Tag Archives: Doonbeg Drama Festival

TO celebrate the 60th anniversary the West Clare Drama Festival the critically acclaimed professional production Seven Ages of MAM will be coming to Doonbeg for one night only next Wednesday, March 9.  Billed as Mam’s hilarious and thought provoking, take on motherhood, sexuality, grief, infidelity, ageing, love, lust and loneliness, this new, laugh-out-loud funny yet poignant one woman play stars Pauline O’Driscoll. You may know Pauline from television as Pat Shortt’s wife in the IFTA nominated drama series Smalltown, or the hospital doctor trying to talk some sense into The Young Offenders in the Christmas Special of the popular TV series and yes that’s her cheekily swiping right in the Bord Bia Fish Advert too! Having been nominated best new play at Brighton Fringe in 2019, the play written by Mark Evans and Pauline only began touring Ireland at the end of 2021 (because of Covid ) and has been wowing critics and audiences alike and garnering 5-Star reviews along the way. “We’ve been blown away by the audience response. People are hungry for this type of show, something real but funny, something that makes them laugh and brings a tear to their eye. You just …

The West Clare Drama Festival in Doonbeg will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this March with plans to mark the milestone, writes Conor Clohessy. Commenting at the recent AGM, Chairperson John Keane said: “We are delighted to have reached our Diamond Jubilee. This is a significant milestone which has been achieved and maintained through the hard work and commitment of committees passing the mantle of keeping drama alive down through the years. “We are fortunate to still have three members of the original committee – Marie Shanahan, John Igoe and Murt McInerney.” Only a couple of weeks ago, a fourth original member passed away; Theresa McMahon had been the Secretary for over forty years, and Public Relations Officer Rita McInerney said that her passing will be poignant within the celebrations this year. In the middle of the festival on March 8, a dinner is planned to specifically mark the sixtieth anniversary and reward those who have worked hard in the …

THE Doonbeg One-Act Drama Festival takes place this weekend with a host of drama groups from around the county and the country treading the boards. Sliabh Aughty, Mountshannon; Amphitheatre Company, Kilkee and Castlewood Players, Cratloe will fly the Clare fly and will be joined on stage by groups from Cork, Kildare, Wexford and Waterford. The Sliabh Aughty group has selected Chasing Butterflies, which is written by Mountshannon writer Siobhán Donnellan, while Amphitheatre Company, Kilkee will perform Healing The Dead by John Hanrahan. Cratloe’s Castlewood Players will perform Faint Voices by John McKenna and all three groups are competing in the confined section. Also competing in the confined are Skibbereen Theatre Society with No Romance Act 2 by Nancy Harris and Coolgreany Drama Group (Wexford) with The Quiet Land by Malachy McKenna. Competing groups in the open section are Kilmeen Drana Group (Cork) with Whodidit, Insight Theatre group (Kildare) with Love in a Glass Jar, Rasper Players (Wexford) with Me and …