Tickets are selling fast for the award winning production of the classic play Johnny Belinda which will be staged at the Town Hall Theatre at the end of next week.
The production by the Compántas Lir group will run at the Town Hall on Friday April 3 and Saturday April 4 and is set to be a sellout with many people keen to see the new production of this most compelling and melodramatic play.
It has already scooped many awards on the annual drama festival circuit, with special praise reserved for Roscam-native actress Ruth O’Driscoll who plays the role of the deaf mute girl enduring a brutal existence in a rural Nova Scotia village in the early years of the last century.
However her life changes when she is befriended by a a caring doctor who strives to help her understand the savage world around her.
The play is a classic on the drama circuit but has not been performed for many years and its reappearance on the circuit this year has led to much success for the Claregalway-Carnmore group, under the direction of Brid Conneely.
Needing just two wins to secure a place at the All-Ireland drama finals in Waterford next month, so far the Compántas Lir production has won three festivals and more than a dozen acting, set, and production awards for the talented cast and crew.
The full cast of the performance is Ruth O’Driscoll as Belinda, Declan Varley as Dr Jack, Philip Cribbin as Black McDonald, Vincent Moran at Locky McCormick, Fidelma O’Rourke as Maggie McDonald, Patsy Cahalan at Jimmy Dingwell, Paddy Greaney as Father Tidmarsh, Mary McCarthy as Mrs McKee, Breda Hannon as Mrs Lutz, and features dancing from Simon Kavanagh, Liz Hession, and Ann Moran.
The play has played to sell-out crowds around the country, particularly in Claregalway at the recent drama festival and patrons are urged to book their tickets soon in order to avoid disappointment.
Tickets for the play are on sale now at €15 and €12 and can be purchased from the Town Hall Theatre box office at 091 569777.
Compantas Lir was established 25 years ago and has been one of the leading amateur drama groups in the country in the quarter century since, being regular competitors in the All-Ireland finals which features the top nine groups in the country.
