Players return with comedic twist

NORTH Clare drama group Burren Players take to the stage at the Royal Spa Hotel, Lisdoonvarna this Thursday in a production of Ken Ludwig’s comedy Lend Me aTenor.

This two-act play of mistaken identity, operatic aspirations and love is set during 1934 in a suite of an old style hotel in Cleveland Ohio. It will be directed by Ballyvaughan resident, Theresa Leahy, a fine actor in her own right, who starred in Kissing Sid James in recent years.
Theresa settled in Ballyvaughan 10 years ago and her first outing with Burren Players was as Miss Dee in JB Keane’s Sharon’s Grave. She has directed shows for the Clare Youth Theatre and her latest production Gun Metal Grey by the Truman Theatre Company was staged in Galway’s Town Hall Theatre. Lend Me a Tenor stars Mark Vaughan, Tamar Keane, Jim McCarthy, Andrew Grindrod, Mary Hawkes-Greene, Barbara Faulkner, Doreen Drennan and Andrew Nielsen as the bell hop.
“It is a fantastic show, it is great fun. It is a comedy and farce and there is great drama in it too. There is a cast of eight and they all play wonderfully well. The sets were built by ourselves and Michael Hehir, a carpenter from Kilfenora. They were designed and painted by Aisling Drennan so it has all been done locally,” explained Jim McCarthy.
“We have been rehearsing for two months but intensely for the last six weeks. Before we started, we looked at several plays but it easy to eliminate some because of cast numbers or set requirements. We knew we wanted to do a comedy. We wanted to come back with something funny to give people some kind of boost in today’s atmosphere. We hadn’t done a play in two years after the death of our director, John O’Connor. We looked at about three plays and this emerged the strongest for lots of reasons,” he added.
The show will have a three-night run commencing at 8.30pm. Tickets are available from 065 7074288 or at the door. The director warns the play is not suitable for children under 12 years.