Anna Newell

Anna Newell (www.annanewell.co.uk) has been making theatre adventures for people of all ages to watch and to take part in since 1989. She created the world’s first BabyDay, introduced theatre for children and young people with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties into Ireland and helped start babytheatre in South Africa. Her work for Early Years audiences has been seen on five continents. She is an internationally acclaimed Wicklow based Theatre Maker.

Mermaid, with the Wicklow County Council Arts Office, The Civic (Tallaght), Draiocht (Blanchardstown), Riverbank Theatre (Kildare) and the Arts Council have been supporting her in the development, creation and presentation of her work which inspires, thrills and enthralls babies and young people with additional needs. (Anne has multiple partners and networks for her work, too many to mention here although Enable Wicklow does deserve a mention! Have a look at her web-site for info on her partners (https://www.annanewell.co.uk/babies).

In 2020, we have five projects where we will support the making and showing of work by Anna.

I AM BABA (International Early Childhood Arts Commission 2017) will be on a 10-week tour right across Ireland. Mermaid will present this work over two days in Mermaid, as well as Little Bray Community Centre on 14th and 15th April. Anna has received Arts Council of Ireland funding to create a new show for children and young people with complex needs in 2020. GROOVE will be a 60's/70's inspired chilled-out "happening" that will tour to schools and venues. To be presented in Mermaid in June 2020.

SING ME TO THE SEA a show for children with complex needs that takes place in hydropools (strategic project for Wicklow County Arts Office in collaboration with the Riverbank Arts Centre & Enable Ireland) will return for a week to Mermaid in July 2020 partnering and presenting in the hydro pool in the Marino School.

2020 will also include R&D on Ireland’s first dance show for babies – I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT as well as the showing of some work completed in late 2019 on an experimental project called CONNECT where Anna and collaborating artist David Goodall worked with teenagers from Bray devising a new work for early years, working alongside researchers from ImmaLab in TCD exploring the impact on the teens of working with the babies in this way.