'Alone It Stands' – February 2024
dlr Mill Theatre Wed 14 to Sat 17 February
It's 31 October 1978, Thomond Park, Limerick. The mighty New Zealand All Blacks, on an Irish tour, take on the none-too-mighty Munster team - and they lose 12-0 to the pleasantly surprised Irish supporters – and a shocked sporting world!
From this piece of Irish sporting history, John Breen has fashioned a funny lively play in which both teams, plus fans, children, relatives and even a dog are portrayed by a cast of six, with no props and only a half time change of shirt.
Directed by Óran O'Rua and featuring a very talented cast, Alone It Stands brought a smile to your face in dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum from 14 to 17 February 2024.
This thrilling comedy was a great evening out for rugby fans of all ages.
If you missed out on seeing 'Alone It Stands', it is taking to the road for a series of performances as part of our 2024 Festival Circuit run.
- 25 February - Kilmuckridge
- 8 March - Strabane
- 11 March - Newtownabbey
- 15 March - Claregalway
- 16 March - Ballyshannon
- 18 March - Newry
- 21 March - New Ross
- 23 March - Carnew
See the What's On page for more about the play and also this article about the production by Pat McCarry in Joe.ie/News.
'Juggernaut' by David Sears
Decade of Centenaries project – returns in February 2024
In this ninety-minute retelling of a play first staged to great acclaim by MacLiamoir and Edwards in the Gate Theatre in 1929, David Sears sets the action in Killiney during the War of Independence and centres it around a middle-class family whose immunity from the struggle is shattered by the arrival of a wounded gunman looking for refuge.
A rehearsed reading of this play was presented in dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin on Saturday 18 November at 7:30pm and the final rehearsed reading was in the Pearse Museum, Rathfarnham on Saturday 25 November 2023.
Juggernaut returned for three nights at the Lexicon in Dun Laoghaire on 8, 9 & 10 February 2024, for a fully staged performance.
The director, Conall Morrison, has directed extensively with the Gate Theatre, Abbey Theatre, and with productions in Ireland and abroad. As part of the rehearsal process, Conall invites any members who would like to attend to come along and watch the rehearsal process across the month of January. For anyone who is interested, rehearsal will be taking place on Saturdays, from 10am-4pm in the Halla Mór, at the Pearse Museum from 6 January 2024.
The first rehearsed reading was also in the Pearse Museum on Saturday 30 September. This Balally Players presentation is part of the series of events that have contributed to the Decade of Centenaries. The play by David Sears was written in 1928, just five years after the end of the Irish civil war, and was first produced in 1929 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir in the Peacock Theatre.
The rehearsed reading was also be presented in dlr Mill Theatre Studio on Friday 6 and Saturday 6 October.
The play is about a middle-class family whose moderate Home Rule sympathies are put to the test when they have to choose between aiding or turning in a wounded IRA soldier. The family is persuaded to hide the IRA man and then to let him escape, although his survival means death for the daughter's British officer fiancé. The writer, David Sears, was one of Patrick Pearse's pupils at St Enda's and was a veteran of both the 1916 Easter Rising and the War of Independence (1922-1923). Sears won the gold medal for English language drama at the 1928 Tailteann Games with this play, a tragedy that disrupts the life of the family at its centre, and explores the interplay and conflicts within a complex set of loyalties and values.
The project is supported by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.
See the What's On for more about the background to the project.
'Dead Man's Bells' wins in Wicklow
Best Director, Best Play & 2 Adjudicator's Awards
At the Wicklow ICA Drama Festival in the Glenealy Village Hall on Saturday 20 January 2024, Adjudicator Alan Howley (ADA), presented the Balally Players production of 'Dead Man's Bells' with the following awards:
- Best director: Joanne Keane
- Best play: 'Dead Man's Bells' by Méabh de Brún
- Adjudicator's Award for Acting: Mary Carroll
- Adjudicator's Award for Best Moment of Theatre: Murder Scene - Lighting and Sound Team: Kris Mooney, Paul Macken, Liam Borgstrom, Una Twyford, Paul Delany, Barbara Andrews.
See more on the page for the play, in the Productions section.
Dundrum One Act Festival 2023
The Dundrum One Act Drama Festival returned to the dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum, Dublin from Thursday to Saturday, 2 to 4 November 2023.
Three nights of superb live entertainment hosted by Balally Players.
Organised by Festival Director, Joanne Keane, with Jean Monahan and Karen Carleton.
Drama groups from across the country competed over the three nights of the festival. Each night the Festival Adjudicator Michael McCabe ADA reviewed the plays and announced the winners on the final night.
The Dundrum One Act Drama Festival is part of the All Ireland One Act Drama circuit. The winners from local festivals aim to qualify for the All Ireland Final in Castleblayney during December 2023.
See the Dundrum Festival page, in the What's On section, for more information, including a list of the plays that will be performed.
Summer Shakespeare
Outdoor performances in June and July 2023
This year's Shakespeare in the Park was The Taming of the Shrew and was presented in St Enda's Park, Rathfarnhamn and the Sylvan Theatre in the grounds of Killruddery House, Co. Wicklow.
The action hovers around the story of Katherine and Petruchio and reflects a topic openly and regularly talked about in Shakespeare's day - the nature and role of women. Four hundred years later, the topic lives on and continues to entertain audiences in this much-loved play.
The first shows were presented in St Enda's Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin, on Sun 25, Tue 27, Thur 29 and Fri 30 June.
The performances in Kilruddery House, Sylvan Theatre, County Wicklow were on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 July, and they started at 8 pm.
40th Anniversary Production
dlr Mill Theatre – 7 to 11 February 2023
During February, in its 40th year, Balally Players opened its 2023 programme with a special Anniversary production of 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' by Martin McDonagh.
Prior to his success with 'In Bruges' and the 'Banshees of Inisherin', this was McDonagh's debut play, the work that launched his career and electrified audiences. It introduced the world to McDonagh's darkly comic style, at times hilarious, at times vicious.
First produced by the Druid Theatre Company in 1996 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' tells the story of spinster Maureen Folan, trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with her scheming and manipulative mother Mags, in a rundown cottage in the wilds of Connemara. Will Maureen's last chance at love have a happy ending? Not if Mags can help it.
With 'Banshees of Inisherin' hotly tipped for Oscar glory, Mill audiences had the opportunity to experience McDonagh's black humour in the flesh.
See the What's On page for more information.
Summer Shakespeare 2022
Killruddery Sylvan Theatre & St Enda's Park – 30 June to 9 July
The Balally Players outdoor productions of some of the most popular Shakespeare plays returned this year with performances of 'As You Like It'. The Forest of Arden was recreated in the gardens of Killruddery House and the Walled Gardens of St Enda's Park at the end of June and early July.
The play, directed by Karen Carleton, was performed first in Killruddery Sylvan Theatre, in the grounds of Kilruddery House, Southern Cross, Bray, Co Wicklow. The Kilruddery performances were on 30 June and 1 July 2022.
From Wed 6 to Sat 9 July 2022, the performances were in the Walled Gardens of St. Enda's Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
For more, including performance photographs, see the page for the play in the Productions section.
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