One Voice Festival 2026: A Festival of Memories at Wexford Arts Centre

Wexford Arts Centre in association with Paul Walsh Productions are delighted to present One Voice Festival 2026: A Festival of Memories that will present eight short monologue plays nightly from Thursday 6thAugust until Saturday 8thAugust, 2026 at Wexford Arts Centre.This is the sixth year of running the One Voice Festival and this year’s theme is inspired by the exhibition that will be in situ in our galleries during the One Voice festival. The Memory of a Free Festival touring exhibition will include works by Orla Barry, Brian Duggan and Alanna O’Kelly conceived by Ormston House in response to the Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals that took place in Wexford between 1978 and 1981.  The Open call was for short plays that could be themed around memories of participation in these festivals or other lifetime memories including real or imaginary that could be inspirational, funny or moving.We had a great response to the open call with many great memory plays submitted.  The plays selected are ‘Pakie’s Pipe’ by Joe Bergin, ‘Waiting for Jack Lemmon’ by Tom Byrne, ‘The Summer of Love’ by Imelda Carroll, ‘Last Visitor’ by John Ryan and ‘Where Did the Cherries go?’ By Seona O’Connor and these will be performed alongside commissioned short plays that include ‘Runaway Train’ by Margaret Galvin, ‘Dá Fhada an Lá’ by Éire Ní Fhaoláin and ‘Life on the Bi Ward’ by Dermot Asple. The chosen plays include moving, intriguing and funny experiences from childhood memories of a neighbour’s visit to keeping vigil on a neighbour or finding love at Carnsore Point Anti Nuclear Festival and the promise of a Hollywood celebrity attending the same festival, visits by Guinness Book of Record breakers at the birthplace of the Guinness Book of Records location in Castlebridge, a folklore piece about a child possibly taken by fairies in Irish and an experience in a Behavioural Intervention ward in an institution. A stellar cast featuring Susan Anderson, Dermot Asple, John Crosbie, Andy Doyle, Linda Hynes, Phil Lyons, Éire Ní Fhaoláin, Seona O’Connor and Myles Sutherland will be directed by the wonderful Paul Walsh and an original score will be composed and performed by the very talented Gary Stephens.  The Festival is supported by Wexford County Council Small Grant Scheme and Arts Council.