Dates set for the 65th North Cork Drama Festival

THE dates for the 65th annual North Cork Drama Festival will be from March 9-17.

The committee is putting the final touches to this year’s programme, which will again be staged in its traditional home, the local community hall. Full details of the open and confined sections of the festival will be made available shortly by the festival director Liz O’Gorman O’Brien.

The drama festival began as part of An Tostal, a national festival programme, of the period in Charleville, the same year as the All-Ireland event that takes place in Athlone. Getting to perform on the stage of the Dean Crowe Memorial Hall in the Westmeath town is the ultimate goal of every drama society that enters the competition and attends the preliminary festivals around the country.

Charleville groups have figured in the All-Ireland drama finals in Athlone on no fewer than 16 occasions, with groups, (the Shoestring Theatre Company and St. Colman’s Players) for all but one of these under the direction of Kevin O’Shea. His productions have figured in all positions with his productions except first place, and actor William Lyons has won the best actor award for his playing in the one man show ‘A Night in November’ by Marie Jones.

Another Shoestring actor, Ger Liston, has also won the best supporting accolade for his playing of the priest in ‘ Trad’ by Mark Doherty.