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The GAFF searches for Community SIAMSA past members for ‘It’ll Be Alright on the Night’
The GAFF searches for community SIAMSA past members for ‘It’ll Be Alright on the Night’
The GAFF are calling on Community SIAMSA members from 1970s – 90s to share their memories for an ‘It’ll Be Alright on the Night’ for a future theatre project
The GAFF is calling no members of the public who were involved in Community SIAMSA in Limerick between the 1970s to the 90s to share their memories for its latest ‘It’ll Be Alright on the Night’ to form the basis for a future theatre project.
Award-winning playwright and theatre maker Helena Enright, working with The GAFF, is inviting people to share their stories, recollections, and reflections of this unique period in Limerick’s community theatre life.
Announcing the search, The GAFF said, “Were you involved in Community SIAMSA in Limerick during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s? If you took part in Community Siamsa in Limerick – as a performer, musician, technician, volunteer or audience member during the 1970s–1990s – your memories are an important part of Limerick’s cultural history.”
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Enright is a socially engaged artist and researcher whose work is rooted in documentary theatre, personal narrative, and the archive. She holds an MA in Drama & Theatre Studies (UCC) and a PhD in Performance Practice (University of Exeter, UK).
Her work spans theatre of testimony and community-based performance, including Walking Away (2007), The Exeter Blitz Project (2012), Tin Girls (2013), The River (2014), Rising (2016), and Playing the Game (2019). Her work has received national and international recognition, including Best Production awards for Walking Away at the Belltable Unfringed Festival and the Midwest Arts, Media and Culture Awards.
From 2014–2021, she was Senior Lecturer in Applied Drama and Theatre for Social Engagement at Bath Spa University, and she has also worked with charities and organisations using theatre and creativity to explore wellbeing and social change.
Since returning to live in Ireland full-time in 2021, Enright has continued to develop work rooted in community and testimony, including previous collaborations with The GAFF on audio projects capturing lived experience and local voices.
As part of the Siamsa project, she is also developing an oral history archive to preserve the memories, stories and experiences of those who were involved. She has recently been appointed regional representative for the Oral History Network of Ireland.
Reflecting on the importance of Community Siamsa, Enright says, “My earliest memories of theatre are of Community Siamsa. Both my parents were involved, and I remember sitting in rehearsals as a very young child and later being taken to the performances. The movement, the costumes, the humour, the atmosphere – it all stayed with me. It was my first introduction to theatre, and it most definitely played a part in my pursuing it later in life.”
This is a unique opportunity to share your experiences and help shape a theatrical work that celebrates Limerick’s vibrant community arts heritage. Selected stories may be used in the play and the accompanying archive, ensuring these voices are preserved for future generations.
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