Announcing Muse Productions’ Inaugural One Act Festival
Category Archives: News
Munster Rugby comedy coming to the Oakwood
Munster Rugby comedy coming to the Oakwood
Local theatre company Muse Productions are in the final weeks of rehearsal for their autumn production of Alone It Stands the highly acclaimed play by Limerick author John Breen.
This award winning comedy is based on the historical victory Munster Rugby enjoyed over the mighty New Zealand All Backs in 1978.
The All Blacks had demolished national and regional sides from all over Ireland and the UK and seemed unbeatable.
On October 31st they met Munster, an amateur provincial side, and looked set to add another annihilation to their perfect record.
As legend would have it however, the unthinkable happened and Munster not only defeated them, but the great All Blacks did not even score.
Munster had prepared for the clash with an embarrassing 39-3 defeat against Middlesex and a flukey draw against London Irish.
A white-wash was expected to the extent that no television crew even turned up to record the match.
A stunned local crowd of just 16,000 spectators were the only witnesses to one of the finest moments in the history of Irish sport and this momentous event has become the stuff of legend.
Author John Breen weaves a magical tale, bringing together a broad range of colourful characters. From the eternally pessimistic Munster fan who becomes more paranoid with each score to the leader of a gang of children building the best bonfire in Limerick city.
A cast of just six actors play 62 different characters, including players from both sides, the coaches, the referee, the crowd, a pregnant woman, several children and a dog.
This play requires an enormous level of physical performance to create a sense of the excitement experienced at a live sporting event.
It mixes large scale action with intimate moments. The laughs come thick and fast, but it never misses a dramatic beat in any of the unfolding stories.
Alone It Stands is a wonderful piece of entertainment that will appeal to sports fans and theatre goers alike.
It is directed by Ted Germaine and stars local actors Eoin Sheedy, Chris Willetts, Martin McNelis, Eoghan Rice and Aideen Clancy with Limerick man Mikey O’Gorman.
The production will run from Tuesday, Oct 7th to Saturday, Oct 11th commencing at 8.00pm nightly. Booking on 087 155 3055. Don’t miss it!
Happy New Year from Muse Productions!
Hi All,
Happy New Year to all our supporters and friends. We had a great 2012 with a full calendar.
In February we welcomed our friends from Choke Comedy back for another night of improvised mayhem. Choke have been with us from the start and are always a welcome addition to our calendar.
“Run for your Wife” in April was a runaway success (if you’ll pardon the pun) with fantastic reactions from our audiences and sold out performances on the last couple of nights. Great houses throughout the run for this classic farce and great reactions to the detailed set in particular.
After a summer break we returned with two One Act Plays, “The Galway Girl” and “Bar and Ger” both penned by Geraldine Aron. We were joined by our friends from Castlewood Players with “The Low Terrace” and both of the plays subsequently were invited to Corofin for their One Act Festival. Castlewood will be performing “The Low Terrace” in Cratloe on 19th and 20th Jan, and depending on availability we could see both plays reprised there also!
Our Winter production was our most ambitious yet, with “The 39 Steps” fresh from the West End. This was a hugely technical show both onstage and backstage, notably in the sound design, and required the construction of a full proscenium arch and purchase of fireproofed velvet curtains from the UK, but I think all will agree that it was worth the investment. Our audiences were down a little for this show, mostly due to our date being too close to Christmas. Still, its a lesson learned and the reactions from those who did get to the show have been universally positive.
So, on to 2013, and our plans are already taking shape. We hope to begin with a new foray into Musical territory with a Cabaret style concert in April, followed by a small scale production of the classic “Waiting for Godot” in May. We also hope to produce a piece for “The Gathering” in the June/July time frame, followed by a full 3 Act production of Terry Pratchett’s “Wyrd Sisters” for Halloween. Finally we hope to bring back the One Act Drama festival in November! A pretty ambitious programme I think you’ll agree, but we have no doubt that with the support of our friends and patrons this will be another great year for Muse Productions.
Thank you all once again.
The Muse Productions committee.
Shakespeare Unlocked
Shakespeare Unlocked, part of the BBC’s contribution to the London 2012 Festival, is a season exploring how one man captured so much about what it means to be human.
The BBC has teamed up with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the British Museum for the World Shakespeare Festival to celebrate Shakespeare’s life and work.
RICHARD II: 30th June 2012.
HENRY IV PART I: 7th July 2012.
HENRY IV PART II: 14th July 2012.
HENRY V: 21st July 2012.