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Synopsis of the plays and history of the
groups
| Friday March 20th 2009 | Confined |
| The Cavalcaders By Billy Roche | Tinahealy Theatre Group |
The Play:
He play is set in a small town shoe repair shop in the early 1970’s. It opens in the present and in it we watch the life of “Terry” whose passion is singing with a barbershop quartet.
The play explores how history repeats itself – no matter how tragic the results.
The group:
The group has moved on far beyond what was envisaged during its tentative start up over twenty years ago.. The variety shows,pantomimes and charity evenings continue but,about twelve years ago starting with some of Bernard Farrel’s comedy drama’s the group moved into really serious work with plays by John B.Keane, Jean Lennox Toddy, Hugh Leonard all of which went on the festival circuit winning some festivals and competing in the one act All Ireland Finals with “The Typists” By Murray Shisgal. Perhaps the most serious in terms of outright drama was the recent production of “One Last White Horse” a powerful play about life at the bottom. Some excellent performances and the group picked up many acting, production and technical awards on the circuit. For future history keep watching our performances.
| Saturday March 21st 2009 | Open |
| Beauty in a Broken Place By Colm Toibin | Brideview Theatre Group, Tallow |
The Play:
In Colm Tobin’s play “Beauty in a Broken Place”, Sean O’Casey recalls the people and events surrounding the premiere of his controversial drama “The Plough and the Stars” Tobin’s unusual and provocative memory play manages to be both serious and hilarious in the depiction of “The Plough riots, an event that tested the cultural, artistic and political freedoms of the nascent Irish State and the Abbey Theatre itself.
The group:
After winning the Confined All Ireland Finals in 2005 with “Moonshine” Brideview Players have since performed on the Open Circuit with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, ”Memory of Water and ”The Glass Menagerie”. The Glass Menagerie wawas by far the most successful Open Play, winning many acting awards and achieving second place in four festivals. This year Bridevieware bringing something a little bit different to the festival circuit, an unusual play that has not been performed outside it’s run at the Peacock Theatre in 2004.
| Sunday March 22nd 2009 | Confined |
| Portia Coughlan By Marina Carr | Conna Drama Group: Cork |
The Play:
Haunted by visions of her drowned twin brother, unable to care for her children and burdened by her family’s dark past.
Portia, the central character of Martina Carr’s dark and brooding play struggles to sustain her independence.
“Portia Coghlan is a harrowing exploration of fierce un yielding desire by one of Ireland’s foremost playwrights.
The group:
Conna Dramatic Society, reformed in the last fifteen years had a very successful play last year with “Sharon’s Grave”. It was Assumpta Mangan’s first time directing on the circuit, with many actor/director awards. The group enjoyed great experience and gained much confidence and are back looking forward to the 2009 season of drama.
| Monday March 23rd 2009 | Open |
| The Shape of Metal By Thomas Kilroy | Friar’s Gate, T.G: Killmallock |
The Play:
Nell , an artist and mother capable of great evil and sensitivity, unscrupulous and passionate , highly intelligent and given to outbursts of obsenity, casts a large shadow over everyone around her Her relationships with her two daughters forms the core of the play.
The group:
An amalgamation of Kilmallock D.S. and Anvil T.S. playing to audiences locally and at festivals since 1946
| Tuesday March 24th 2009 | Open |
| Equus By Peter Schaefer | Silken Thomas Players: Kildare |
| Not Suitable For Children |
The Play:
Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist, investigates the savage blinding of six horses at a stables in Hampshire, England. For no apparent reason, an unassuming seventeen year old stable boy named Alan Strang, the only son of a timid father and a refined, religious mother, committed the atrocity with a hoof pick. As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy’s demons, he finds himself confronting his own insecurities about religion, sexualityand his relationship with his wife.
The group:
Formed in 1990 the group are based in West Kildare. They won the Confined section 1n 1991 with “stags and Hens” and again in 2004 with “Bent”. They had a lot of near misses in between.
In 2005 they moved into the Open section and are delighted to have reached the All Ireland finals in Athlone every year since. In 2006 they came 2nd with their hughly successful “Trainspotting” and in 2007 went on to win the coveted RTE Open Allireland with “the normal Heart”winning eight festivals on the way including the All Ulster title.
| Wednesday March 25th 2009 | Open |
| Tuesdays with Morrie By Jeffrey Hatcher & Mitch Albom | Nenagh Players |
The Play:
Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom has found success and popularity in his occupation, but emotionally and spiritually he is bankrupt. While watching television one night, he comes across an episode of the news show Nightline and learns that his former university professor Morrie Schwartz is battling A.L.S. -- better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. At first, Mitch is reluctant to pay his former mentor a visit, since, at his graduation ceremony, Mitch promised to remain in contact with Morrie but failed to make good on that promise. Mitch eventually overcomes his uneasiness and, to his surprise, finds a very warm welcome from Morrie. The two begin to discuss the issues of happiness, life, and death, and they soon begin to meet on a weekly basis as Mitch reassumes the role of Morrie’s student.
The group:
Nenagh Players were founded in 1943 and celebrated their 65th anniversary last year .
The group won the confined finals in 1998 with “Flight to Grosse lle” and in 2000 with “April Bright” .They reached the Open Finals in Athlone in 2002, 2005 & 2008.
| Thursday March 26th 2009 | Open |
| Trad By Mark Doherty | Insight Theatre |
The Play:
A fable about traditions in a strange place”Trad” is the hilarious tale of the 100 year old Thomas and his more ancient Da. When Thomas reveals that he once fathered a son in along ago fling, the pair set off across the Irish countryside to seek unknown child, with nothing more than a hobble and a limp to help them. A surreal comedy,”Trad” presents a deeply funny journey of discovery, fueled by a past that’s just as bizarre as the present.
The group:
Insight Theatre was founded in Celbridge in 1981.
The group stage two or three productions a year and won the Confine One Act All Ireland in 1992 and were second in the Open in 1992. They are rehersing two one act and one three act plays at present with all three being directed from within the group.
| Friday March 27th 2009 | Open |
| Making History By Brian Friel | Thurles Drama Group |
| Sponsored by The Tipperary Star |
The Play:
The group:
Thurles Drama Group first entered the festival circuit in 1986. After they won the All Ireland confined Finals they had numerous successes in the Open reaching Athlone with many of their productions.
The group has a membership of abut sixty and they produce two full length plays plus an evening of theatre each year.
The group:
The life of Hugh O’Neill. One of Ireland’s most famous sons, Earl of Tyrone, whose flight to Rome after his defeat at Kinsale cleared the way for the plantation of Ulster. The play tells the story of the fateful historic chain of events that began in September 1607, six years after the Battle of Kinsale, when the Earl of Tyrone, Hugh O’Neill and the Earl of Tyrconnell, Rory O’Donnell boarded a ship at Rathmullan bound for Spain.
They never reached Spain and O’Neill died a broken, blind and defeated man in Italy.
| Saturday March 28th 2009 | Open |
| Brothers of the Brush By Jimmy Murphy | Crack'd Spoon Theatre Club: Kilkee |
The Play:
Brothers of the Brush is subtle unsentimental lament for the working class in which house painters patching over cracks of an old house , misuse each other for their own advantage. In a world blighted by economic recession, with workers losing faith in old ideologies, this play demonstrates just how fragile allegiances are when personal interests are at stake.
The group:
Cracke’d Spoon Theatre Company was set up in 2007 in West clare to provide a variety of activities including drama (one act and three act plays) , drama workshops, variety shows and many more to the community at large.
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