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Mácnas (pronounced mock-ness) is ( Irish for 'frolicking') is a
Official website
Culture in Galway (city) Performance artist collectives Theatre companies in the Republic of Ireland {{Europe-theat-stub
Mácnas (pronounced mock-ness) is ( Irish for 'frolicking') is a performance
A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Performance has evolved glo ...
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
based at the Fisheries Field in Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Its public performances are noted for being "pioneering, inventive and radical" in style. The company has been credited with changing the nature of public entertainment in Ireland and is regarded as highly influential within the field of spectacle performance.
Founded in 1986, the company has performed in over 20 countries across the globe. Its parades have been a centre-point of Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
, St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...
and formerly Galway International Arts Festival
The Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF), founded in 1978, is a cultural organisation that produces an annual arts festival in Galway, Ireland. It also produces new work that tours nationally and internationally, in addition to presenting ...
festivities in Galway city, drawing crowds of up to 50,000 people on to the city streets.
Mácnas toured alongside U2 as part of the Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged primarily to support their 1991 album ''Achtung Baby'' and later their 1993 album ''Zooropa'', the tour visited ...
in 1993. The company simultaneously helped to ring in the new millennium in three cities: Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
(Eyre Square
Eyre Square ( ; ) is a city public park in Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway railway station is adjacent to Eyre Square.
The ...
), Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
(Merrion Square
Merrion Square () is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square on the Southside Dublin, southside of Dublin city centre.
History
The square was laid out in 1762 to a plan by John Smyth and Jonathan Barker for the estate of Richard Fitz ...
) and New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
).
In March 2016, Mácnas performed at the opening ceremony of SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
in Austin, Texas. In November 2017, Macnas performed as the closing act in the Land of Green Ginger programme at Hull UK City of Culture 2017
Hull UK City of Culture 2017 was a designation given to the city of Kingston upon Hull, England, between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The designation meant that Hull gained ac ...
.
Mácnas offices are spread across two locations in Galway city. Administration and rehearsals mainly take place in Fisheries Field. Large-scale construction primarily takes place at a warehouse in Liosban.
The Liffey Press and Macnas have published ''Macnas: Joyful Abandonment'', a 250-page history of the company.
References
External links
Official website
Culture in Galway (city) Performance artist collectives Theatre companies in the Republic of Ireland {{Europe-theat-stub