About Us

Part of South Dublin amateur drama since 1983

Based in Balally, a suburb in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area of Dublin city between the villages of Dundrum and Sandyford, the Balally Players Theatre Company has been part of the amateur theatre movement in Ireland since its first performance in 1983.

Amateur Drama is the most widely enjoyed arts activity in Ireland. We believe drama is an inclusive activity and we aim to offer all our members the opportunity for creative expression through a broad and diverse spectrum of work.

Most years, we produce one or two full length productions, a Christmas Variety show, competitive one-act and longer plays for the festival circuit and a summer Shakespeare. Workshops designed to improve our skills are on-going throughout the year. The company has presented high standard theatrical productions in a wide range of genres over the years.

Balally Players started competing on the Drama Festival circuit in Ireland in the late 1980s. The group has enjoyed considerable success on the one-act festival circuit and more recently with three and four act plays. Members have taken plays to France, Denmark, Canada and the USA.

In August 2009 Balally Players was chosen to represent Ireland at the Mondial du Theatre (World Festival of Theatre) in Monaco. More information on that and all other past performances can be found on the Productions page.

Last year in Balally Players

The year 2010-2011 was perhaps one of the busiest and most ambitious in the group's history.

 

It began earlier than usual in July 2010 with plans for hosting the National One-Act Finals as part of the Dundrum One-Act Festival at the Mill Theatre in December of that year, under the Chairmanship of Karen Carleton. By the time September came, director Jean Monahan and the cast and crew of 'Like A Virgin' were well into rehearsals for the group's entry into the national competition, at which the team was placed fourth, missing third place by a point.

 

Christmas and the end of the calendar year was graced with the ever popular collection of carols, stories, music and humour that is 'Christmas at Airfield'. Staged each year by Balally Players in Airfield House in Dundrum, it is an enduring favourite with audiences in December and it closed another great year for Balally Players.

 

In parallel with all this activity, guest director Joe Jordan was working with his cast and crew on 'All My Sons', which took to the Mill stage in the depths of the snowy January that greeted the new calendar year.

 

WIth hardly time to catch their breath, a team worked on getting the comedy 'Unoriginal Sin' ready for the main stage in the Mill at the end of April with director Brian Molloy while Fiona Walsh made her debut as a director with the Greek Tragedy 'Medea' at the Mill Theatre Studio in the middle of April.

 

The fifth anniversary of the Mill Theatre was celebrated with a production of 'Tarry Flynn' directed by Padraic McIntyre and produced by Mill Productions. Many members of Balally Players played roles on and off stage for this production, which drew its cast and crew from five local drama groups.

 

All this activity precluded the group from staging its more usual 'Summer Shakespeare' under the Midsummer skies. However, with the help of the second guest director this year, Gerard Bourke, 'Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead' by Tom Stoppard was staged during June in the gardens of Airfield House - and in the Library, when it rained. Finally, after all that, the group closed the year at a Bar-B-Que in July.

Read more about the plays mentioned above and other past performances on the Productions page.

 

Chairman	Jean Monahan
Secretary	Doris Cullen
Treasurer	Óran O'Rua
Members	Muriel Caslin-O'Hagan Joanne Keane Hilary Madigan Tony McGettigan Claire O'Donovan

Committee Members

 

The Committee, which is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting, serves for one year. The AGM is held between the end of the summer activities and the start of the next year in September. To contact a member of the Committe, send a message using the email form or mobile phone number - details are on the Contact page.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can join Balally Players?	Membership is open to anyone over 17 years of age and upward. You may have years of experience or none, but all are welcome to come along to our Open Nights in September (and sometimes January) and by arrangement during the year.
Cost?	The annual fee is €40 for members who are earning and there is a 50% reduction for those who are not and for students. This fee helps to cover the cost of running Balally Players and also pays for the insurance that each member must have before they can be permitted to participate in staged events.
Do I have to act?	No. Not everybody wants to act and not straight away. There are many other facets to a theatre company and you might prefer to get involved in set, sound or lighting design or in set construction. There are openings for all kinds of talent.
Will I get a role?	The Balally Players Theatre group prides itself on giving as many members as possible the opportunity to play during the year. That’s why we work so hard.
What nights?	Most Monday and Wednesday nights when a play is in rehearsal.
Where does the group meet?	Rehearsal venues include: St Tiernan's Community School Parkvale, Dundrum, Dublin 16. Queen of Angels Primary School, Wedgewood, Dublin 16 www.qoa.ie Link to Google Map on Blackthorn Drive, near the Beacon Hotel, at the entrance to the Sandyford and Stillorgan Industrial Estates St Olaf's GAA Club, Gaelic Athletic Association grounds, Holly Avenue, Stillorgan Industrial Park, Co. Dublin. Methodist Hall Wesley College, Ballinteer Road, Dublin
Where are these venues?	You can access maps showing you how to find these places through the 'Rehearsal Venues' section of the Links page.