Love, mystery, comedy, tragedy: it’s all in a night’s work for the merry men and women of Athlone Little Theatre, and never more so than now, as the theatre gets ready to launch Curtain Calls, a never to be repeated celebration of 75 years, from Tuesday April 12.
This year is the Little Theatre’s 75th anniversary. Already, a host of memorable events have recognised the success of Ireland’s longest surviving community theatre group with a civic reception, a gala ball, newspaper features, and radio documentaries.
But it is in the theatre that all of these wonderful memories have been made, and so it is that Athlone Little Theatre goes back to its roots to re-enact some of its most precious moments for its cherished audiences. In this unique undertaking, best loved scenes from six of the most popular plays ever performed in the theatre’s 75 years are being brought out again for the delight of local audiences.
The tantalising menu includes some of the best moments from two Brian Friel classics, Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa, Synge’s incomparable Playboy of the Western World and a climactic scene from John B Keane’s Big Maggie, possibly the most popular play ever staged in the Little Theatre. Many of the original cast are reprising their iconic roles.
The Little Theatre’s ongoing relationship with local writers is represented by a scene from Jason Gill’s highly successful The Brothers Malone, while Paddy Martin offers audiences a superb vignette from Shelagh Stephenson’s heart-warming The Memory of Water, one of the best loved comedies of recent years.
Each cast features some of the most talented of today’s actors and actresses in the Little Theatre, all paying their tribute to a proud history, and hopefully making some new memories in the process.
The pieces have been chosen and directed by Mel O’Flynn, Paddy Martin, Harry Smith, and Jason Gill, and the overall cast is the largest seen in any production for many a year.
Bringing all these strands together is no mean task, and that is why the job of coordinating Curtain Calls is in the very capable hands of Clive Darling, who will also provide an illuminating introduction to each piece on the night.
If the Little Theatre’s 75th anniversary year can be compared to a royal visit, then this is most definitely the souvenir mug. If you’re even slightly curious about what’s been going on behind those doors over the last 75 years, then this is the event you cannot afford to miss.
Curtain Calls features a huge cast, some fantastic material, and an exciting new set built by Work it Out Ireland. Naturally, because of the huge logistics involved, Curtain Calls also has a shorter run than is normal for a Little Theatre production, so you have been warned!
The show opens on Tuesday April 12 next and runs until the following Friday April 15, with curtain up at 8.30pm each night. Bookings can be made by calling (090 ) 6474324 or by visiting the theatre in St Mary’s Place.
