‘Earnest’ is off to Athlone!

The cast of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'Ballyshannon Drama Society will once again travel to Athlone to take part in this year’s All Ireland Amateur Drama Finals with our production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’!

Having placed in all eight festivals, we have three Firsts, one Second and four Third places. Many thanks to everyone who has helped in any way to make ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ an All Ireland finalist!

The finals begin on May 2nd in the Dean Crowe Theatre, with performances each night up to Friday May 10th, culminating in the gala awards ceremony in the Radisson Hotel on Saturday May 11th. We will compete against eight other acts, three of which performed at our own festival here in Ballyshannon in March: Butt, Corn Mill, Prosperous, Bridge, Brideview, Newport Players, Doonbeg Drama Group and Kilrush.

The draw to decide which night we perform in Athlone will take place on April 7th. Tickets will go on general saleon Wednesday the 10th of April. We will also have at least one more performance in Ballyshannon before we head out on the road for one last time. We’ll keep you posted!

Photo Gallery: Awards Ceremony, 67th Ballyshannon Drama Festival, March 17th 2019

The Ballyshannon Drama Festival came to a close on Sunday night with the Awards Ceremony. Thanks to adjudicator Scott Marshall, our sponsors, the committee members, the Abbey Arts Centre staff and of course our discerning and knowledgeable audiences for another fantastic nine nights of drama.

Results of the 67th Ballyshannon Drama Society, March 17th 2019

The 67thBallyshannon Drama Festival Awards

March 17th, 2019

THE PATSY CROAL BLUE RIBAND (Sponsored by Celtic Weave): Prosperous Dramatic Society, ‘An Enemy of the People’

OPEN

  • FIRST PLACE (Maureen Gallagher Award): Prosperous Dramatic Society, ‘An Enemy of the People’
  • SECOND PLACE (C. J. King Award): Ballyshannon Drama Society, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
  • THIRD PLACE (Jim Flynn Award): Corn Mill Theatre, ‘On Broken Wings’

BEST PRODUCER (John Stephens Cup): T. J. Duggan, Prosperous Dramatic Society, ‘An Enemy of the People’

BEST ACTOR (H.J. Travers Award): Robert Massey, Dr. Stockman,‘An Enemy of the People’, Prosperous Dramatic Society

BEST ACTRESS (Eoin Carney Award): Rachel O’Connor, Lady Bracknell,‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, Ballyshannon Drama Society

CONFINED

  • FIRST PLACE (Commercial Hotel Cup): Mullingar Theatre Lab, ‘The Lonesome West’
  • SECOND (Catherine Breslin Award): Clann Machua, ‘The Loves of Cass Maguire’
  • THIRD: Cloonacool Players, ‘I Do Not Like Thee Doctor Fell’

BEST PRODUCER (Hugh & Mary Daly Cup): Dan E. Hyland, ‘The Lonesome West’, Mullingar Theatre Lab

BEST ACTRESS (Kathleen Fagan Award): Ita Mallee as Cass, ‘The Loves of Cass Maguire’, Clann Machua

BEST ACTOR (Paddy Mc Loone Award): Dennis Ross as Roger, in ‘I Do Not Like Thee Doctor Fell’

BILLY MYLES AUDIENCE AWARD: Ballyshannon Drama Society, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

BEST SET (Mary Monaghan Award): Trish Keane, Ballyshannon Drama Society – ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

BEST STAGE MANAGER (Maureen Kane Award): Carl Duggan, Ballyshannon Drama Society – ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

LIGHTING (Margaret Mc Ginley Award): Philip Mc Intyre & Neville Patterson, Corn Mill Theatre Group

ADJUDICATOR’S AWARDS

1) Liam’s entry in ‘Sive’, Newtownstewart

2) Costumes & Music in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

3) Soundscape in ‘On Broken Wings’, Corn Mill Theatre Group

PHIL MC LOONE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY A YOUNG PERSON: Luke Patterson, ‘On Broken Wings’,  Corn Mill Theatre Group

First Place in Enniskillen, Trish Keane wins Best Supporting Actress

Earnest Ballyshannon'19 (9)‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ won First Place in Enniskillen! We also took home the Blue Riband for Best Overall Presentation, and Trish Keane won the Best Supporting Actress award as Miss Prism!! Congratulations everyone! It was fantastic to hear the news just after a brilliant show in the Abbey Centre with a full house.

Closing Night at the Drama Festival, 7.30pm: Prosperous present ‘Enemy of the People’

Tonight, Prosperous Drama return to Ballyshannon to present Ibsen’s ‘Enemy of the People’ on the closing night of the drama festival. Please note the earlier start time of 7.30pm. The awards ceremony will begin approximately half an hour after the play ends.

Power. Money. Morality. In a tight knit community, a shocking discovery comes to light and threatens the lifeblood of the town. Truth and honour are pitched against wild ambition and corruption in Ibsen’s emotional maelstrom. An ‘Enemy of the People’, adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

SOLD OUT!!! Tonight at the Drama Festival: Ballyshannon Drama Society present ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

SOLD OUT!!

Tonight at the drama festival we welcome Ballyshannon Drama Society back to the Abbey Arts Centre stage with their production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde’s wildly entertaining comedy sparkles with dazzling wordplay and hilariously unlikely situations. This “trivial comedy for serious people” features two carefree bachelors, Jack and Algernon, each with a carefully hidden double life. But when Algernon discovers that Jack has been posing as a man named Ernest to escape to the city, he promptly travels to Jack’s country estate to pose as the fictional figure himself! Silliness ensues with whimsical ingénues, jealous fiancées, indomitable dowagers, and the most famous handbag in theatre history. The Ballyshannon Drama Society’s ingenious production of this timeless classic offers the unmissable opportunity to see what the London Telegraph calls “the most perfect comedy in the English language.”

PLEASE NOTE, THIS SHOW IS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT. CURTAIN 8.15PM.