Dear Reader –
A quick update before we get into this week’s letter - at the time of writing Friday and Saturday’s shows are sold out, so if you haven’t got your tickets yet Thursday is the only game in town.
Luckily Thursday’s show has a top-class line-up. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out!
Tickets available here.
All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
So Theme Night #29 is upon us. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time - a chance to put on a show with a full stage and a full auditorium. And we can’t wait!
We picked the theme in early February, just after restrictions on live events had been lifted, and so ‘Freedom’ seemed like the right choice. Since then unfortunately, the word has taken on a new meaning in our world, especially for the people of Ukraine. With that in mind we would especially like to welcome Liudmila Ropiak to our stage this week, and many members of the Ukrainian community in Sligo to the Hawk’s Well for the first time.
It’s a broad theme, so it has allowed us to include a wide variety of styles and genres. You can expect to hear Irish ballads, film themes, plenty of hits, and possibly even a song or two from the musicals!
As always, we will feature some original songs from the pens of members of the Theme Night Ensemble, specifically this time from Amy O’Hara, Grooveline and a new fun song of mine that I can’t wait to play for you. There are also many new arrangements of already existing material, which we are looking forward to showcasing each night this week.
So if you have bought a ticket to the show, thankyou! It’s such an important show for us, as we seek to infuse Sligo with the Theme Night spirit again and hopefully reestablish the momentum of the shows after the last two years. I hope you have a great night, and if you feel like it, please let me know what you liked and what you think we could improve on.
kieran@kieranquinn.ie
PS here’s a 1-min behind the scenes look at choir rehearsals from last week. Thanks Rory Maitland for the vid.
Where else but Sligo?
By day Collette Sheerin is Sligo’s most in-demand landscape gardener. By night she can be found with her guitar or flute, playing and singing, writing songs at home or playing with friends.
In her own words - digging and gigging!
She is part of our Theme Night Ensemble, and has contributed hugely to the shows over the years. Last time out however, she experienced what she called stagefright. Shortness of breath, extreme nervousness and hence a performance with which she wasn’t happy. This is actually quite a common occurrence for musicians, and we could all empathise with Collette.
She told her story, including her hopes for Theme Night #29, on In The Lamplight this week.
Rory, Luke, Mícheál and I happily returned to the studio to record our first podcast in a while - a Theme Night preview show featuring Collette and other Theme Night chat. Have a listen here (or wherever you get your podcasts) - it was lovely to be back chatting with the lads again.
And - we’re doing it again next week - Our Theme Night review show will be released this coming Wednesday 11th May.
What’s New?
THEME NIGHT #30 DATES/TIX: It will take place on 6-8 October 2022 in the Hawk’s Well Theatre. Tickets will go on sale next Tuesday morning (10th May) at 11am. Unless you’re a subscriber to this letter! Keep an eye on your inbox next Tuesday morning for details of early access to these tickets.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: From James Clear - “Just because it didn’t work doesn’t mean it was the wrong choice."
TEENAGE THEME NIGHT #26: Thankfully it’s not long until we’re back in the Hawk’s Well - this time celebrating the best of Film Music with the class of 2022.
Finally…
Here’s one from this week in 2016. I don’t usually sing at these shows, and I include this today not to showcase my voice (!), but because the video includes some fantastic shots of you guys, that night’s audience, up on your feet, dancing and singing. Here’s to more of that this week!
Till next time - Kieran.
