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Tonight at the Drama Festival we welcome Ballyshannon Drama Society in presenting ‘Margaret’ by Shaun Byrne. Margaret is in her late 80s. At times she is her old self, sharp, lucid, clear; other times confused, frightened and frustrated. She talks to an imagined Denis, to herself, to the audience. The play joins her in the last days of her life in the Ritz Hotel suffering from dementia and explores her troubled relationships: with the Irish, the miners, her children, the public, her male colleagues, and the fallout from The Falklands War; as past demons, guilts and successes return to torment, flatter and deceive her. ‘You have no enemies you say? If you have none, then small is the work that…

Tonight at the Drama Festival, we welcome the Phoenix Players of Tubercurry with their production of ‘Animal Farm’, the dramatisation of George Orwell’s classic novel, directed by Tom Walsh. Not happy with the way they are being treated, and exploited, the animals of Manor Farm decide to revolt, expel their owner and take over the running of the farm themselves. Based on George Orwell’s classic tale satirising the perils of Stalinism, it is a parable about totalitarianism anywhere, anytime. Formed in 1945, the Phoenix Players are one of the longest established amateur drama groups in the country, and are very much a community based group. They are regular participants in both the 3-Act and 1-Act Drama Festival circuits, having won…

Tonight at the Drama Festival, we welcome the Ray Leonard Players with their production of ‘Eclipsed’ by Patricia Burke Brogan. Outlined by a present-day prologue and epilogue, the play is set in 1963 in aconvent laundry at St. Paul’s Home for Penitent Women in Killmacha, Ireland.Eclipsed explores the poignant and sometimes humorous story of youngpregnant, unwed mothers consigned to work as ‘penitents’ in church-runlaundries. Supervised by nuns, these women were treated as virtual slavesand their infants were forcibly put up for adoption. After seeing the goingson in the laundries as a young novice, playwright Patricia Burke Brogandecided to highlight the plight of these women. Eclipsed was one of the firstplays to tell the story of the Magdalene Laundries. Established in…

Tonight at the Drama Festival, we welcome Corn Mill Theatre with their production of ‘According to Rumour’, a comedy by Robert Scott. Carter can’t remember exactly what happened last night, but the naked woman emerging from the bedroom is the last person he wants his Mum to find in his flat. And there’s the puzzling matter of the bag of money in his fridge. And he is not sure that his best friend Roger, sister Emma, sister’s fiancé Logan, the maids or the postman will be of any help solving the problem. Regular visitors to the Abbey Centre, Corn Mill Theatre have won the All Ireland Open section three times in the past: in 1998 with ‘Belfry’ by Billy Roche,…

Tonight we welcome Enniskillen Theatre Company to the drama festival with their production of ‘The Lonesome West’ by Martin Mc Donagh. ‘The Lonesome West’ is a play by British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, part of his Connemara trilogy, which includes ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ and ‘A Skull in Connemara’. All three plays depict the murderous occurrences in the western Irish town of Leenane. ‘The Lonesome West’ features the constantly arguing brothers Coleman and Valene, whose father has just died in a shotgun ‘accident.’ Valene is only interested in his religious ornaments and drinking poteen. Coleman is only interested in eating, and attends funerals to collect free sausage rolls and vol au vents. Established in 2019, Enniskillen Theatre Company aimed to…

Tonight, we welcome the Castleblayney Players to the Abbey Centre, with their production of ‘No Going Back’ by Joe Hanratty. No Going Back tells the story of two brothers who have taken part in the Irish War of Independence and they both carry scars from that conflict that cannot easily be shaken off. Tom the IRA Captain and his reliable back up man Jimmy have engaged in a lot of the fighting while Tom’s younger brother Michael has also seen his share of violence and has been at the receiving end of it too. After the Civil War they both settle down to life in a farm that was once part of their family heritage. That too carries its own…

What a weekend! ‘Margaret’ took home two first places and one third as three festivals announced their results last night, along with awards for acting, direction and sound. In Kiltyclogher, the production won first place, as well as Best Actress for Rachel O’Connor as Margaret, Best Actor for Shaun Byre as Dennis (and many other characters), Best Director for Monica Doherty and the Audience Award. In Enniskillen, ‘Margaret’ placed first again, with more trophies for Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, the Audience Award, and Best Sound by Sean O’Connor. The show came third in Castleblaney, and Rachel O’Connor won her third Best Actress award of the season. This is a fantastic start for the production, with 26 points now…

The curtain opens on the 71st Ballyshannon Drama Festival tonight, with Newstownstewart Theatre Company presenting ‘The New Electric Ballroom’ by Enda Walsh. Trapped in the memories of their youthful nights at The New Electric Ballroom, sisters Breda and Clara reflect on lost love and what might have been. As they reminisce, their younger sister Ada looks to re-ignite Breda and Clara’s spirits, and resurrect the smallest glimmer of love and hope in their remote fishing village home. An absurdist fable of the damaging effects of small-town life, Enda Walsh’s play won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award in 2008 and confirmed him as one of Ireland’s most distinctive and dynamic writers of the modern era. Newtownstewart Theatre Company are regular visitors…