The first ever Galway Fringe Festival has been declared a success after its first week of full houses at the theatre events with ticket sales continuing to be brisk.

As tickets for most of the Galway Arts Festival theatre shows sold out so quickly and before the event started, the Fringe no doubt benefited as festival goers were delighted to get tickets for other drama shows in the city.

Claire Keegan, Galway Fringe Festival director describes herself as being thrilled with the success of the event in its first week and is quite confident as the organisers and performers head into their final stretch this weekend.

“We are delighted with the numbers, especially to our theatre shows. Almost all of our shows got full houses but more importantly the feedback we have been getting has been fantastic. “We put a lot of work into organising the two-week Fringe, as many of us had been busy working with the Volvo event in the weeks coming up to this and we are so happy it paid off.”

Some of the music gigs didn’t sell out, she says, but adds that she is hopeful there will be a lot of interest in their final event on Sunday in Monroe’s starting at 9pm and involving a number of well known acts and the opportunity to showcase some local bands. The line-up includes Milan Jay, Rural Savage, Karate Pencil Case, Prospect Avenue, Blu Loves Milo, Fires of Babylon and Vickers Vimy. Support on the night is by singer/songwriters Sara Gerdine, Jan Chicos, Maia Sophia and John Gaughan and admission is €5.

Monroe’s Main Stage also hosts Duked Productions this Thursday and Friday, presenting a contemporary version of The Importance of Being Earnest, with the performance starting 5pm. A vibrant, young cast turn the Oscar Wilde play on its head, with this production, which is set in present-day London, where Gwendolen, Cecily, Jack and Algernon are party people. Miss Prism is rather hip, and the Reverend Chausible may be dealing drugs. One of the butlers is a deviant, and the other is having a fling with Cecily. As for the imposing Lady Bracknell, she is more imposing than ever. The cast delve into the darker side of the play, and the script remains impossibly funny.

At €15, the tickets are one of the priciest of events as the Fringe has tried to keep most shows under €10.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.