Corofin to bring their subject to All-Ireland finals

AS COROFIN Drama Group prepare to take their latest play, The Subject was Roses, to the All-Ireland drama finals in Athlone, director John Clancy spoke to The Clare Champion.
Corofin Drama Group is the third Clare group to make it to the All-Ireland three-act open drama finals in the competition’s 60-year history. The group competes in the open section, pitting it against some of the country’s most experienced drama groups. The North Clare group wasonly elevated to the open category four years ago, so finding themselves in the final is a major achievement, not to mention surprise.
“We won the confined section in 2008 and were automatically elevated to the open. This is just our fourth year in this competition so we would look at getting to the finals as a success in its own right. This is the 60th year of the amateur drama so in that time, just three Clare groups have gotten to the final. Scariff Drama Group won the final in 1993. It hasn’t been won by a Clare group since but Ennis got to the final two years ago and came third. That means we are the third group from Clare to make the finals so we have a lot to live up to. That said, we are a very small group and are just delighted to be there. Our hopes are high but our expectations are not,” John summarised.
Corofin’s performance of The Subject was Roses by Frank D Gilroy at the finals is already sold out but Clare audiences can catch the show in Glór this Sunday. While critics’ reviews have been mixed, John says audiences have enjoyed the play.
“It is a play that hasn’t been done on the amateur circuit before so a lot of audiences would not have seen it. Anywhere we went with it, we got big crowds because people like to see something new or different. Success brings success so when we qualified for the final, that attracted other people who wanted to see us because they assumed we had a good play and must be doing it well,” he explains.
John works differently to many directors. He selects a cast before deciding on a play, a strategy that has paid off to date as it was under his guidance the group won the confined category back in 2008.
“Originally I was trying to cast a different play, one with a larger number of characters but members of the group were not available for various reasons and we didn’t have the right mix of men and women. Not everyone wants to commit to doing a play that will be brought on the circuit because it does require a lot of time between rehearsals and travel and performance. So in the end, I was left with two men and a woman available, so then I started to look for a play to fit that.
“Once I read The Subject was Roses, I loved it. Even though it was written in the 1960s and set in 1940s, the themes are still very relevant. There is the father-son relationship and a spousal relationship, which has drifted a bit and the son is sort of caught in the middle. The son has gone away and grown up but the parents expect him to be the same person as he was before he left. In this case, the son went to war but it is relevant for people who go away to work or college, and grown up. They treat him as they did before he went and I think a lot of people know that situation. It works well as a drama,” he outlines.
“Anyone who goes to it can empathise with at least one of the characters. When we have performed it, people have hung back afterwards to talk about the play with us. They recognise the people depicted,” he continues.
According to John, Corofin Drama Group survives, and in recent years thrives, because of the commitment of its members both to performing and to production. The members of the cast and crew represent a mix of new faces and long-established names. This injection of outside participants, combined with local experience means the group is reinvigorated and evolves. The Subject was Roses stars Maura Clancy and Martin Donoghue, along with new member, James Raleigh.
“At least half of the current members are not born in the parish. Joining a drama group is a great way to get to know people. Ennis would have the same experience, I think, where people move to an area, join the group as a way to meet people… Audiences want something new the whole time. They like to see new people on the stage. They get tired of the same old faces but these ‘same old faces’ mean experience and you want that too when you are going into competitions,” John outlines.
“The lifeblood of the production is the backstage crew because as well as putting in a lot of time ahead of the production, they go on the mornings of the shows and do the set. They put it up, find the props, do the lights and all that,” he praises.
Illustrating the mix of experience that exists in the Corofin Drama Group, John cites one crew member who joined in 1954, who works alongside someone who joined this year.
“We didn’t even aspire to getting to the finals because we felt it was beyond us. We had a meeting recently and a member who has been with the group 60 years said he didn’t ever think he would see this. We go as spectators every year to see what the bigger groups are doing but we didn’t think we would be there on the same stage in such a short time. Getting to that level has brought a smile to everyone’s faces. There is great excitement. There is a bit of trepidation but hopefully, we won’t let people down,” he comments.
Corofin Drama Group perform The Subject was Roses in Glór this Sunday.
“This is our last fundraiser for the finals. It is expensive to take this around the country, you have to pay for costumes, trucks and so on. It is dear at this level. We are hoping for a crowd, it is nice to get the support. It will help us pay the bills but the experience of playing in front of a big crowd will bring us on too,” John concluded.