St Patrick’s Drama Group Westport are back with the season of spring in their step and a brand new production. Widows Paradise is a three act comedy written by Sam Cree and it promises to be one of the funniest plays the group have staged in years. The play will take to the stage in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar, on Friday May 13 2011 at 8pm sharp, with tickets costing from €12 to €15.
This farcical comedy is set in the sixties. The action of the play takes place in a "luxury" caravan with five women embarking on a "strictly women only" holiday, set beautifully in the Mayo countryside. Ruby (played by Regina McCormack ) is a strong-willed widow with a decided distaste for all men, and is adamant to make the other four follow her lead and write-off the opposite sex for a life of peace and tranquillity. Her three musketeers follow, somewhat bewildered with the quest — Lucy (played by Margaret Joyce ) is a ditzy, loveable, character who must hide her never-ending faith in finding true love. Vanessa, another widow (played by Nuala Currid ), is comically only interested in the finer things in life but has she an agenda of her own in taking this trip? Then we have Rachel (played by Mairéad Ryan ), a relationship lightweight, whose overall fear of men makes her one of the most entertaining characters thrown into the female mix. These four self-confessed "widows" are followed by Ruby’s gorgeous young daughter Sylvia (played by Ruth Gilroy ) who has been taken along on the trip to learn from their mistakes.
A subsequent case of "mistaken caravan identity" sees the widows’ paradise thrown into disarray with the arrival of no nonsense alpha-male Harry (played by Ciarán MacSuibhne ), his dim-witted side-kick Ernie (played by Andrew Pelham-Burn ) and Harry’s handsome young son Alan (played by John Gavin ). Add to the mix a couple of surprise visitors in the form of Wilfred and Farmer John (hilariously played by Liam MacNamara and Lennie Grimes ) and you have what can only be described as hysterical chaos. What was supposed to be a scene of peace and tranquility turns into a riotous clash of the sexes, each with his/her own story to tell. This play is a show not to be missed and has already sold out for seven nights in Westport. Cast and crew have been enjoying the busy rehearsals and performances for what can only be described as a cracker of a play that is being expertly directed by Liz Browne and produced by Rosaleen Heraty. If you enjoyed A Wake in the West you are going to really love this show.
