Busy time ahead for Carlow Little Theatre
Carlow Little Theatre Autumn season of one-act plays takes places early next month
CARLOW Little Theatre has a busy few months ahead with no less than five productions currently in rehearsal, including a full-length Da by Hugh Leonard and four one-act plays.
Among these is 3 Kings by local playwright Barry McKinley, which will compete in the open section of the upcoming All-Ireland One-Act festivals circuit.
The season kicks off with the society’s autumn one-act series at the George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Visual, Carlow on Wednesday and Thursday 2-3 October. Both evenings promise lots of drama and comedy, with four plays on offer.
In addition to the group’s festival play, both evenings will feature by Cavan writer Rachael Cullivan Elliott, the Best Irish and Best International winner of our 2024 International One-Act Playwriting Competition, which will be directed by well-known retired drama teacher Mary Doyle.
Mary’s cast will include a mix of familiar and new faces to audiences, including Pauline Hayes, Richard Duffy, Andrea Bolger, Joseph Hayden, Raymond Farrell and Luca Dolan Ruiz.
There will also be two shorter plays, both directed by Little Theatre stalwart Marc Grogan: the comedy by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnar, translated by Benjami Glazer, which will star Audrey Cooper and Aisling O’Halloran; and another, new piece by American Ian Patrick Williams, starring Harry Shorthose and Deirdre Colhoun.
Performances start at 7.30pm, with tickets priced at €20 (€18 concession) Tickets are available from the box office (059 9172400 | boxoffice@visualcarlow.ie) or via:
https://visualcarlow.ie/whats-on/carlow-little-theatre-one-act-festival
The society returns to George Bernard Shaw Theatre just over two weeks later with Hugh Leonard’s hilarious, Tony-award winning memory play , which explores the relationship of Charlie, a successful playwright, with his adoptive father. In this semi-autobiographical play set in 1960s Dublin, we find Charlie in his childhood home just after Da’s funeral.
While he sorts through his father’s things, he is visited by Da’s ghost, who stubbornly refuses to leave the house or his son’s mind. As Charlie revisits his past, we get to share in the tender, frustrating and very funny moments that defined the complex relationship between father and son.
This will be the second time the society has produced **Da**, having also done so in 1996, when it performed at the now defunct Bridewell Lane Theatre. Audiences may remember John Brady giving a memorable performance in the titular role, with Paddy Behan playing the role of Charlie.
This time, Paddy will be in the director’s chair, with Rory Moran playing the role of Da, Garry McHugh as Charlie, the return of multi-award winning, legendary Little Theatre actress Jo O’Donovan in the role of Mother, joined by a talented cast of Scott Cooper, Evan McCormack, Paddy O’Byrne, Pauline Hayes and Zoë Hayden. Set design is by Tadgh McSweeney, with lighting by Ann Nolan. s presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.
Ticket and booking details via: https://visualcarlow.ie/whats-on/carlow-little-theatre-presents-da-by-hugh-leonard Less than a week later, Carlow Little Theatre begin their All-Ireland, One Act Festival circuit run with , a new play written by acclaimed Carlow author and playwright, Barry McKinley, which will be directed by Deirdre Fleming.
is set against the backdrop of a wintry Montana. Three convicts plan to break out of a penitentiary by scaling a Christmas tree and jumping the prison wall.
keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, shifting seamlessly between laughter and heartfelt drama as the escaped convicts try to affect their escape and navigate the difficulties of life on the run.
The play will embark on what the society hopes will be a successful festival circuit run at five festivals, and eventual qualification for the finals in Naas in early December.
The cast includes 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘆, 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲, 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗠𝗰𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀 and 𝗣𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗢’𝗕𝘆𝗿𝗻𝗲 Performance and ticket details will be announced in due course.
