THE Annual Enniskillen Drama Festival was launched this week in the Ardhowen Theatre where the Festival organisers were joined by their sponsoring organisations.
The nine nights of top class amateur productions will commence on Friday 7thMarch and culminate with 2012 Blue Riband winners, Estuary Players from Dublin, returning with ‘The Plough and the Stars’, the Sean O’Casey classic play on the 1916 Rising ,as we move into the period of commemorations.
Festival Director, Brian Farry, speaking at the launch expressed the organiser’s gratitude for the financial support from both Fermanagh District Council and the local business sector. “We appreciate times continue to be difficult and many worthy activities are seeking support.
“Your support for the festival demonstrates that you recognise we bring something valuable to the community”.
Visitors to the festival in March will be presented with a programme that will satisfy the most critical theatre-goer.
The festival committee has managed to construct an interesting range of plays which include comedy and drama, the familiar and the new with the Ardhowen stage hosting five of the plays for the first time.
Classic comedy comes in the shape of ‘ ‘Bedroom Farce’ and ‘The Gingerbread Lady’ whilst contemporary Irish writing can be seen in ‘Eclipsed’ by Galway writer and poet Patricia Burke Brogan with its themes similar to the recent Judy Dench film ‘Philmonea’.
As usual the Enniskillen Festival has been fortunate to have received entries from some of the foremost amateur drama groups in Ireland , several of whom have been successful at the All-Ireland final stage.
Included in that group is Compántas Lir from County Galway, one of the oldest and most experienced groups on the festival circuit, who make their first visit to the Enniskillen festival.
Also making her first visit to the festival will be adjudicator Jill Colby from Hertfordshire, an experienced member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators, who will not only decide the destinations of the many trophies at the end of the festival on Saturday 15th March but also the much sought after nominations to the All-Ireland Open Finals in Athlone in May, the Ulster Finals in Newtownabbey and the Confined Finals in Claremorris.
Booking for the festival is now open at the Ardhowen Theatre. Tickets can be purchased for each night but the season ticket remains great value at £40.00 for all nine nights with the organisers encouraging holders to make sure it is always used.
Once again this year the Festival Committee has introduced a group rate for parties of ten or more which is aimed at school or youth drama groups or indeed community groups of varied types.