Ronan Fagan
A 10 day celebration of amateur drama culminated on Saturday night as the All Ireland Drama Festival hosted a gala awards ceremony within the surrounds of the Radisson Blu Hotel Athlone.
The gala awards ceremony affords the opportunity for the respective drama groups, nine of which performed during the perennially popular festival, to be recognised for their performances on the Dean Crowe Theatre stage.
Stellar work from the All-Ireland Drama Festival committee ensured each drama group performance was rapturously received by a sold out Dean Crowe Theatre auditorium as thoughts turn towards the hosting of the 2024 version of one of the standout occasions on the town's social calendar.
Festival Director, Regina Bushell, congratulated the nine groups who graced the final and thanked them for their commitment, hard work and dedication, noting that the festival was a great success with the town of Athlone looking its best.
Regina referenced the recent exciting announcement by TUS and its commitment going forward to collect, collate and preserve archive material relating to the festival for use by enthusiasts and researchers worldwide.
The chairperson also expressed her sincere gratitude to the festival’s main sponsors, RTÉ, for their continued support of the festival and the extensive coverage the festival had received for this, the 70th year of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI ). She also thanked the nightly sponsors and the local and national media for getting "full-square" behind the festival and contributing to the successful event it has now become.
Regina thanked the Abbey Theatre, for their support and their generous invitation to the winners of the 2023 Abbey Award, to perform on the Peacock stage next month.
Mark O’Brien, Executive Director Abbey Theatre, stated that it was a particularly difficult decision this year before announcing Wexford Drama Group who presented ‘The Father’ as the winners of the Abbey Award.
Coman Keaveny, ADCI Chairman, also expressed his gratitude to RTE for their coverage of the festival and was delighted to inform the audience that numbers attending drama festivals on the circuit this year were estimated to be the highest in 20 years.
Ms Paula Dempsey was the adjudicator during this year's festival. An actor, director and drama adjudicator, Paula has also worked as an actor trainer and facilitator. She has been adjudicating since 2007 and is a member of the Association of Theatre Adjudicators. She holds an honours BA and MA in Modern Drama Studies from University College Dublin.
Commenting on the festival, she remarked on the high standard of the finalists and recalled the magic of live theatre which is best captured by Florian Zeller, author of ‘The Father’,
"What you see in one night will never happen again, it’s something that will disappear. At the end when everyone applauds, it’s both to say thank you and goodbye to something that appeared and disappeared. For a very short moment those people shared something that from the very beginning was going to disappear," Ms Dempsey stated.
Dalkey Players Crowned Champions
Amid great tension, Dalkey Players, directed by Emma Jane Nulty, were crowned RTÉ All Ireland Drama Champions for their performance of ‘By The Bog of Cats’ by Marina Carr.
Ballyduff Drama Group, directed by Ger Canning, who presented ‘The Welkin’ were placed second and Thurles Drama Group, directed by Margaret McCormack, who performed ‘The Seafarer’ were placed third.
‘By the Bog of Cats’ by Marina Carr, premiered at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre in October 1998. The play takes place in the Midlands. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it contains many mystical and mythical elements, including ghosts, curses, and references to witchcraft. Its themes include land ownership, motherhood, betrayal/abandonment, and ethnic prejudice.
No strangers to Athlone, Dalkey Players previously won the All-Ireland in 2017. Their director Emma Jane Nulty also won the Best Director award. The Adjudicator, Paula Dempsey commended her for her creative approach and unique directorial choices.
In addition to best director, Sarah Coughlan, Dalkey Players, who played Hester Swaine won the award for best actress and Anna Kilcoyne, won the John Butler scholarship for her role as ‘Black Wing’. Dalkey Players also take home the awards for best stage management, best stage lighting.
Additional Award Winners
Andy Doyle, Wexford Drama Group, won the award for Best Actor for his role as Andre in 'The Father'.
Rachel O’Connor, Ballyshannon Drama Society, won the best actress in a supporting role for her role as Claire in 'A Delicate Balance'.
Matt Tracey, Thurles Drama Group, who played Ivan Curry in 'The Seafarer' won the award for best actor in a supporting role, while Ballyduff Drama Group won the award for best stage setting.
Treasa Davey, won the Adjudicator Award for her role as Winnie in 'Happy Days', prior to the ADCI/Drama League of Ireland (DLI ) Summer School Scholarship being awarded to Fiona Ahern, Ballyduff Drama Group, for her role as Mary Middleton, in 'The Welkin'.
