Revamped theatre to take centre stage for drama festival

A West Cork village is gearing up for an influx of more than 3,500 people next month as locals make final preparations for one of the most prestigious drama festivals on the national circuit.

St Mary’s Theatre in Rossmore has just undergone a €300,000 facelift, which has increased the size of the stage by six feet and involved the installation of a sophisticated hydraulic system which allows the multi-purpose stage to be raised and lowered.

The renovations, completed just in time for next month’s West Cork Drama Festival, also involved the provision of a new kitchen in the festival club — a team of local women traditionally serve four-course home-cooked meals to about 300 cast and crew members — a new bar, new en suite changing rooms and a toilet for people with a disability.

The work which took about six months to complete was carried out with the support of the West Cork Development Partnership, though the theatre board has to match this financial support. A variety of fundraising events, including a fashion show and several concerts have been organised for the coming months while a ‘Friends of the Festival’ scheme has also been organised.

“We’re expecting a very good year this year,” said spokeswoman Áine de Róiste, pointing to the large number of Cork groups participating in this year’s festival which is to be officially launched on Feb 26, and runs from Mar 9 to 19.

“Many of the groups featured hail from Cork — Conna, Skibbereen, Schull, Kilmeen and Haulbowline. A great friendship has formed between the groups that compete in the three and one-act festivals.

“We’re expecting audience numbers to be high because of the quality and variety of the drama on offer is a big attraction.

“The standard of the festival in Rossmore is extremely high as many of the participating groups have a long history of involvement in amateur drama in the festival circuit and would have reached the all-Ireland finals in previous years,” Ms de Róiste said, pointing to the Kilmeen Drama Group which won the one act and three act All Ireland competition last year.

Other groups come from as far away as Kildare, Wexford and Waterford to participate in the festival.

The emphasis this year is on classic drama.

More than half of the plays featured in the 2012 programme are new to festival. These include Brian Friel’s version of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler— Irish actors Fiona Shaw and Stephen Rea starred in a televised production of this play in the 1990’s.

Also in this year’s line-up are a number of other well-known plays which have hit the big screen including Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lunghnasa and Albee’s Who’s afraid of Virgina Wolf.

Wexford playwright Billy Roche’s play Poor Beast in the Rain was one of his Wexford Trilogy of plays that were televised by the BBC in 1993. In 2013, St Mary’s theatre Rossmore will host the All Ireland (Confines) Three Act Drama Finals.