Mullingar gets a new theatre company

 A brand new theatre group in Mullingar has its sights set on the national drama festival circuit, and eventually, on the all Ireland stage in Athlone. Mullingar Theatre Lab presents its first production to the stage on Wednesday next, when A Wake in the West (of Mullingar ) opens at the Greville Arms. A slightly tweaked version of Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy, the humour has been adapted to make it more relevant “hilarious and easy viewing” for the Mullingar audience. The group started reading the play before Christmas and director Alan Conroy told the Mullingar Advertiser that workshopping it has been a long, fun process. “The audience are in for a treat - we fall about laughing every night at rehearsals,” he said. Already they’ve had great local support from businesses, and Alan said The Greville Arms Hotel, where they will build their first set, has been very good to them. The new company was founded late last year and was born out of a belief that there should be some representation from Westmeath and Mullingar on the Drama League of Ireland circuit. For the public in Mullingar it means an opportunity to see different kinds of theatre, and for actors it gives a chance to travel nationally with dramatic productions. While rehearsals are underway to bring this first production to perfection for next week’s debut, already there are ideas percolating for a possible play for next year’s circuit. “We’ll start with a three act play with a small cast to dip our toes in the water,” said Alan who has a play in mind and hopes to cast it shortly. It will then be a matter of building ties with the Drama League of Ireland. A Wake in the West (of Mullingar ) runs from Wednesday May 21 to Saturday May 24 at the Greville Arms Hotel.