First Fortnight 2020,
West Donegal

First Fortnight is a charity that challenges mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action. Comhcheol Arts and Wellness were delighted to bring the First Fortnight festival to Co. Donegal for the first time in 2019. Here is what we have planned in West Donegal for January 2020.
Full festival and Donegal Listings available here.

West Donegal Events at a Glance/Sracfhéachaint ar Imeachtaí Iarthar Dhún na nGall

Beoga Wellbeing Stage Show

@Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, 9/1/20, 2.30pm, €5/group discounts.

Beoga, an innovative wellness programme that blends yoga, games and psychology has, since 2016 been working largely in schools, to teach emotional resilience skills in a relaxed and interactive atmosphere. The stage show will maintain the programme's trademark playfulness, and the themes (incl. drug-use, anxiety) will dovetail neatly with the subject matter of 'Ireland's Call', should audiences wish to attend both.
Book the workshop using the button below. Please call o879667142 for combined or group pricing if you wishe to attend both events. 

First Fortnight, The Balor Arts Centre and Comhcheol Arts and Wellness present

Ireland's Call

@ Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, 9/1/2020, 8pm

John Connors is one of the leading Irish actors of his generation, receiving acclaim for his roles in Love/Hate and Cardboard Gangsters. He won the IFTA for best actor in 2017 and his acceptance speech went viral "seven and a half years ago I was sitting in my house [...] contemplating suicide. Creativity [...] saved my life. It really did. Creativity can definitely be the mode to heal people."

'Ireland's Call' now distinguishes him as an upcoming writer. The story follows the lives of three youths as they grow up in Coolock. What shapes them and entices them to a life of crime? Examining issues of mental health, suicide, class, religion and identity, this play is an unflinching exploration of the Irish psyche, bringing our collective guilt, secrets and flaws to the surface.

A post-show discussion gives the audience a chance to process and respond to the topics raised.

LINK TO TICKETSOLVE

First Fortnight in partnership with IFI National presents

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

@Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair, 4/1/20, 8pm, €8

 "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest," a tragic-comedy directed by Milos Forman and starring Jack Nicholson, is about a a free-spirited rogue who takes over the ward of a mental hospital through a combination of ingenuity and chutzpah. Based on Ken Keysey's celebrated novel, the film uses a metaphorical framework - the madhouse - to symbolize the individual against the system, the story gets its power from the innumerable details which reveal what life is about in a mental institution.
First Fortnight is a charity that challenges mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action. This film screening is part of the annual First Fortnight Festival.
Goitsigí amach chun an sárscannán seo a fheiceáil ar an scáileán mhór.

Ticéid ar fáil in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair ag an oíche, ach más rud é go bhfuil tú ag iarraidh iad a chuir ar áirithe ar líne, úsáid an cnáipe seo a leanas.

Presented by Donegal County Library and Healthy Ireland with
Comhcheol Arts and Wellness

Present Tense

Leabharlann Ghaoth Dobhair, 8/1/20, 6.30in/pm

Present Tense Wellbeing Workshop

This Healthy Ireland workshop, facilitated by Beoga, incorporates play, breathing and movement. In the face of everyday tensions, we are frequently encouraged to become aware of 'the present moment'. Often however, the present is a place of tension and recurring thoughts. Sitting still with these thoughts can be difficult. This workshop will engage your senses to coax your innate creatively out to greet the present tense playfully. Bígí linn!

First Fortnight Mothership: https://www.firstfortnight.ie/

First Fortnight on Facebook: https://facebook.com/firstfortnight

First Fortnight on Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstfortnight

First Fortnight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstfortnight/