DUBLIN UNIVERSITIES swept the boards at The Irish Student Drama Association Awards which took place last Saturday in The Ardilaun on Taylor’s Hill.
After a nine day theatre festival, featuring more than 45 shows, nearly 300 student actors, directors, producers, set-designers, lighting operators, and stage-hands, packed into the ballroom of the hotel to hear the nominations and winners of the 64th annual ceremony.
The Best Set award went to Mundus Avenue (Trinity College Dublin ); University College Dublin’s Solicitors won both Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. The production also saw Connlaith Pickering pick up the award for Best Supporting Actress.
Best Costume & Make-Up went to The Happy Prince (Trinity College Dublin ); Best Ensemble: was for Posh (Queens University Belfast ); Best Original Writing went to Jody Quirke for Such a Local Row (University College Cork ); and Best Actor went to Colm Campbell in Wasters (Dublin Institute of Technology ).
However the big winner on the night was University College Dublin’s students production of Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark which won Best Production; Best Director for Eoin Carrick; Best Actress for Catriona Ennis; and Best Support Actor for Sam McGovern.
The festival is sponsored by The Ardilaun, the Galway City Council, Galway Advertiser, NUI Galway, Kelly’s, Tigh Neachtain’s, Barnacles, the NUIG College Bar, while The King’s Head, and Java’s Cafe allowed the festival to use their premises as venues during the festival.
Galway businesses really supported us and it’s as much their festival as it is ours,” said festival director Neasa O’Callaghan. “I have no doubt that we will see alumni of this festival on the national and global stage before long.”
