Treading the boards at 63rd drama festival

THE 63rd annual Clare Drama Festival opens in the Scariff Community College Hall next Thursday and runs for 10 nights, culminating in the award ceremony after the final performance on Saturday, March 27.
Clare Drama Festival received 30 applications this year, evidence of the vibrancy of the circuit and of the popularity of the Scariff venue for more than six decades.
Four Clare groups and six amateur drama companies from Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Kildare and Cork will gather to provide the local community with a feast of drama and comedy theatre.
Each night, the entrants will present a full length play in the hope of winning a place at the All-Ireland finals. The performances are publicly adjudicated each night and in addition to the overall festival winners, individual players and backstage crew will have the chance to receive recognition for their input.
The festival opens with the Sliabh Aughty group’s performance of Charlie O’Neill’s Rosie and Starwars.
The play, based on a collage of true stories, takes place in Ennis and Limerick city during the summer of 1995 and Clare’s series of triumphant hurling matches on their dramatic journey to becoming All-Ireland champions.
The play portrays a community exploding in celebration, while an underbelly of prejudice festers against a Travellers’ site just outside the town and a relationship that develops between two young people.
Speaking about the festival, chairman of the organising committee, Damian Heaney explains, “This is a highly respected festival and is renowned for producing an exciting and entertaining programme of plays and theatrical groups. The festival has been running for 63 years and is a tribute to all of the committees, past and present who have taken it to where it is today.”
Adjudicator Donn McMullin, who will be making his fourth visit to Scariff, added, “This is a particularly challenging line-up of both plays and seasoned production companies. Audiences are going to be spoiled for both variety and entertainment.”
Other productions to take to the stage include the Ennis Players’ performance of the classic Synge production The Playboy of the Western World; Corofin Dramatic Society presents Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley; Doonbeg Drama Group will bring their production of John B Keane’s Big Maggie; Brideview Drama Players from Tallow, County Waterford present Pied á Terre by John Anastasia; Dunmore Amateur Dramatic Society, (DADS) will perform The Last Apache Reunion by Bernard Farrell; Nenagh Players bring Agnes of God by John Pielmeier; Kilmeen Drama Group from West Cork returns with King of the Castle by Eugene McCabe; Ferns Dramatic Society from Wexford performs Translations by Brian Friel, while Bradán Players from Leixlip will close the festival with Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck.