we don’t exclude anybody,
and we all have different abilities.And
different disabilities.Since 2008,we work
together to create great art.We are part of
KCAT Art Centre in Callan,Co.Kilkenny.We
rehearse two days a week,making decisions
together and sharing experiences.
We are like a big family,like brothers and
sisters,all good friends.We trust and respect
each other.
And we are here to make theatre!
We work at a professional level,making work
of high standard,often in collaboration with
other professional theatre artists.
5. Corcadorca
Established in 1991,Corcadorca Theatre Company has
produced over 30 shows.We take theatre out of traditional
venues and bring it into unexpected places.Corcadorca has
staged productions all over Cork city and county,in sites as
diverse as Fitzgerald’s Park,the Guy’s building,Patrick’s Hill,the
original Ford factory,Sir Henry’s nightclub and Cork city’s
courthouse.
Corcadorca allow exposure to international theatre to
influence our work,establishing ongoing links with some of
the world’s leaders in the field of off-site theatre.In 2005,as
part of Cork Capital of Culture over 17,000 people enjoyed the
free tickets for Corcadorca’s Relocation.This programme saw us
invite leading off-site theatre companies from Poland,France
and the UK to stage a series of premiere productions in city
centre sites such as the Elizabeth Fort,the Grand Parade and
the city morgue.
Whether we are taking on the classics texts of Shakespeare
and Büchner or work by a new writer,Corcadorca produces
exciting and innovative theatre.For the last three years our
shows have sold within days.We’ve shown to 2,500 in one
night for TheTrial of Jesus and to over 6,000 for the run of
TheTempest.From the epic to the intimate,our shows are
popular with a hugely diverse audience base.
6. Studio Weave
Studio Weave is an award-winning
London-based architecture practice
set up in 2006.We balance a joyful,
open-minded approach with technical
precision to create a diverse body of
work in the UK and abroad for public,
private and commercial clients.
We value idiosyncrasies. From the
characteristics that make somewhere
unique,to the particular skills of a
master craftsperson; we aim to harness
the strengths of a project and its team
to create something distinctive and of
exceptional
quality.
We recognise that every project is a
transformation (as opposed to a static
new reality) and we enjoy working
closely with everyone involved in and
affected by this process,including
clients,users,funders,neighbours,
contractors,consultants and
collaborators.
Our work has been acknowledged by a number of awards including three RIBA
awards where Ecology of Colour won South East Building of the Year ,the
Architectural Review’s International Emerging Architecture Awards and the Civic
Trust Awards,where The Longest Bench won the Special Award for Community
Impact and Engagement.
7. Devious Theatre Company
Devious Theatre were founded in Kilkenny in 2006.We
perform different works in different spaces for
different audiences using different methods.Our work
hops genre but stays rooted in a style of comedy we
have honed over the years.We don’t like labels.Thus,
our artistic credo is mostly ADHD based and fairly
guerrilla.
To this end,our goal is to kidnap as many young people
away from gigs and cinemas and pubs and drag them
to the theatre.We have performed 17 shows to date,
have won a PPI Award for Radio Drama and have had
our work featured at Cork Midsummer Festival,Dublin
Fringe Festival,Galway Theatre Festival,TEXT | Messages
at Project Arts Centre,Abhainn Rí Festival,Quarter at
TDC Cork,Collaborations Festival,Cavan Theatre
Festival and The Theatre Machine Turns You On
amongst others.
We were the first theatre artists in residence in
Kilkenny Arts Office with our In The Future When All’s
Well residency in 2011 where we performed the trilogy
of Scratcher,Shifting and Smitten over a 7-month
period.
8. What is Bridge Street?
An Incredible Piece of Theatre...
...and so much more.It’s an experience,a step into
another world where all times,stories and
characters collide.It’s Brigadoon in a 21st century
Ireland.It’s the rabbit-hole and you are Alice.But
it’s still Callan.It’s still Bridge Street and you are
part of it.
An Exciting Opportunity
Bridge Street is tired,run-down,dilapidated and for the large part
unoccupied.It is,at the moment,little more than a thouroughfare
It is an uncomfortable place to be a pedestrian,the footpath is
uneven,and there is always the chance that you will get hit by a
car.There is no time to stop and look at the street.
Though it is beautiful and it would be nice to look.It was once the
commercial hub of the town,with each shop serving multiple
purposes.This project will allow people the luxury of time to stop,
to breathe,and to revel in it’s past,present and future.
An Innovative Community Engagement
and Training Project
In the weeks leading up to the run of performances Bridge Street
will be pedestrianised and the artists working on this project will be
leading workshops - training and mentoring in skills such as
sewing and costume design,electrics and lighting,sound
engineering,painting,carpentry,construction,pr & marketing,
project management...the list goes on.The team will have a
completely open-door policy allowing passers-by to engage
with whatever is happening on the street.Dormant shops will be
brought to life while trades and crafts in the creation of the piece
are carried out.
