Comedy, drama and tragedy at Kildare's Rathangan Drama Festival

Rathangan is once again looking forward to its Annual Drama Festival which commences on Saturday 22 March at 8pm in the Community Centre, running eight nights until Saturday 29 March.

This is Rathangan’s 35th Annual Festival.

Festival Director Sean Glennon said the audience have a feast of diverse theatre ahead with a mixture of comedy, drama and tragedy.

"Some of the great Irish classics will be presented as well as more current plays. We have one group each from the counties of Kildare, Tipperary, Clare Kerry, and four groups from Wexford. We hope that all the groups enjoy their visit to Rathangan and secure nominations for either the GEM ADCI Confined Finals in Claremorris or the RTE Open Finals in Athlone, depending on which section the group is competing in. We wish them every success," said Sean.

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He also mentioned that it is important to remember that the festival is a competition and is one of the thirty-five festivals that participate in the annual All Ireland drama circuit which is overseen by the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland.

Established in 1987, the organisers are hopeful the festival will continue into the future. The committee would like to thank all local sponsors and patrons and acknowledge Kildare County Council as the main sponsor. Without the support of all sponsors
and patrons, the festival would not survive.

The festival adjudicator this year is Evelyn O’Sullivan, a Cork woman who now resides in Kilcullen. Evelyn holds an honours Masters in Drama and Performance from University College Dublin (UCD). She also has a diploma in Performance from the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and a teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama from the London College of Music.

Additionally, Evelyn is a Drama and Communications examiner with the Royal Irish Academy of Music. As an award-winning actor and director, Evelyn played the titular role in Shirley Valentine in 2015 and reprised it in 2016 due to popular demand.

In 2022, Evelyn was thrilled to be selected for the Amateur Drama Association (ADA). She cherishes the opportunity to travel and connect with the dedicated drama groups representing Ireland’s vibrant amateur dramatic heritage.

Sean praised the community of Rathangan and its hinterland stating the audience has always supported the festival, and he hopes that they will continue to do so.

"The festival is a wonderful place to meet people and it's one event that you can come along on your own. You will be
looked after and made welcome. It is wonderful to have this week of entertainment on our doorstep and we hope as many people as possible will come along. The great thing about the eight nights is that you can pick one or two plays to see or come along to all eight with the very reasonably priced season ticket."

Booking is on 087 9670138 or just turn up on the night. Admission is €15 and concessions are €10 (OAP’s/Students). A season ticket for the eight nights is a very reasonable €60. Curtains up at 8pm sharp every night.

Line up
Saturday 22 March: Enniscorthy Theatre Company in “The Seafarer” by Conor McPherson
Sunday 23 March: The Wayside Players, Co. Wexford in “Amongst Men” by Eoghan Rua Finn
Monday 24 March: The Flavour of the Month Productions, Co. Kerry in “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” by Martin McDonagh
Tuesday 25 March: Bradán Players, Leixlip, in “Little Gem” by Elaine Murphy
Wednesday 26 March: Wexford Drama Group, in “Skylight” by David Hare
Thursday 27 March: Thurles Drama Group, Co Tipp in “Rathmines Road” by Deirdre Kinahan (Age Guidance is plus 14)
Friday 28 March: Sliabh Aughty Drama Group, Co Clare in “Dancing at Lughnasa” by Brien Friel
Saturday 29 March: Kilrush Drama Group, Co Wexford in “Bailegangaire” by Tom Murphy