The 32nd Claregalway Festival of Drama commences on this Thursday night 10th March and will run for ten nights. Claregalway Leisure Centre is once again transformed into a theatre where adjudicator Mr Geoffrey O’Keefe will give a public critique of the plays each night before announcing the overall winners on closing night.
The Claregalway Festival of Drama is one of the best organised in the country and the hardworking committee ensure that all patrons are comfortable on the night. The Festival Club where you can avail of a fully stocked bar and complimentary sandwiches and delicious home baking as well as complimentary tea and coffee during the interval is always an added treat to the patrons of the festival.
As with every year there are a number of very exciting new plays as well as some classics on show. This year we open with last year’s Overall Winners, Corofin Drama Group with their production of the powerful play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg by Peter Nichols.
On Friday 11th we welcome back Lifford Players with the first of two Tom Murphy plays a—Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer’s Assistant. On Saturday 12th Dalkey Players return to Claregalway after a long number of years with Polly Teale’s adaption of the much loved classic, Jane Eyre.
Comedy follows on Sunday 13th with Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, performed by Phoenix Players from Tubbercurry. On Monday 14th DADS, from Dunmore, bring us our second Tom Murphy play of the Festival, The Gigli Concert. Thurles Drama Group return to us on Tuesday 15th with a moving, dark and powerful piece of theatre, Marina Carr’s Portia Coughlan.
Glenamaddy promise to fill the house on Wednesday 16th with Night Mother by Marsha Norman, another gripping piece of theatre.
Local Group Compántas Lir will take to the stage on St Patrick’s night with the gripping and tender play Proof by David Auburn, and finally Shoestring Theatre from Cork will close our Festival with a John B Keane classic, Sharon’s Grave. The festival promises a feast of drama across a range of genres for theatre goers and drama enthusiasts.
Tickets are €10 per night or a season ticket is competitively priced at just €50 for all nine performances. Tickets are available by contacting the secretary on 086 8981731, or can be purchased at the door. Doors open at 7.30 with the performance beginning at 8pm sharp.
This year the organisers are delighted to have Joe Steve Ó Neachtain of Ros na Rún fame, an avid theatre person, perform the official opening of the festival. All people are asked to come along and support a local event and enjoy a great night out.
