WAITING FOR AUGUST…Sean Doran, founder of the Beckett Festival
THE artistic director and founder of the ‘Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival’, Sean Doran, this week expressed his delight at the news that funding has been secured from various quarters for the festival, which, last year had its maiden voyage.
The festival celebrates the work and influence of Samuel Beckett, who attended Portora Royal. It attracted visitors from as far as Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo – and Sean spoke with excitement at the prospect of this year’s festival.
“We were overwhelmed with the size of audiences last year,” he said, “there were certain things that were great, great triumphs.
“The council did an economic report and it showed through the buying of tickets and answering of questionnaires, that 70% of the attendants came from outside Fermanagh, with 40% from the Republic.”
In all, 109 presentations took place over five days last year, and the festival was covered by the world-wide media, for example, The New York Times. And, as such, it had a truly international feel.
“We’re only talking a handful of people”, Sean explained, “ but, nonetheless we had people who came specifically from Los Angeles, Tokyo, Australia and Paris – who were Beckett followers – and saw it on the Internet. It’s the only annual gathering ground for Beckett in a multi-arts international festival.”
For this year, he reported that the festival has received £230, 000 from the public purse. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has given £90,000, Fermanagh District Council £25,000 and the Arts Council, £115,000.
“Last year’s funding was for one year, and this year’s funding is for one year, but it’s now quite clear that there’s going to be a roll-on because of the success of last year,” Sean continued.
“We’ve done a first, a festival that was highly successful, but this festival is about consolidation, and building.”
He went on: “The next couple of months will be crucial. We have a programme, but I now have to raise sponsorship, and other funding.
“And that will determine what we can and can’t do. We will launch the full festival before the ‘G8’, and have the brochures printed ready for the world media that will be here.”
The festival will take place from August 22 until August 26.
“The construct that I’ve put together is that it’s a ‘destination’ festival, it’s to use culture and world-class arts at the highest level, and imaginative programming to put Enniskillen on the world map, and to look at Enniskillen in a different way.
“What interests me at this stage in my life is how the arts can be used to have a much wider economic and social impact, so that is my goal continually.”
Wilde to be recognised in new festival.
THE ARTISTIC director of the Beckett festival, Sean Doran, has revealed that a new international festival to recognise Oscar Wilde is in the pipeline for 2014.
Initially entitled ‘Wilde Weekend’, Sean noted that it could take place in the Spring or Autumn and will be ‘very different’ to the Beckett festival.
“It will not be in the Summer, it will be in the shoulder season – as it’s called. So it could be in Spring or Autumn, so we have to look at what funding will come from where to do it.
Sean said he has been reading Wilde in more depth over the past few months, the diversity of his works, from short stories, to plays and essays.
“Critically, it gives Enniskillen two high-end literary figure festivals,” he added.
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