My Travels with Footsbarn Theatre: A Memoir

In this delightful memoir, Ted Turton describes his escapades as an artist, designer, photographer, printer, truck driver, publicist, front-of-house salesperson, document forger and occasional street actor for the acclaimed Footsbarn Theatre.

With its free-spirited nature and boisterous energy, Footsbarn attracted many talented people who wanted to be part of a travelling theatre. The romantic idea of taking theatre to the people, be it in the city, the suburbs or rural communities, was attractive but the reality was tough. Life on the road with a barnstorming company of extraordinarily talented actors, clowns, musicians and artists – plus all their children – was a challenge. This was showbiz, circus-style, with their own tent, trucks, buses and caravans.

My Travels with Footsbarn Theatre comprises Ted Turton’s reminiscences about travelling the world with an infuriating, endearing and totally inspirational family of performers. With amusing stories about various scrapes and mishaps, descriptions of the amazing places they visited in Europe, the USA and Australia, and entertaining tales about life in the freewheeling 1980s, this is a heart-warming coming-of-age story. It is also stunningly illustrated with Ted Turton’s work as an artist with the company, plus dozens of photographs he took with his trusty Leica rangefinder camera.

“. . . serves as an evocative reminder that the arts can be a bridge between cultures . . . in a world that now finds itself divided and in conflict.’ – President Michael D. Higgins

About the Author

Ted Turton is co-founder of the Galway International Arts Festival and continued his involvement with it for thirty-five years. He designed twelve of its celebrated posters between 1978 and 1999. His original artwork of paintings, prints and photography can be viewed at www.tedturtonart.com. He lives with his wife Lali Morris in Clifden, County Galway.