Ballyshannon Drama Society

Tonight’s production is ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ by Edward Albee, presented by Bradán Players. first produced on Broadway in 1962, to critical acclaim. Set in America, in the living room of a house in a small New England college, Martha, daughter of the college president, unbeknownst to her husband Gerorge, a professor of history, has invited Nick & Honey, new arrivals to the college, for a late night gathering. What follows is a night of alcohol-fuelled and emotionally charged drama. This is a play in three acts with an interval. Curtain at 8.15pm.

Tonight’s production is ‘Portia Coughlan’ by Marina Carr, presented by the Pomeroy Players. The play is set in the Belmont valley. The stage incorporates three spaces: the living room of Portia Coughlan’s House, the bank of the Belmont river and the bar of the High Chapperal. Portia Coughlan, who is now thirty, struggles to come to terms with the death of her twin brother 15 years previously. Her family seems unable to reach her and all who touch her life are inescapably aware of her turmoil. Throughout the play her energies are seen to have been consumed by the battle she fights between reuniting with Gabriel in death and escaping his fatal hold on her life. Curtain at 8.15pm.

This evening, Friday March 15th, there will be a special event as part of the Drama Festival in honour of Catherine Breslin. Catherine was an active and much-loved member of the Ballyshannon Drama Society. A plaque will be unveiled in the Hall of Fame in The Abbey Centre in memory of Catherine and her involvement with the Ballyshannon Drama Society. 7.15pm.

Festival Photographer John Fallon’s photos of last night’s show, ‘On Such As We’ presented by the Dunmore Amateur Dramatic Society, are now online in the Gallery.

Tonight’s production is ‘On Such As We’ by Billy Roche, presented by D.A.D.S. This is a heart-warming play set in a small town in southern Ireland. The rooms to let above Oweney’s barbershop offer refuge to a host of lonely hearts: a recently laid-off hotel night porter, an angry young artist, an orphan girl, a wounded old widower, a likeable bruiser and the beautiful Maeve. All of them in their various ways fall under Oweney’s loving spell. Curtain at 8.15p.m.

John Fallon’s fantastic photos of ‘The Chronicles of Long Kesh’ are now in the Gallery.

“Chronicles of Long Kesh” tells the story of the prison – also known as The Maze – from its opening in August 1971 to its closure in July 2000. The story concentrates not on the big politics of the day or those who became well known as a result of their time in prison, but on the experiences of ordinary prisoners, prison officers and their families. Audiences will be confronted with a rich assortment of republicans, loyalists, prison officers, chancers, escapers, wives, Smokey Robinson-imitators and hypochondriacs! Whilst the play deals with major developments such as the 1974 burning of Long Kesh, the hunger-strikes, the big escape, etc., it also contains its fair share of hilarity, black humour and plenty of Motown songs! Six actors play all the parts. Please Note: Some scenes may not be suitable for children.