The 34th Kerry Drama Festival will be held at Ivy leaf Arts Centre, Castleisland over four nights on March 4th. 5th. 6th. and again on Friday March 11th.
Admission: Nightly Ticket €10. Curtain nightly at 8pm.
Due to the inability of drama groups around the country to get together and rehearse for festival such as this, some have been cancelled.
Four Performance Basis
However, the Kerry Drama Festival is going ahead on a four performance basis and the programme is as follows:
Friday, March 4th. Brideview Drama Group will stage The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh.
Saturday, March 5th. Kilmeen Drama Group with Conversations on a Homecoming by Tom Murphy.
Sunday, March 6th. Corofin Dramatic Society will present Betrayal by Harold Pinter.
Friday, March 11th. Palace Players with Chapatti by Christian O’Reilly.
Announcement in March 2020
The Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI) issued an announcement in March 2020 that it was cancelling the remainder of that year’s three act drama circuit around the country.
This also impacted on the Kerry Drama Festival in Castleisland and its final night of the eight-play run and adjudications had to be abandoned immediately over serious Covid-19 concerns at the time.
“We are sorry that the Covid-19 Virus has brought us to this situation but in the national interest and to play our part we are taking this action,” said the council in its statement.
Chapatti and Christian Back
The victim of the cancelled, Castleisland based festival is Chapatti by Christian O’Reilly, which was to be staged by Palace Players and the final adjudication night had also gone by the wayside back then.
However, after a two-year wait, Chapatti and Christian O’Reilly and the Palace Players are back on final nigh this year.
That final night will also see the adjudications and the presentation of trophies and the event adjudicator is Aodh McCay.
Adjudicator Steeped in Theatre
Mr. McCay is a freelance theatre director and drama festival adjudicator. Member of ADA and a director actor.
He is a drama teacher with over 35 years experience with a number of post grad qualifications including MA in Drama and Media Studies.
He has worked with the North West Opera Company, in schools in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland.
The Strabane, Co. Tyrone native has adjudicated at drama festivals previously included: Northern Ireland One Act Finals; Larne, Derry City; South Wicklow; Strabane; Tubbercurry and, in March 2020 in, North Cork.
He has been an actor and director with drama groups including: PuddleAlley Theatre Group and Lifford Players and recipient of awards for directing, acting and stage lighting.
The booking service for the 2022 Kerry Drama Festival is by telephone on: 086 10 54 515.
The festival is part sponsored by Kerry County Council Arts Department.
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