Blackwater Women’s Group takes to the stage as it travels back to 1973
BLACKWATER Women’s Group are this week taking to the stage with their latest production, ‘Courting Trouble’.
It is a snapshot of rural Ireland in 1973 and focuses on ongoing trouble over grazing between Nana and Paddy Sweeney (Antoinette Galvin), and next door neighbour Gilpin Burke – trouble that eventually leads to the courts. Away from the court room, romance is also brewing between the families, leading to complications inside and outside the courtroom.
The play is set in the year that Ireland joined the EU, but in Blackwater, pressing matters are county football, farming and the arrival of new settlers to the region.
This latest production from Blackwater Women’s Group has all the ingredients of a fantastic show, something the group is noted for. This is the eighth original play penned by the group themselves and starring local actors: George and Kieran O’Neill; Ann and Jimmy O’Sullivan; David Breen; Timothy Clifford; Edward McCarthy; and Patrick Doyle, to name but a few of the 21 actors ready for the stage. The play will run for three shows this weekend – on Saturday, Sunday and Monday – and is not to be missed. Tickets are limited, so if you want to see this latest show, this is your opportunity. The show takes place at 8pm nightly and tickets are available from the Blackwater Tavern.
The group is fresh from its winning streak at this year’s Kerry Community Awards, also qualifying to represent Kerry at this year’s Pride of Place Awards. In the interim, the group, which was founded in 2002, is also hoping to have a permanent base in Blackwater. It currently operates out of Blackwater Tavern but is hoping to demolish the dance hall next door, which is used by the group for some events – including its plays – but needs to be revamped.
The group has applied for planning to transform the dance hall to a community centre and is hopeful that funding will be forthcoming.