The Importance of DTW
DUNDALK Theatre Workshop have revealed the cast for their forthcoming play, The Importance of Being Earnest, which is one of a number of productions planned for this year, marking the 40th anniversary of the group’s foundation.
They are staging the classic Oscar Wilde ‘serious’ comedy in An Tain Arts Centre from March 8 to 11.
Directed by Fergus Mullen, it features a cast of familiar faces and newcomers and it’s rightly a challenge for the talented group.
Adrienne Whelan plays Lady Bracknell and so gets to utter the famous lines ‘A handbag? A handbag?’ on hearing that the Jack Worthy aka Ernest, played by Trevor Lee, suitor of her daughter Gwendolen (Fiona Mullen) was found abandoned in a handbag at Victoria Station.
Paudie Breen plays Algenon Moncrieff, who like his friend Jack, has created a fictional alter ego, Bunbury, so that he can escape his normal life in the city.
Other roles are played by Lyndsey O’Neill as Jack’s ward Cecily, Bernard Dunne as Merriman, Tim Ahern as Lane, Pauline Wilson as Miss Prism and Ciaran Lawless as Rev Chasube.
Fergus is delighted with the enthusiasm and passion shown by the actors for this Wilde play. He said: ‘ This is the first production in 2017 to celebrate our 40th year. We have had a long-standing association with the works of Wilde, and this is the first time we have done The Importance of Being Earnest.
‘It’s a timeless piece of work, it’s really well known, but there is room to bring our own touches to it, which I think people will like’. Added to the glorious language of the play is the fact that the DTW have costumes from the Abbey Theatre, just to add to the wow factor the show already brings.
Fergus said: ‘Although the play has to be done in a certain way but we were able to put our own twist on things. There is plenty of style, panache and sophistication. It’s challenging for the actors because the it’s not naturalistic, it’s stylistic but we feel we have the right mix’.
Dundalk Theatre Workshop was founded with the intention of doing plays which were not being performed at the time in Dundalk. Works by Albee, Miller, Coward, were among their many successful productions, some of which toured to the U.S. and Scandinavia.
A host of well known Dundalk actors took to the stage in their productions including the late Eve Belton, Kitty McDermott Casey and Dermot Lavery, as well as those veterans of the Matt Murphy and Stephen Burns while younger actors have now taken on the mantel of performing top Irish and international plays.
The group have also promoted home grown talent, staging the premier of ‘Wild Goose Lodge’ by local playwright and solicitor Paul McArdle.
Their 1996 production won the Audience Award, as well as the awards for Best Lighting (Michael Parks), Best Actor (Carl McGahon), Best Supporting Actress (Nonie Belton) and four Certificates of Merit (Roisin Cox, Tony De Barra, Deirdre Rice and Paul McGee) at that year’s Maytime Festival.
More recently, their production of Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet won the Abbey Theatre Award at the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival 2016.
The Importance of Being Earnest runs in An Tain Arts Centre from Wednesday March 8 to Saturday 11 inclusive and tickets are available now from antain.ie and at the box office priced €15, with a special offer on the opening night of €12 for all tickets.