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theatre · Friday 10 July 2026 · 7:00pm 
Unveiled
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
Unveiled is a free showcase of four brand-new interdisciplinary works in progress, staged at Hawk’s Well Theatre as part of the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival. It is the kind of evening that lets you in on the creative process before a piece is fully finished - an honest, lively look at what emerging artists are making right now, across theatre, dance, movement and physical performance. It suits anyone curious about live performance who wants to see something genuinely new rather than a polished revival.
Four short works take the stage on the same evening, each at a different point in development. Past editions of Unveiled have featured pieces that blend genres: a dance-theatre work examining masculinity and family set in a rural Garda station; an absurdist theatre piece drawn from the true story of Clever Hans the horse; a movement performance by artists exploring the experience of leaving home and arriving somewhere new; and a vertical dance-theatre piece using unexpected physical perspectives to explore land and time. The 2026 programme has not been published in full at time of writing, but the format holds - four original works, emerging artists, and an audience that is genuinely part of the conversation about where each piece goes next.
Hawk’s Well is Sligo’s main producing theatre, opened in 1982 and renovated in the nineties into a 340-seat house with a properly sized stage. It is a comfortable, well-run venue - not a draughty black box - so you get a proper theatre experience even for works-in-progress. Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, which co-presents Unveiled, is an 8-day multidisciplinary festival running 4-11 July 2026 that transforms the town with performances in theatres, streets, galleries and site-specific settings. Unveiled sits right at the festival’s close, making it a fitting send-off for the week.
Sligo town is around two hours from Dublin by road via the N4/N17 or by direct Irish Rail intercity service from Connolly Station, with trains running several times daily. From Galway it is about an hour and a half by road via the N17. Hawk’s Well Theatre is on Temple Street in the centre of town, a short walk from the bus and rail station. Street parking is available in the town centre and there are public car parks nearby on Quay Street and at The Gaol.
Unveiled falls on the final day of Cairde, so if you make a weekend of it there are several other festival events to catch across the town. Sligo has the W.B. Yeats connection woven through everything from the county museum to the country roads leading to Lough Gill and Ben Bulben, and the town centre is compact enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.