New exhibition focusing on Russian and Irish theatre at the Library

Opening on Tuesday, 7th October 2014, a new exhibition will be launched in the foyer of the Library. 'Unchanged but the Spirit...' will present a display of physical and digital archive material from the collections of the Hardiman Library and will also, in collaboration with the Russian State Art Library, Moscow, feature for the first time in Ireland, an exhibit of archive material from the acclaimed production of The Seagull which was written by Anton Chekhov and directed by Constantin Stanislavsky, and staged at the Moscow Art Theatre, 1898.

The exhibition is a unique opportunity to engage with a visual exploration of the production history of the Seagull and other shared histories of Irish and Russian Theatre. Material from the Thomas Kilroy archive held at the Hardiman Library will showcase key material relating to Kilroy's noted translation of The Seagull, staged at the Royal Court in London, 1981, and which lifted the story from the Russian provinces and set it in the West of Ireland at the end of the 19th Century in what became one of the great English language translations of the Chekhovian classic. 

Other material will showcase historic productions of the Seagull at Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, the Lyric Theatre, Belfast as well as further material from the Russian State Art Library.

All are invited to an evening lecture to mark the exhibition opening, from Dr. Ian Walsh of the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, NUI Galway. The talk will take place at 6.00pm, Tuesday, 7th October at The Moore Institute Seminar Room, Hardiman Research Building. For details contact barry.houlihan@nuigalway.ie