AGAP Archives
2024
It was a year of success, for AGAP beginning with a full programme of live events for Lentfest, assisting with the world premiere of a new opera, and the sell-out success “Gaudi: God’s Architect” at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Lentfest 2024 was the first full programme of live events since the pandemic of 2024. Several events were clustered across two weekends in the Curial Offices of the Archdiocese and included live music, visual art, film, talks and drama, whilst a few performances in parishes kept up the tradition of touring.
Lentfest 2024
The Lentfest programme opened with the inaugural Archbishop Mario Conti lecture, delivered by Richard Demarco CBE, with a special screening of the film “RICO”, introduced by the filmmaker, Marco Federici. This was accompanied by a posthumous exhibition of “A Glasgow Calvary” by the late John Cairney (1930-2023), who was a great supporter of AGAP.
The second weekend featured poetry by Anne Murray with musical accompaniment by violinist Anne Morgan; a lecture by opera composer, Jacquelyn Hazle; a panel discussion on Faith and the Arts with contributions from FireCloud Creative Director and Researcher, Dr Suzanne Bunniss, Composer, Jacquelyn Hazle, Educator and Performance-Maker, Olivia Vong, and Singer-Songwriter and Mental Health Activist, Maureen O’Kelly; as well as a performance of “The Magdalene”, a contemporary performance encounter crafted by Olivia Vong.
There was also an exhibition of work by artists Anne Devine and Lorraine Lamond on the theme of “The Undoing of Death”. The weekend rounded up with a performance of Stephen Callaghan’s solo show “The Pew With a View” and “Did You Know?”, scenes and monologues performed by AGAP Theatre; and an afternoon of Celtic Music with Heelster Gowdie and MLB. Audiences in parishes were also treated to performances by visiting artist, Stefan Smart who enacted his solo rendering of the Gospel in “I AM Mark”; a concert by Maureen O’Kelly; and an online exhibition by German artist, Albrecht Behmel.
Facilitating a new Opera
The summer months were busy for AGAP, beginning with the partial premiere of a new opera, “The Witnesses”, being developed by composer Dr Jacquelyn Hazle. The premiere took place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and was repeated at the Renfield Centre with technical support from AGAP. The opera was a powerful piece, dealiing with themes of martyrdom, faith and mercy. It was performed by Rosie Lavery (soprano), Colin Murray (baritone) and Clarisse Teo (piano). (Featured image by Wiktoria Wizner.)
Gaudi: A Fringe Sell-Out Success!
AGAP Theatre returned to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August with a biographical play entitled “Gaudi: God’s Architect”. The play, written and directed by Stephen Callaghan, told the story of the man who designed Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia and whose cause for canonisation is now being considered by the Church, almost 100 years after his sudden accidental death.
The play featured stunning audio visual effects by Zachary O’Neill and featured three actors (Stephen Callaghan, Russell Wheeler and Jacqueline Glencorse) portraying nineteen characters. An extended version, running at around 85 minutes, was performed at 4 Glasgow venues before it was condensed to 50 minutes for audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe. The seven performances at C Venues Aurora Studio took place in front of capacity audiences as the play sold out every evening.
Conclusions - Paving the Way for the Future
The year concluded with Stephen Callaghan attending the launch of the Catholic Talent Agency in London, representing the Archdiocese of Glasgow. Other activities included the delivery of a revised version of AGAP’s popular workshop exploring the rosary through drama, during the month of October. Finally, there was the development of a new website for AGAP and plans for a new productions entitled “Pilgrim of Hope” that will tour in 2025 to mark the Jubilee Year.
