There were dramatic autumn beginnings for our company, planned and designed, as we threw down red carpets and sent aspirations to the gods of dry weather for the arrival of the Vikings. Of course I’m talking about our Oslo Askeraden Drama friends who arrived on our shores on September 29th to perform their version of ‘Peer Gynt’ for the Donegal Bay & Bluestacks Festival.
Warm hugs and huge smiles joined us all back together in a bonding moment. We set off for a celebration union dinner in the resplendent Sandhouse Hotel, Rossnowlagh. In this perfect setting we were treated like royalty and dined
like kings as our guests gazed in awe at the Atlantic Ocean waves. After dinner we were entertained with Irish dance and shared our local history before retiring to bed.
Day 2 was filled with rehearsals and a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, then back to partying in Aiden and Sharon’s home. What a fabulous evening in the nicest of company, sharing great food, wine, song and lots of dancing .
Day 3 started with a tour of the Donegal Craft Village and Donegal Castle. That night the Abbey audience were treated to a wonderful technical production of “Peer Gynt” performed in English, no less. They certainly did us proud. The group left on Sunday and parting is such sweet sorrow but hopefully we will meet again in the near future. That’s our wish.
We had a short reprieve to recharge the batteries in preparation for our in-house production of ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder. We had a fabulous four-night run: Oct 11th, 12th, 13th and 16th, all of which were sponsored by the ever-supportive Sandhouse Hotel. A cast and crew of 35, directed by Anne Mc Hugh and Geraldine Diver, delighted audiences and brought so much new talent to our stage. Hopefully our new members will stay with us for further productions.
There’s more…We are hitting the Circuit road again with Tom Stoppard’s play “The Real Thing” directed by Christian Carbin. Our winter sport begins on Tuesday 25th of October with our first reading, and we are looking forward to the fruits of that labour.