As the biggest theatrical event in the Midlands gets underway this week, the organising committee is putting the final touches to the 2010 RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival which takes place at the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone from tonight, Friday 30 April to Saturday May 8 nightly at 8pm (except final night which begins at 7pm ).
Long regarded as one of the most important events of its kind in Europe, Athlone is bracing itself for the influx of visitors and supporters of the nine groups who have qualified for this year's finals. In all, 31 groups competed at 35 local festivals nationwide with 185 performances playing to full houses up and down the country. Festival week in Athlone is the culmination of months of hard work in preparing and casting a play for festival, followed by weeks of travelling to various venues in order to seek the coveted place at the Athlone finals. “It is a tribute to everyone involved in amateur drama that the festival and the competitive spirit has survived for almost 60 years,” said festival director, Billy Nott. “Getting to the All Ireland finals is an achievement in itself and the atmosphere in and around Athlone is one of celebration of all that is good in our communities. Like the GAA does for sport, the amateur drama movement brings communities together while fostering a love for live theatre. We extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to all our competitors and their supporters in what we hope will be a most memorable occasion, win or lose.”
Groups from Nenagh, Ballyduff, Carrigallen, Lifford, Leixlip, Kildare, Ennis, Charleville, and Dundalk will present plays by Irish, English and American authors, some old classics, some never seen in Athlone before. The programme makes for an engaging feast of drama which all patrons will enjoy, not lease adjudicator Tom Doherty, who has the unenviable task of picking the winner.
Throughout the town, the signs are everywhere leaving locals and visitors alike in no doubt as to what is taking place. The assistance of Athlone Town Council, Westmeath County Council, and Roscommon County Council has been phenomenal as the region prepares to welcome the expected influx of visitors who will descend on the area over the coming week.
While the main business of the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival concerns the plays which are performed nightly at the Dean Crowe Theatre, there is an exciting fringe, under the sponsorship of Westmeath County Council Arts Department, taking place at various venues around Athlone during Festival Week. The purpose of the fringe is two-fold: to present a programme of cultural events free of charge to a wider audience and to heighten the profile of the arts in general, and the drama festival in particular, throughout the town. As fringe events take place during the day, they are not in competition with the drama competition itself.
Full details of all matters concerning the festival are available online at www.dramafestival.ie
