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About BBranar

Branar is one of Ireland’s leading theatre companies making work for children. Based in the West of Ireland, Branar are renowned for creating highly imaginative and beautiful work.

Established in 2001, Branar has created over 20 shows in that time. It works closely with an ensemble of exceptional artists and collaboratively with a number of creative partners, including The Ark, Baboró, NIE (England), Starcatchers (Scotland), Teater Refleksion (Denmark) and many leading Irish arts centres and festivals.

The company tours nationally and internationally, bringing its work with equal enthusiasm to leading arts venues such as the South Bank Centre, London as to a local school in Galway. Branar is committed to reaching its audience, wherever they are.

Marc Mac Lochlainn – Artistic Director – marc@branar.ie

Joanne Beirne – Executive Producer – joanne@branar.ie

Niamh Ní Fhlatharta – Company Administrator – niamh@branar.ie

Michael Foley – Production Manager – michael@branar.ie

Noel Minogue – Admin & Marketing Assistant – noel@branar.ie

Linda Geraghty – Creative Producer of Meitheal – linda@branar.ie

Orla Henihan – Line Producer of Meitheal – orla@branar.ie

BBranarfesto

  • 01

    We love stories. We promise to create stories that children will enjoy.

  • 02

    We will be brave, strong, generous, playful and true to who we are. Through our work we will invite children to be so too.

  • 03

    We believe that all children are creative. We will advance children’s right to be creative.

  • 04

    We promise to make wonder-full art for children because we believe art should be an essential part of every childhood.

  • 05

    We will help others to make wonder-full art for children and we will work with other exciting artists to make wonder-full art for children.

  • 06

    Children will ALWAYS be at the heart of our work. They are our audience and the experts whose opinion we seek.    

  • 07

    We will shout loudly for art for children to be better understood, to have its own space and to be better resourced.

  • 08

    We will honour children’s imagination and intelligence and we will never patronise them.

  • 09

    We believe that every child should see a play at least once a year. We will do our best to make that happen for children in Ireland.

  • 10

    We will be kind to the environment so that children will inherit a healthier planet to play on.

A–Z BBranar

a

Audience / Abhcóide

Audience is at the heart of everything we do. Beidh Branar mar abhcóide ar son cearta cultúrtha ár lucht féachana

b

Brave / Beocht

We will be brave in our creative choices agus beidh beocht i chuile ní a chruthaíonn muid

c

Curiosity / Crógach

Curiosity is crucial to be  truly creative agus caithfear a bheith crógach le bheith fiosrach

d

Diversity / Draíocht

Diversity is everywhere and we embrace it because from diversity comes Draíocht agus tá draíocht mar sprioc againn i gcónaí

e

Explore / Éagsúlacht

Constantly explore ideas, stories, methods, genres, etc it brings new life to our work agus is as an taiscéalaíocht sin a eascraíonn éagsúlacht

f

Family / Flaithiúil

We make theatre for children and their adults and whatever they family looks like. We think of our collaborators as family and bíonn an doras i gcónaí oscailte mar is mór linn a bheith flaithiúil

g

Genuine / Gaeilge

We always aim to be truthful and genuine in our work, tá an Ghaeilge go smior in ár gcuid oibre agus tá muid ag iarraidh í a roinnt le páistí ar fad an Domhain

h

Humour / Hurlamaboc

Without humour life is dull, we sprinkle it onto all our stories agus is maith linn Hurlamaboc a chruthú lena linn

i

Irish / Iontas

Irish is who we are and how we communicate an t-iontas atá fite fuaite inár gcuid oibre

j

Joy /

We will always  try to bring joy to our audiences because sharing our art with children brings us great joy

k

Kindness /

Kindness is one of the most important things we can have and its something we bake into all our art and actions

l

Language / Léiriú

We are fascinated by languages and we celebrate them in our work, is minic dúinn go leor teangacha a úsáid i léiriú

m

Mentor / Meas

We have benefitted from amazing mentors over the years and we will share our knowledge with artists who want to make work for children. Tá meas againn ar ár lucht féachana agus aon duine atá ag iarradh freastal orthu

n

Nature / Nuálach

We are aware that nature and the environment are in a delicate state we promise not to do any harm to it agus tiocfaidh muid ar mhodhanna atá nuálach chun na críche sin

o

Original / Óige

We try to innovate and be original ar nós gach uile eispéireas le linn na hÓige ba mhaith linn a bheith úr

p

Playful / Páistí

Approach each task with a playful mind agus éist leis na saineolaithe, Páistí

q

Question /

Don’t accept anything until its has been questioned endlessly. Only then has it earned the right to go before our audience

r

Rights / Rí rá

Don’t forget adults, children have the right to have as active a cultural life as you do. Déanfaidh muid Rí Rá go dtí go mbeidh cothrom na Féinne ag páistí

s

Story / Spraoi

We love stories as much as nó beagnach chomh mór agus a thaitníonn Spraoi linn

t

Theatre / Tacaíocht

Theatre is the medium we use most to express ourselves agus tá sé tábhachtach dúinn tacaíocht a thabhairt d’aon duine atá ag iarraidh ealaín a chruthú do pháistí

u

Unique / Úr

There is only one Branar but we want the encourage more artists to find their voice and make work for children. Tá glórtha úra ag teastáil i gcónaí

v

Voices /

We make room for many voices in Branar and we listen to Artist’s voices, teachers voices, families voices, funders and policy makers. But the children’s voices are heard the loudest

w

Wonder /

If there is no wonder around you there cannot be wonder inside you

x

X marks the spot /

y

Young people /

From the moment they have a birth cert they are citizens, equal citizens. Ná déan dearmad

z

Zinger / Zapper, zopper, ziúndín, zaidín

BBranar Strategy

Branar Strategy 2022 – 2025

Branar exists to create wonderful arts experiences for children so that they and their imaginations may thrive. Branar is about wonder and wondering, iontas agus ionadh, about being wonderful and wonder-full, sa tóir ar an iontais.

It seemed appropriate, as Branar moves into its third decade of existence, to develop a strategy and harness this intent. We wanted to make clear our purpose, vision, mission and values and to set out our ambition and the choices we have made in pursuit of ‘wonder-full’, in every sense of the word, over the next four years.

Governance

Branar are committed to the governance and transparency requirements as outlined by the Arts Council of Ireland.

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