Athlone Little Theatre has qualified for the 2015 All Ireland One-Act Drama finals with the play, In a Land Much Like Ours, by Manchester playwright Rob Johnston.
This is the third time in five years that the theatre group has reached the national finals - they will now face the sternest of tests in the form of such highly experienced rivals as Kilmeen (Cork ), Bradán (Leixlip ), Rasper Players (Wexford ), and last year’s winners, Kinnerton (Dublin ).
The playwright is a prolific writer and winner of the coveted Kings Cross Award for New Writing in 2011. He took time out of a very busy schedule to visit Athlone Little Theatre’s production, which ran in October, commenting: “It is always exciting to see how a theatre company interprets your writing. It was all the more exciting with this particular play because I know how challenging it is to stage it. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the group’s production.”
Rob added: “In A Land Much Like Ours is a very timely play and sadly, it explores the quest for understanding that follows an abhorrent act of violence on innocent human beings going about their daily routine. The play examines how we might learn to live with what seems to be an intolerable loss – it does not try to provide answers but asks that we do not look for those answers in retribution.”
The cast of three highly talented actors includes Anne Hoey and John McGlynn, well known to theatre audiences, and Charlie Doherty, a new recruit. Charlie’s impressive acting skills earned him ‘Best Actor’ awards in four out of the group’s five heats. Anne Hoey also won a best actress award.
The finals take place in the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, from Friday-Sunday, December 4-6 and prior to this there will be a chance for Athlone audiences to catch this must-see performance. It will be staged in Athlone Little Theatre on Wednesday December 2 at 8pm.
As an added bonus on the night, Athlone Little Theatre are delighted to present Cora Fenton’s Arsehammers and Bonfire Night. These are a pair of darkly comic pieces - in Arsehammers, a child is sure that their grandfather’s strange disappearances reveal supernatural powers; and in Bonfire Night, a woman’s hip operation sets off a chain of events that lead her devoted daughter into becoming the world’s most unlikely assassin.
Curtain up is at 8pm and admission is only €10. No booking is necessary and tickets will be available at the door on the night.
