After 10 years as Galway Arts Festival manager, Fergal McGrath is preparing to move to Druid Theatre; meanwhile John Crumlish isready to take up the reins after this year's festival. They both talk to Lorna Siggins
Fergal McGrath took many people by surprise when he announced several months ago that he was stepping down as manager of the Galway Arts Festival. There was even more surprise, if not a little concern, at his decision to accept the post of managing director of the Druid Theatre Company.
The internationally acclaimed Galway theatre company has had a fairly rapid turnover of staff in recent years, and it is no secret that its artistic director, Garry Hynes, is not the easiest of masters. "Garry is a brilliant, creative person," McGrath affirms. "I have worked with brilliant, creative people up till now and I know that this involves a lot of give and take. But I am a pragmatist."
As that pragmatist, he also believes that the continuous battle for resources is classic within the arts sector. "Artistic people are also wanting and needing more, while the managerial element is constantly trying to control expenditure. I have lived with that battle every day for the past decade, and I believe that a balance can be struck. In this case, we have a brilliant artistic director who wants the best, and needs my support to enable that to be done. So I am looking forward to it!" He doesn't take over in Druid Lane until September, as he still has a festival to run - and it is the 25th anniversary year.
"I suppose it must be one of the longest periods of notice to work, at five months, but I felt it was only fair," he says. "I feel I have hit lucky for the second time in 10 years, in that I hit the Galway Arts Festival when it was ripe for development, and I worked with three wonderful artistic directors - Trish Forde, Ted Turton and Rose Parkinson - who wanted to push it forward.
"Now Garry Hynes wants to oversee a major redevelopment of Druid, and she has some great ideas," he says. The theatre building has been given some €635,000 in funding by the former Minister for Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Síle de Valera, for refurbishment. "That should do the bare minimum, because it has had little or no work done since it was taken over by Druid in 1975. So if we can secure additional funds we will be able to do more. Garry is anxious to open it up, and one of her ideas is to design a viewing gallery behind a glass wall - for visitors to watch rehearsals," he says.
He does not see any competition in terms of fundraising between Druid and his outgoing employer. "There are very commercial sponsorship opportunities in the arts festival, whereas theatre tends to be more altruistic. I don't see soft drinks or beer companies knocking at our door," he remarks, but emphasises that he has never fundraised in his life.
"I went out there and found goodwill and tapped into it," he says. "I raised about £4 million to £5 million in private sponsorship for the festival over the past 10 years, and it was the extraordinary amount of goodwill towards the event in the town which probably extended my shelf life."
McGrath has had a varied career since he first came to the festival - also by the "enthusiastic audience" route. He bought a ticket for the Waterboys in the Big Top, and found himself checking out other parts of the programme - "something that happens even now with the younger generation". Originally from Tuam, he studied agricultural science in college, and worked at manager of the pot plant division with Fyffes fruit company in Swords, Co Dublin. His brother, Finian McGrath, is now a TD in north Dublin - one of the newly elected Independents to the Dáil.
During McGrath's tenure, the festival has grown from national to international stature. "However, it is our home audience that has been most supportive. We were actually a bit embarrassed about the local dimension when we first went to Bord Fáilte, and now we recognise it as a major strength."
The two-week programme is also tailored to appeal to several generations, and a survey conducted by Amárach Consulting last year ranked it fourth among the most popular events for third-level students, ahead of U2 at Slane in fifth place.
The festival's projected turnover is €1.3 million, while the Arts Council grant is just €333,000. "It is proportionately lower than the grants for other festivals," McGrath acknowledges. It is obviously something that troubles him, given the festival's seminal role. For instance, he believes that the success of the Australian Dance Theatre production, Birdbrain, last year in the Black Box Theatre has boosted the audience for dance in general "That is one of the real values of festivals: they serve as the classic vehicle for bringing in international work, showcasing new work and developing co-operative opportunities."
This year's programme includes several such collaborations, including Steppenwolf and Heather Woodbury staging What Ever, billed as an "American Odyssey in eight acts", which will be performed over four evenings..
Central to the programme is the use of St Nicholas's Church as a venue. "We have used it before, for quieter, candle-lit and acoustic-type music events," McGrath says. This year, Sigur Ros, the Icelandic group billed as the finest band in the world, is due to play there, as are the Nashville, Tennessee band, Lambchop, The Divine Comedy, and David Kitt.
He believes that communicating with the Arts Council may have been one of his weaknesses. "I have learned that if someone is not doing what you want, it may be because you haven't let them know what is wrong. And that's where I think John Crumlish will be excellent."
