The Parke Arts and Drama group, winner of the Mayo County Council drama award in 2011 for its production of Cupid Wore Skirts last March,have returned to the The Royal Theatre Castlebar with its 2012 production Fortunes and Misfortunes, a side-splitting three-act comedy by Westmeath playwright Jimmy Keary.
The story centres on Daisy Fortune, a hard working fifty-something, who is supporting a lazy husband and a good-for-nothing son. She loses her job, as a waitress in The Cosy Corner after her son Nathan’s pet lizard Britney, gets loose in the premises. She gets a job as a housekeeper for Bill and Oonagh Delaney.
Oonagh is busy organising a poetry workshop, which is being held in her home, and has invited renowned poet Aubrey Peacock to attend. Meanwhile, there is tension in the Delaneys’ marriage as a result of Bill’s flirting with Wanda Hunt, the mother of one of his pupils. However when Nathan’s lizard escapes in the Delaney home and Oonagh’s fruit punch is accidentally laced with alcohol, the workshop turns into a complete disaster and the tension between Oonagh and Wanda finally explodes. Add to the mix a dancing priest and you have all the ingredients for a superbly hilarious comedy.
The production took to the stage on Thursday, July 12 for the first time and will continue to run for the summer season then every Thursday night. Tickets for the shows are on sale and are available from the Royal Box Office on 0818 300 000 or 094 9023111. You are advised to book your tickets early as experience shows that there will be packed houses nightly. For Further information is available from www.theroyal.ie or www.parkedrama.com
