We're finally back on the road - "The Little Mermaid" has resurfaced at Galway Arts Festival where the show enjoyed six sell-out performances, getting the tour off to a flying start.

Re-rehearsals were held in Dublin on the 11th and 12th July on two of the hottest days I can ever remember in Ireland. There was one cast change and a number of sequences that I wanted to restructure so we had quite a bit to tackle, but we got everything done and then set off on the the three and a half hour drive across the centre of the country, from east coast to west coast, to Galway.

The show was staged at 'Leisureland' - a large pool in an outskirt of Galway called Salthill. The weather was stunning for the first few days we were there, so it wasn't hard to convince the cast to get back into the water. It was my first visit to the west coast of Ireland and to the Galway Arts Festival and, although we didn't get time to visit other shows, the programme of events was very impressive and I'd definately recommend a visit, either as an artist or as an audience member.

Galway itself was in festive mood - the annual festival is an international endeavour and the whole town is packed with artists and tourists from all over the world. The evenings were dry and warm so the bars were packed, with people spilling out onto the streets, drinks in hand, and fire jugglers, clowns and street magicians providing colourful entertainment. Great atmosphere and great fun.

"The Little Mermaid" proved very successful in Galway - we performed six sold-out shows in two days. The festival director told me that they could have run the show for two weeks, such was the demand for tickets. The venue must have held up to 300 people, maybe more, and people were being turned away at every performance. One of the cast happened to pop in to the Ticket Office and saw a note pinned to the notice board from someone desperate for Little Mermaid tickets - 'prepared to pay double'!

So, with Galway under our belts, it's time to start thinking of the next stop - Taiwan. We fly out on Thursday (21st July) and before we set off there are a number of technical issues to consider - the pools there are wider, shallower and have less pool-side decking than we are used to. The show will have to undergo changes to fit, which will mean some intensive rehearsals on arrival. Two of our team are already out there putting together our Asian set, and they report that all is going well so far - the shows are virtually sold out and the Taiwanese festival organisers are looking forward to our arrival.

I've got to spend the next few days in rehearsals for one of my musicals which will tour here in Ireland over the summer, but once that is out of the way I must get some shopping done - and I must order some Taiwanese currency ...