Within moments of meeting the director of Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda, it is very clear that getting local people involved in the arts is at the heart of everything that happens here.

At the venue on Stockwell Street, we walk through an art exhibition en route to the café/bar area for a chat. Collette Farrell, the director in question, informs me that all of the artists with work on display are from Drogheda and its environs.

“Part of my position is to get people talking about the arts, engaging in them,” explains Collette. “An audience is not just there to look at. It’s about engagement, bringing the audience in and finding out what they think.”

Droichead has a theatre with the capacity to seat 169 people and an impressive and varied programme of works to go with it. Recently, Pat Kinevane’s Forgotten was performed here and this March Michael Keegan-Dolan’s tour of Swan Lake will come to Droichead, which will take place off-site at the Barbican Centre.

With extensive roots in the community, the arts centre is not just a building on a street in Drogheda, it has links to every part of the local area and transcends the building in which it is housed. The centre works with a huge number of local groups, including brass bands, male-voice choirs and amateur theatre groups, as well as hosting events from Drogheda Arts Festival, Drogheda Traditional Music Festival and Drogheda Classical Musical Festival.

Theatre Club

In September, a theatre club was set up. A package deal of six shows was sold to 50 people, who would attend the productions and afterwards meet in the café/bar to discuss them, this is now ongoing.

“We sit around with tea and coffee in small groups after the show – it’s not formal. Then the actors, writers and directors from the company join us. The idea is to generate discussion: what people saw and what they liked.

“They’re a very discerning audience, getting to the point now where they’re critiquing and saying: ‘Well, I didn’t like this because, or I thought it needed more direction,’” says Collette.

Local Theatre

Collette believes that local theatre plays an important role in communities and that the variety of performances in theatres outside cities facilitates the same purpose as it does anywhere: to entertain and challenge.

“What is Ireland without its art? It’s almost like the beating heart and the soul of the country. When people travel to Ireland, apart from the beautiful scenery, they are coming over to see the land of Yeats.” CL

For a full programme of events, see www.droichead.com.