Month: March 2019

SCOTT MARSHALL (MA, LGSM, FRSA, GODA, ADA) Scott Marshall is an actor, director, playwright, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has adjudicated 33 full length or one-act finals throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. These have included 7 British All-Winners Finals since 1985, 3 Athlone All-Ireland Finals and 6 Irish One-Act Finals. Informing his adjudications is the experience he has gleaned from every aspect of theatre: having acted for a number of years with many companies including the Lyric Theatre where he played the lead in plays as diverse as ‘The Voice of Shem’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘The Dybbuk’ and Val Iremonger’s ‘Wrap Up My Green Jacket’. having directed a number of societies including the City of Derry Drama…

The festival continues with one of our regular competitions, Dunmore Amateur Dramatic Society (DADS) presenting Frank Mc Guinness’s ‘Factory Girls’. The Factory Girls tells the story of five working women: hardy ringleader Ellen and factory veteran Una, sharp-tongued Vera, dark horse Rebecca and baby of the bunch, Rosemary. Under the threat of devastating job losses, the “girls” take matters in to their own hands. During the course of their adventure, they discover who and what really counts when the chips are down. Set in the recessionary early 80s, the play still resonates with so much of what affects us politically, socially, and personally: recession, redundancies, lay-offs and the power of collective action. The play was the stunning debut of Frank…

Many thanks to Clann Machua of Kiltimagh for their brilliant presentation of ‘The Loves of Cass Maguire’ by Brian Friel on the second night of the festival. Photos courtesy of John Fallon.

Many thanks to Newtownstewart Drama Group for opening our festival with their fantastic production of John B. Keane’s ‘Sive’. Photos courtesy of John Fallon.

The weekend proved to be very successful for our production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, with results announced from our first three festivals. We’re delighted to report that the show placed in all three, winning First Place & Best Production in Castleblayney, and Third Place in both Kiltyclogher and Tubbercurry. In addition, there were several awards and nominations in the acting categories, as well as for light, sound and costumes. It’s onwards and upwards from here! This week, ‘Earnest’ travels to the Ardhowen in Enniskillen on Thursday night, before returning to the Abbey Arts Centre on Saturday night.   Awards from the Castleblayney Drama Festival Best Production First Place Best Actor Female – Rachel O’Connor as Lady Bracknell The…

On the second night of the drama festival, we welcome back the Clann Machua Drama Group of Kiltimagh to the stage, with Brian Friel’s ‘The Loves of Cass Maguire’. Clann Machua brought us an excellent production of ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan’ last year, and we look forward to their treatment of the Friel classic at this year’s festival. The story is of a woman (Cass), who goes home to Ireland having spent over 50 years working as a saloon waitress in America. Nothing at home is as Cass imagined it. Her brother and his family to whom she turns really have no need for her, and ship her off to a rest haven for old dreamers. She begins living off…

The 67th Ballyshannon Drama Festival opens tonight with festival-regulars Newtownstewart presenting John B. Keane’s much-loved ‘Sive’ on the Abbey Arts Centre at 8.15pm. This much-loved Irish classic tells the story of 18 year old Sive who is forced into an arranged marriage with the much older Seán Dóta by her aunt Mena, and includes an unforgettable cast of characters. Newtownstewart have a long tradition of bringing high quality productions to Ballyshannon, and we expect that tradition to continue tonight. Curtain at 8.15pm. Tickets available at the door for €15/€12. Some season tickets are still available and offer excellent value at €60 for all 9 nights of drama.

Ballyshannon Drama Society will make a welcome return to the Abbey Arts Centre on Saturday March 15th with ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde. The show was very popular when it opened back in February, and has been keeping audiences entertained everywhere they visit on the circuit. Oscar Wilde’s wildly entertaining comedy sparkles with dazzling wordplay and hilariously unlikely situations. Don’t miss it! Tickets are €15/€12, and selling fast, or you can still take advantage of the season ticket offer, €60 for all nine nights. To book, call 0719851375.