2010 Festival

2010 Tipperary Drama Festival

Adjudicator: Larry McCluskey A.D.A.

OVERALL

HANNIFIN CUP  (Entertaining Play)  “Thy Will Be Done”  Ardagh D.G.

GALLAGHER AWARD for most promising actor/actress – Pat Smyth/Liam Scuab/Sive

DR.MORRIS MEMORIAL CUP[ Tipperary Group)  Nenagh D.G. “Agnes of God”

BEST SET OVERALL [Josie Slattery Perptual Trophy] Brideview / “Pied-A-Terre

 

1st ADJUDICATOR AWARDDerek Doherty as “Him” Holycross/Ballycahill D.G.

2nd ADJUDICATOR AWARD Design Team “Agnes of God” / Nenagh D.G.

 

CONFINED

 

BEST ACTOR : Shane Kelly as “Starwars” in “Rosie & Starwars” Slieve Aughty D.G.   

BEST ACTRESS : Maggie Enright as “Bridie” in “Thy Will Be Done”Ardagh D.G.

BEST SUPP.ACTOR: John Leahy as “Sean Dota” in “Sive”      Conna D.G.

BEST SUPP. ACTRESS: Ann Barry as “ Nana” in “Sive”      Conna D.G.

3rd  “Rosie & Starwars”                Slieve Aughty D.G.      

2nd    “Thy Will Be Done”              Ardagh D.G.

1st     “Sive”                          Conna D.G.

BEST PRODUCER —             Assumpta Mangan      “Sive”        Conna D.G.

 

OPEN 

                                  

BEST ACTOR : (Matthew Bourke) Conor O’Connell as Irwin / “The History Boys”

BEST ACTRESS :  Irene Kelliher as Katie in “Pied-A-Terre” Brideview

BEST SUPP.ACTOR : Colin Malone as Dakin in “The History Boys” Silken Thomas

BEST SUPP.ACTRESS: Geraldine Delaney as Judith in “Aristocrats” Thurles D.G.

3rd  “Agnes of God”  Nenagh D.G.

2nd   “Pied-A-Terre” Brideview D.G.

1st        TIPP FM TROPHY   “The History Boys” Silken Thomas

 

BEST PRODUCER:    Sean Judge   “The History Boys” Silken Thomas

 Schools Drama: WINNER St. Joseph’s Sec School, Doon , Bog Oak: Doon B

 

Friday 19th March   (Open)

“The Aristocrats”  Thurles Drama Group  By Brian Friel

Synopsis: The play is set in the crumbling home of District Justice O’Donnell. Three sisters and their ‘peculiar’ brother are home for a family wedding. An unexpected tragedy disturbs arrangements and forces the release of previously suppressed facts. History and relationships are explored. The future for all becomes uncertain. This is one of Brian Friel’s most beautiful plays. It is a strong dramatic piece which contains fun and very pleasing music

 

Brief History of Group: Thurles Drama Group won the confined All Ireland in 1988. Other final appearances in Athlone were in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2003.

 

Saturday 20th March (Confined)

“Thy Will Be Done “  Ardagh Drama Group By Michael Carey

Synopsis: Elderly brothers Jack and Peter Griffin have not spoken in almost forty years. The presence of American born Martin Griffin brings unresolved issues from the past centre-stage. Home help Bridie Lavin eventually brings about an unexpected and somewhat macabre resolution.

 

Brief History of Group: This group was formed in 1992 and draws its membership from Ardagh and the surrounding parishes ofWest Limerick. They perform a full-length play each year in local venues raising funds for various charities. Festival debut was in 1999 and since then the group has won numerous awards and reached the All-Ireland in 2004 [Barndance] and 2009. [The Quiet Moment]

 

Sunday 21st March

“Agnes of God” Nenagh Players By John Pielmeier

Synopsis: Dr Martha Livingstone, a court appointed psychiatrist, is asked to determine the sanity of a young nun, Sr. Agnes, accused of murdering her own baby. The Mother Superior of the convent is very protective of Agnes and this leads to confrontation with the doctor and as a result past secrets of all three characters are exposed leading to some shocking revelations.

Brief History of Group: Nenagh Players were founded in 1943 and have presented at least one production every year since then. Winners of the Confined All-Ireland in 1998 and 2000, the group moved on to the open circuit in 2002, qualifying for Athlone with “Lonesome West”. The group have reached Athlone in 2006 with “Drawer Boy” and in 2008 with “Tom, Dick and Harry”.

 

Monday 22ndMarch (Confined) 

“Rosie and Starwars” Sliabh Aughy Drama Group By Charlie O’Neill

Brief History of Group: Sliabh Aughty Drama Group was founded 20 years ago and has enjoyed considerable success on the festival circuit with productions of The Field’, The Honeyspike’ and “I Do Not Like Thee Dr. Fell’. After a lengthy break they returned in 2004 with some old and new faces. They have since produced “Big Maggie’, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’? The Year of the Hiker’ and Martin McDonagh’s ‘Lonesome West’ and ‘A Skull inConnemara’.

 

Synopsis: The incidents described in the play – based on a collage of true stories – take place in Ennis, Co. Clare and inLimerickCity during the summer of 1995 which witnessedCountyClare’s series of triumphant hurling matches on their dramatic journey to becoming All-Ireland Champions that year. The play portrays a community exploding in exuberance and celebration while an underbelly of prejudice festers against a Travellers’ site just outside the town and a relationship that develops between two young people.

 

 

Tuesday23rdMarch (Confined)                                                      

“Sive” Conna Drama Group By John B Keane

Synopsis: Sive is a play of the greed and bitterness of a scheming matchmaker and a resentful woman forcing a beautiful young girl to marry an old man with tragic consequences

 

Brief History of Group: Conna Drama Society are back on the festival circuit for the last three years. Past Productions include, Sharons Grave, Portia Coughlan and Sive.

 

Wednesday 24th March  (Open)

“The History Boys”   Silken Thomas Players              

By kind permission of Samuel French Ltd.

By Alan Bennet

Synopsis: An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university. A maverick English teacher at odds with the young and shrewd supply teacher; a Headmaster obsessed with results; a History teacher who thinks he’s a fool. In Alan Bennett’s new play, staff-room rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence provoke insistent questions about history and how you teach it; about education and its purpose.

Brief History of Group: Celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year, Silken Thomas are a group at the cutting edge of Amateur Theatre. Best known for thought provoking plays such as Bent, Trainspotting, theNormal Heart (2007 All Ireland winner) and Equus with which they finished 2nd in last years All Ireland in Athlone. This is their 30th production.

 

Thursday25thMarch   (Confined)

“Woman and Scarecrow”           Holycross-Ballycahill                                              Drama Group

By Marina Carr

Synopsis: “for lately I have begun t suspect if there is such a thing as eternity, it resides in the hearts and minds of those who have loved us, for time, memory, eternity are merely constructs of this fallen world and it is here among the fallen we will be remembered, and forgotten.”  Many questions, but few answers for Woman as she endures her final decline and exits this mortal world.  This deathbed drama pitches old friends and battle-weary foes against each other. Woman gives her last requests, but what exactly do these signify ? Scarecrow stays with her to the bitter end, but at what cost?  What will become of her family?

Brief History of Group: Holycross-Ballycahill Drama Group are in existence for almost fifty years.  The group have reached the All-Ireland Confined finals on many occasions, and have won numerous acting, directing and set awards, not only in the country’s festivals, but also in the All-Ireland itself.  “Sive” by John B Keane, “Run for Your Wife” by Ray Cooney and T.S.Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” are among the great variety of critically acclaimed productions that the group have performed around the country.  We have even travelled toGermany, by special invitation from the American forces based there, to stage our award winning play, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” by Martin Me Donagh.

 

Friday26thMarch  (Open)

“Of Mice and Men”  Ballyduff Drama Group by John Steinbeck

Synopsis: Steinbeck’s own version of his classic novel tells the story of George and Lenny, the fast talking farm hand and the simple giant who accompanies him on a life of casual labour in California Agricultural Belt in the 1930’s. They share a dream of a little place of their own, where Lenny can tend rabbits and they can “live off the fat of the land”. But when Lenny unwittingly kills the young wife of a farm owner’s son, George must shatter their dreams to keep Lenny from falling into the hands of the law and the vigilante farmhands bent on revenge.

Brief History of Group: Ballyduff Drama Group has been on the Festival circuit for over 25 years, and has, in that time, been to the All-Ireland Finals in Athlone over a dozen times, culminating in the winning of the Ericsson Trophy in 2004 for Marina Carr’s On Raftery ‘s Hill It has successfully tackled material as diverse as the ancient classics of Sophocles and the modern classics of Arthur Miller. From Amadeus to Blue Remembered Hills. From Antigone to Out of Order. From the ridiculous to the sublime. And, over the years, it has become famed for its hilarious interpretations of the Cooney farces including Caught in the Net which was placed second in the All Ireland Finals in Athlone in 2008. As well as Best Play in Athlone, the group has also won awards for Best Producer (twice); Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Presentation and Best Stage Management (twice). The group has also toured abroad under the name of Gaelic Storm and recently travelled to Singapore with a production of The Cripple of Inishmaan.

Saturday  27th March (Open)

“Pied –A Terre”  Brideview Drama Players By John S.Anastesi

Synopsis: Pied a Terre traces the story of Katie (Irene Kelleher), a nineteen-year old prostitute whose life is transformed by her relationship with fifty-year old Jack (Ed Kelly), a wealthy attorney who ensconces her in his lavishNew York apartment. Things come to a head when Julia (Vanessa Hyde), Jack’s sister unexpectedly arrives on the scene. Pied a Terre is a highly entertaining play; with both comedy and suspense it plumbs the mysteries of the human heart, revealing the ways in which tragedies of the past continue to impact our existence in the present.

Given the play’s mature subject matter – Not suitable for children

Brief History of Group: Brideview have been established in Tallow, Co.Waterford for more than 15 years and have been entering the festival circuit for the last 10 years. In the Confined All Ireland Finals inTralee in 2005 Brideview triumphed with “Moonshine”. After 4years on the Open Circuit, Brideview Drama is becoming familiar to festival audiences for putting on entertaining plays that are always a little bit different. Our most successful production- The Glass Menagerie did well coming 2″ at 4 festivals (narrowly beaten) and obtaining many lighting, sound & acting awards. Jack Aherne is Brideview’s most experienced Director having been at the helm with both The Glass Menagerie (2008) and Beauty in aBroken Place (2009).

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