Our first live event! Friday 18th September in Athenry, Ireland!

RETREAT, an audio comedy

Created by Aoibheann McCann & Andi Ipaktchi

So how did a writer living in Galway and an artist living in Paris end up writing a six-part comedy series, I hear you ask? In 2019, the two acquaintances met at an arts retreat in Ireland. Aoibheann for her book of short stories and Andi for a round in the printmaking studio. They hit it off and were eager to return to attempt a collaboration in 2020. 2020 came around fast. The first dinner was fabulous and the craic was good. But even before the main course was served, Aoibheann and Andi were being asked, ‘What are you collaborating on?” (The cruelest five words one can utter to creative people embarking on a project.)

Never at a loss for words, the two began fabricating a storyline that sounded like this..

Welcome to Knocknahay, a small village on a stoat infested lake, somewhere in Ireland that is home to the Kathleen O’Mara Residential Centre for the Arts. Here, Brigit (an unsuccessful writer and Celtic ‘Healer), and Shannon (her Goop-inspired, wannabe artist, American cousin), decide to meet-up for artistic collaboration. In the residency, they meet other artists: Mary (an Irish poet involved in a secretive arts league), Agnés (a French artist), Gunter (a German soundscape artist), Damien (an Irish radio celebrity turned writer) and the staff: Barney (the bumbling English director), Nora (the cook), Teresa (the kitchen maid) and a new kitchen temp (fourth one this month, from the agency). As the artist-residents and staff prepare for a group exhibition to inaugurate the new, onsite Megacorp Exhibition Hall, an heiress, the groundskeeper, a celebrity Chinese dissident artist, and an army of stoats have other plans for the place.

Aoibheann McCann is originally from Donegal. She now lives in Galway where she writes fiction, non-fiction and the occasional poem. Her work has been published in literary journals in Ireland, UK, Italy and USA. Her work has been anthologised by Pankhurst Press (UK), New Binary Press, Arlen House, Doire and Prospero (Italy).

Andi Ipaktchi is a multi-disciplinary artist and Parsons School of Design Grad from Connecticut, who now lives in Paris. She writes, draws and performs using comedy to tackle themes such as isolation and disorder. In 2015, she was on the Undiscovered Voices (UK) anthology shortlist. She is a coordinator for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (France). In 2016, she was awarded 1st prize for her monoprint series by the Metanoia Gallery (Paris) and participated in the gallery’s group show the next year.  She traveled to Ireland to attend a Tyrone Guthrie Artist Residency in 2019 for printmaking and 2020 for printmaking and writing. She is currently working on an audio comedy series and graphic novel for middle-grade teens.

They are currently in pre-production and seeking representation.