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Last weekend saw the opening of the 2022 Lislea Drama Festival and this weekend the Festival continues tonight Friday 4 March with Kilrush Drama Group and their production of “Little Gem” by Elaine Murphy. Saturday 5 March sees Enniskillen Theatre Company with “The Night Alive” by Conor Mc Pherson and Sunday 6 March sees Newtownstewart Theatre Company with Darragh Carville’s “Family Plot”
Next Wednesday 9 March the Festival sees Lislea Dramatic Players performing “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman from the Ken Kesey novel.
Opening Night
Last Saturday the sell out grand opening night of Lislea Drama Festival took place to an eagerly awaiting audience in the Old Schoolhouse Theatre, Lislea. The platform party consisted of the Festival President Mr Joe Murphy; Festival Chairperson, Aengus Hannaway; Lislea Community Association Chairperson, Liam Hannaway; Adjudicator, Emma Jordan; Ann Johnson representing the main sponsor Aidan Strain Electrical Engineering and finally Coman Keaveny, Chairperson of Amateur Drama Council of Ireland. Mr. Aengus Hannaway graciously thanked the warm and appreciative audience for being the reason why groups travel the length and breadth of Ireland to experience the warm South Armagh hospitality. He paid tribute to the sponsors without whom the festival would not exist. Aidan Strain Electrical Engineering was thanked for continuing to be the festival's main sponsor. He also gave a warm welcome to Emma Jordan the festival adjudicator and looked forward to hearing her professional critique. He welcomed Newpoint Players back to Lislea and their haunting portrayal of “The True Story of Mary K” written and directed by Seán Treanor.
The wet and windy weather did not deter the festival patrons arriving early, as season ticket holders and sponsors enjoyed a wine reception before the evening’s performance. As the audience settled into their seats, a second treat was served up by Newpoint Players allowing the audience to journey from the stony town lands of Carrickcruppen and Ballard in South Armagh through the opium dens and brothels of New York to the Irish mining community in Pittsburgh in the early decades of the 20th century and back again.
On Sunday, Lislea welcomed back Castleblayney Players, Co. Monaghan with “Philadelphia, Here I Come” by Brian Friel. Sick of his job, his stubborn father and his past regrets of love, Gar has decided to emigrate to the USA. But will he be torn between the unknown and the familiar? This hilarious and deeply touching Irish classic followed Gar on his last day in Ireland as he consults and converses with his own conscience. The Lislea audience were captivated by Gar’s private thoughts revealing his deepest fantasies, musings and agonies. The accomplished Castleblayney Players have been treading the boards since 1991 when “Philadelphia” was their first production. Castleblayney Players delighted Lislea’s audience by showing off their young talent as well as the experienced hands and thus completed a very successful first weekend of theatre.
Reviews
The True Story of Mary K by Sean Treanor and performed by Newpoint Players
Lislea Drama festival made a welcome return to the Old Schoolhouse Theatre last Saturday with a memorable performance from our neighbours The Newpoint Players with their presentation of “The True Story Of Mary K” written and directed by Sean Treanor.
This new play is an epic journey from the stony town lands of Carrickcruppen and Ballard in South Armagh through the opium dens and brothels of New York to the Irish mining community in Pittsburgh in the early decades of the 20th century and back again. The playwright, Sean Treanor drew inspiration from the many anecdotes recounted by his family matriarchs, paying tribute to the “gaelic memory” of these lost and unrecorded women who led difficult but heroic lives.
Woven through the story of our eponymous central character Mary Kelly, brilliantly played by Pauline Lynch, comes a revealing insight to the difficult and largely unsung lives of the Irish women who worked the land and eked out their existence often the face of unspeakable heartbreak, infant mortality and grinding poverty. The younger incarnation of our heroine was sensitively delivered by a debutante in the senior players Judith Quinn.
This large cast delivered a fabulous night of entertainment to an audience delighted to be back in front of a live production after the unwanted cessation of live theatre of the last few years. It’s great to be back.
The script was punctuated with hauntingly beautiful traditional Irish airs and in particular an ensemble piece of the traditional air ‘Taímse I Mo Chodladh’ arranged by Damian Frame brought the evening to a perfect close. The packed hall gave a well deserved standing ovation at the end of night. This play will be in the Newry festival in March and it is not to be missed.
Philadephia, Here I Come by Brian Friel and performed by Castleblayney Players
On Sunday, Lislea welcomed back Castleblayney Players, Co. Monaghan with “Philadelphia, Here I Come” by Brian Friel. This deeply touching Irish classic followed Gar, expertly portrayed by Pat Kerley (Public) and his alter ego Shane Cumiskey (Private) on his last day in Ireland as he consults and converses with his own conscience.
The Lislea audience were captivated by Gar’s private thoughts revealing his deepest fantasies, musings and agonies. Francis Gerard Duffy played S. B. O'Donnell gave a wonderfully restrained performance of a father struggling to communicate with his son punctuated with the sharp tongue of Madge.
The show carefully blended young talent with experience with stalwarts such as Aidan McQuillan who played Canon O’Byrne. Director David Maine carefully crafted this production that pulled at the heart strings and left the audience captivated.
This Weekend's Plays
On Friday 4th March it is the welcome return of All Ireland Award winners Kilrush Drama Group with their production of “Little Gem” by Elaine Murphy. (Adult Themes). This modern award winning play, carefully crafted by director Mick Byrne centres on one extraordinary year as three generations of Dublin women, Kay (grandmother), Lorraine(mother) and Amber (granddaughter) narrate several months of emotional turmoil that they have experienced, telling in successive scenes their personal histories of love and loss in an alienating contemporary world. ‘Delightful…a play that, like its characters, gurgles and giggles with life even in the face of death’ (Guardian review). It is sure to be a great start to our second weekend of drama.
On Saturday 5th March it is the turn of festival stalwarts Enniskillen Theatre Company, Co. Fermanagh returning with “The Night Alive” by Conor Mc Pherson (Adult Themes). The play is set in contemporary Dublin and explores the lives of a few lost souls whose paths cross in the makeshift bedsit of a drifter named Tommy and his sidekick ‘Doc’. Tommy is drifting through life, living in his uncle’s house, and surviving on whatever crackpot schemes he and Doc devise. When he saves Aimee from homelessness, Tommy feels a glimmer of hope that his life finally has purpose. Fluttering between layers of drama and comedy, this play quietly celebrates the unassuming heroisms of everyday life against the corrosive pain of loneliness. Gritty Saturday night viewing.
Newtownstewart Theatre Company, Co. Tyrone will make their eagerly awaited performance in The Old Schoolhouse Theatre, Lislea on Sunday 6th March with Darragh Carville’s “Family Plot”(Adult Themes). Inside their family grave, three generations of Kerrs are dead and buried – but still condemned to argue! To begin with, the family’s predicament is darkly comic. But as Carville expertly reveals long-hidden truths, Family Plot becomes a gripping and terrifying story of lives damaged by secrets and lies.
On Wednesday 9th March, our very own Lislea Dramatic Players will perform “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman from the Ken Kesey novel. This play emerged from the cult classic novel and made its premiere in New York 1963. This is a tale of a charming rogue McMurphy who contrives to serve his custodial sentence in a mental institution instead of a prison. He forms surprising bonds of affection with the resident inmates and is spurred by a desire for social justice, stages a revolt so they might watch the World Series, and arranges a rollicking midnight party with girls and alcohol. But Nurse Ratched knows exactly what treatment she needs to dispense for life to settle down again. This play, carefully crafted by director John Campbell tells a tale of optimism amidst a sea of hopelessness. This is a fine production from Lislea Dramatic Players astutely written by Ken Kesey, reeking of bitterness occasionally leavened by black humour.
Tickets will be available on the night at the Box Office from 7-8pm. Nightly Admission: Adults £8.
General Inquiries Tel: 02830838565. Ticket bookings 02830830069.
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