Dalkey group are All-Ireland drama champions

Dalkey Players, directed by Emma Jane Nulty, were crowned RTÉ All Ireland Drama champions for their performance of ‘By The Bog of Cats’ by Marina Carr at the awards ceremony in Athlone’s Radisson Blu Hotel last night (Saturday) as the curtain came down on the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival. The festival is held under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI) who celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

Ballyduff Drama Group, directed by Ger Canning, who presented ‘The Welkin’ were placed second and Thurles Drama Group, directed by Margaret McCormack, who performed ‘The Seafarer’ were placed third.

‘By the Bog of Cats’ by Marina Carr premiered at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre in October 1998. The play takes place in the Midlands. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it contains many mystical and mythical elements, including ghosts, curses, and references to witchcraft. Its themes include land ownership, motherhood, betrayal/abandonment, and ethnic prejudice.

No strangers to Athlone, Dalkey Players previously won the All-Ireland in 2017. Their director Emma Jane Nulty also won the Best Director award. The Adjudicator, Paula Dempsey, commended her for her creative approach and unique directorial choices.

In addition to best director, Sarah Coughlan, Dalkey Players, who played Hester Swaine won the award for best actress and Anna Kilcoyne, won the John Butler scholarship for her role as ‘Black Wing’. Dalkey Players also take home the awards for best stage management, best stage lighting.

Other award winners included,

Andy Doyle, Wexford Drama Group, won the award for Best Actor for his role as Andre in The Father,

Rachel O’Connor, Ballyshannon Drama Society, won the best actress in a supporting role for her role as Claire in A Delicate Balance

Matt Tracey, Thurles Drama Group, who played Ivan Curry in The Seafarer won the award for best actor in a supporting role,

Ballyduff Drama Group won the award for best stage setting,

Treasa Davey, won the Adjudicator Award for her role as Winnie in Happy Days,

The ADCI/Drama League of Ireland (DLI) Summer School Scholarship went to Fiona Ahern, Ballyduff Drama Group, for her role as ‘Mary Middleton’, in the Welkin.

Speaking before the awards presentation, the Festival Director, Regina Bushell, congratulated the nine groups in the final and thanked them for their commitment, hard work and dedication. She added that the festival was a great success and that Athlone town was looking its best.

Regina mentioned the recent exciting announcement by TUS committing to collect, collate and preserve archive material relating to the festival for use by enthusiasts and researchers worldwide.

Regina expressed her sincere gratitude to the festival’s main sponsors, RTÉ, for their continued support of the festival and the extensive coverage the festival had received for this the 70th year of the ADCI. She also thanked the nightly sponsors and the local and national media for getting full-square behind the festival and contributing to the successful event it has become.

Coman Keaveny, ADCI Chairman, thanked RTE for their coverage of the festival and was delighted to inform the audience that numbers attending drama festivals on the circuit this year were estimated to be the highest in 20 years.

Regina thanked the Abbey Theatre, for their support and their generous invitation to the winners of the 2023 Abbey Award, to perform on the Peacock stage next month. Mark O’Brien, Executive Director Abbey Theatre stated that it was a particularly difficult decision this year before announcing Wexford Drama Group who presented ‘The Father’ as the winners of the Abbey Award.

Commenting on the festival, the adjudicator Paula Dempsey remarked on the high standard of the finalists and recalled the magic of live theatre which is best captured by Florian Zeller, author of ‘The Father’,

‘What you see in one night will never happen again; it’s something that will disappear. At the end when everyone applauds, it’s both to say thank you and goodbye to something that appeared and disappeared. For a very short moment those people shared something that from the very beginning was going to disappear.’

THE WINNERS

Award Categories:

RTÉ Perpetual Trophy to the Overall Winner – Dalkey Players, By the Bog of Cats

Best Director – Emma Jane Nulty, Dalkey Players, By the Bog of Cats

Best Actor – Andy Doyle, Wexford Drama Group, as Andre in The Father

Best Actress – Sarah Coughlan, Dalkey Players, as Hester Swaine in By the Bog of Cats

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Matt Tracey, Thurles Drama Group, as Ivan Curry in The Seafarer

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Rachel O’Connor, Ballyshannon Drama Society, as Claire in A Delicate Balance

Best Stage Management – Dalkey Players, By the Bog of Cats,

Best Stage Lighting – Dalkey Players, By the Bog of Cats,

Best Stage Setting – Ballyduff Drama Group, The Welkin

Adjudicator Award – Treasa Davey, as Winnie in Happy Days,

The ADCI/Drama League of Ireland (DLI) Summer School Scholarship went to Fiona Ahern, Ballyduff Drama Group, for her role as ‘Mary Middleton’, in the Welkin.

Anna Kilcoyne, won the John Butler scholarship for her role as ‘Black Wing’ in By the Bog of Cats

The Abbey Theatre Award – Wexford Drama Group, The Father