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News
Next GLAS event
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
Music, Review
Standing ovation for Luka Bloom
by Denis McClean •
Luka Bloom’s agent in Switzerland told me that in all the Swiss German towns Luka performed in before coming to Geneva last Saturday his songs were met with polite applause but an uncomprehending silence greeted his stories about the songs. Saturday night’s sold-out show for GLAS, packed with Irish and other anglophone expats, must have…
GLAS Events, Music
Luka Bloom (01.04.2017)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
“A fabulous songwriter, deeply rooted in his homeland and always looking for more.” Irish folk legend, Luka Bloom is back in Geneva on Saturday, April 1. It’s four years since GLAS brought him to Geneva for the first time and he is a crowd favourite wherever he goes around the world, thanks to the quality…
Music, Review
A new road opens for GLAS in Geneva
by Denis McClean •
New Road turned the GLAS Aula venue into a steamy swamp of deliriously joyful music on Saturday night. Not since the heyday of the Bothy Band and Planxty have I been so mesmerised by a group of Irish musicians revelling in the tradition but mixing it up with something else. That something else was partly…
GLAS Events, Music
New Road with Cathy Jordan (10.12.2016)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
“…a musical experience full of passion and exhilaration, depth and beauty.” For Christmas this year GLAS gives you the gift of music from five outstanding musicians. The legendary interpreter of Celtic song, Cathy Jordan (pictured right), will accompany the New Road ensemble: a unique blend of the plaintive Irish uilleann pipes, fiddle, harmonica, whistles, 5-string…
Music, Poetry, Politics, Review
Giving something back to Gaza
by Denis McClean •
In the year of the hunger strikes in 1981, I spent a month travelling through Palestine and Israel. I made my way to the Gaza Strip though it was under lock down and no journalists were allowed to enter. I joined several people in the back of a spacious Arab taxi leaving from East Jerusalem.…
GLAS Events, Poetry, Politics
Rafeef Ziadah – We Teach Life (28.05.2016)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
“We Palestinians wake up every morning to teach the rest of the world life, sir.“ Rafeef Ziadah is an acclaimed Palestinian refugee spoken word artist and activist. Her poem ‘We Teach Life, Sir’ – an impassioned attack on media misrepresentation of the Palestinian cause – went viral within days of its release. This live show…
Comedy, Review, Theatre
Charolais: loss, despair and the power of love
by Denis McClean •
Charolais lived up to its billing as a fast paced, witty, emotional and universal story of loss, despair and the power of love on the Geneva stage last night. It garnered a standing ovation and several curtain calls for the star of the evening Noni Stapleton who also wrote the show which is a Bigger…
Comedy, GLAS Events, Theatre
Charolais (27.04.2016)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
Following a sell-out month at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this award-winning show has been touring constantly on both sides of the Atlantic but we have finally managed to get Bigger Picture Projects to bring Charolais to Geneva for one night only starring the amazingly talented Noni Stapleton who wrote the script and also stars in…
News
Our new website
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS regulars will hopefully have noticed that we have a posh new website. It’s still under construction, so please be patient for the next few weeks. We’re progressively adding every event that GLAS has hosted since the very first one back in 2005.
Music, Review
The Voice Squad and John Spillane conquer Geneva
by Denis McClean •
What a night we had. John Spillane had the audience in the palm of his hand as he brought us on a guided tour of Cork, Ireland and the universe. He sang all his hits, including catchy numbers like John, Don’t Go To Ballincollig and a new song about the busking festival in Clonmel and…
GLAS Events, Music
The Voice Squad and John Spillane (05.12.2015)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
You will recall that last Christmas we had to cancel The Voice Squad concert, just two days before the event, due to an unfortunate injury suffered by one of the group. The good news is that they are definitely coming this Saturday, December 5. And to make it an even more memorable evening, we are…
Review, Theatre
Thank you Fishamble!
by Denis McClean •
Another great night – and a standing ovation – in the annals of GLAS. Among the many newcomers, the renowned opera singer, musician, polyglot, polymath, Kirsti Griffiths, attended her first GLAS event last night, Fishamble’s Little Thing, Big Thing which was a sell-out and raised CHF4,500 for the Edith Wilkins Foundation for Street Children. Kirsti…
GLAS Events, Theatre
Little Thing, Big Thing by Donal O’Kelly (02.05.2015)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
Fishamble return to Geneva on Saturday, May 2, with an original and engaging piece of theatre which will take top billing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. The writer and star of “Little Thing, Big Thing,” Donal O’Kelly has already won the top prize twice at the Edinburgh Festival and is a strong contender…
Comedy, Review
Superb gig by Ardal
by Denis McClean •
Ardal O’Hanlon played a superb gig in Geneva last night as a guest of the Geneva Literary Aid Society. It raised CHF8,250 for the Edith Wilkins Foundation for Street Children in Darjeeling, India. A great night was had by all. He was even coaxed into singing a verse of My Lovely Horse from his Fr.…
Comedy, GLAS Events
Ardal O’Hanlon (24.02.2015)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS WELCOMES ARDAL O’HANLON TO GENEVA GLAS wishes you all a happy new year. We would also like to thank those of you who donated so generously to the Edith Wilkins Foundation for Street Children in Darjeeling last month. They were very touched by your generosity. We don’t have a final figure for the sums…
GLAS Events, Music
Luka Bloom (11.10.2011)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
It’s two years since GLAS brought Luka Bloom to Geneva for the first time. We had an amazing reaction from the audience that night and we promised to bring him back. He’s on tour again and Geneva is on the list for Saturday, October 11. Here’s a sample of some emails we received after his…
GLAS Events, Theatre
Title and Deed by Will Eno (03.07.2014)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS is proud to welcome Gare St. Lazare back to Geneva with a provocative new work TITLE AND DEED from the pen of the American playwright, Will Eno, who was recently shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize. The production is stopping off in Geneva before it opens at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival having already enjoyed great…
Review, Theatre
Standing ovation for Silent
by Denis McClean •
GLAS raised 7,000 Swiss Francs for the Edith Wilkins Foundation for Street Children last night thanks to a spellbinding performance by Pat Kinevane in the Fishamble Theatre’s production of “Silent” directed by Jim Culleton. There were moments of great humour, grace and beauty throughout the piece during which the homeless street beggar Tino McGoldrick tells…
GLAS Events, Theatre
Silent by Pat Kinevane (30.01.2014)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS opens 2014 with a superb piece from the Fishamble Theatre Company in Dublin. Silent has received great reviews from the likes of Ben Brantley, the New York Times (passionate…stunning), the Guardian (dazzling), the Irish Times (a striking performance), Sydney Morning Herald (mesmerizing)… Need I go on? You can reserve through bookings@theglas.org for 19.30 on…
Music, News, Review
Some really good news from GLAS
by Denis McClean •
Last minute problems with GLAS events have taught me to hide my despair at cruel twists of fate and to bite my tongue when dealing with a concierge who resembles an ex-gang member who has become an avid convert to clean living and a rules-based lifestyle. He can make life and death decisions about our…
GLAS Events, Music, Poetry
Tale of the Gael and Micky Dunne (15.11.2013)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS is particularly pleased to be bringing to Geneva an ensemble of musicians featuring the legendary piper Mickey Dunne, the last of several generations of the Dunne family who have toured Ireland for over a century bringing the beautiful soulful sound of the uileann pipes into every corner of the land. He is held in…
GLAS Events, Review, Theatre
Joyced & Fionnuala by Donal O’Kelly (24.09.2013)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
We had an amazing night of theatre last night from Donal O’Kelly in his award-winning drama, Fionnuala, which lays bare much that is undesirable about Shell’s operations in Ireland, in a rivetting tour de force full of humour and pathos. His daughter, Katie, performed Donal’s roller coaster tribute to Joyce and the Dublin he left…
GLAS Events, Music
Maria Doyle Kennedy (24.05.2013)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
We are now bringing Maria Doyle Kennedy to Geneva on Friday, May 24. She first came to international attention for her soulful singing, and acting, in the film “The Commitments” where she gave Aretha Franklin a good run for her money. She has gone on to become an acclaimed international recording artist and award-winning actress…
GLAS Events, Theatre
Molloy by Samuel Beckett (26.04.2013)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
It has been a long cold winter,hopefully you were not too lonely without a GLAS event to go to. We’re back on Friday, April 26, with a terrific performance from Conor Lovett in a revival of “Molloy” by Samuel Beckett, directed by Judy Hegarty-Lovett. It has won huge acclaim around the world for Gare St.…
GLAS Events, Music
Moya Brennan (06.12.2012)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
U2’s Bono said about her, “I think Moya has one of the greatest voices the human ear has ever experienced.” Moya Brennan comes from one of the best known musical families in Ireland. Her younger sister is Enya and Moya herself is the voice of Clannad, a band which features her two brothers and two…
GLAS Events, Music
Luka Bloom (16.10.2012)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
The Geneva Literary Aid Society is proud to announce its next event. We are bringing the renowned solo performer, Luka Bloom, to Geneva for one night only. There’s much more to his music than his international hit, a cover of LL Cool J.’s “I need love.” He’s a troubadour for the truth, a poet of…
Comedy, GLAS Events
Biddy O’Loughlin (09.05.2012)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
Biddy O’Loughlin is a great new comic talent from Australia. This will be her last show in Europe before she returns to her native land and the charms of Alice Springs. She wrote her first play when she was seventeen. Biddy started to make a name for herself on the international comedy scene just two…
GLAS Events, Poetry
Carol Ann Duffy (30.03.2012)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
Carol Ann Duffy is Britain’s greatest living poet and certainly one of the most popular and entertaining. Her work is studied at schools and universities throughout the English-speaking world. She has been producing poems from the age of 11. When one of her English teachers died, she wrote: “You sat on your desk,/ swinging your…
GLAS Events, Music
White Raven (15.12.2011)
by Geneva Literary Aid Society •
GLAS is joining forces again this year with White Raven for a special Christmas Concert in aid of the Furaha Orphanage, Mombasa, Kenya, at 19.30, December 15, in the Aula, College des Coudriers. Book now on info@theglas.org. It will be a great way to celebrate Christmas with friends and family. Please help us spread the…