Its that time of year again! We will be holding an open reading for our Autumn production, Terry Pratchett’s “Wyrd Sisters” adapted by Stephen Briggs. Its a brilliant parody of Macbeth with all of PTerry’s wonderful wordplay and humour. This will be a large cast production with loads of parts for all ages, sizes and sexes!
The reading will take place in the Oakwood Arms next Wednesday August 28th at 8pm. New members are welcome as always!
We proudly present Samuel Beckett’s Masterpiece “Waiting for Godot” for the next three nights only in the Oakwood Arms Shannon. Tickets €10 on the door. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see one of the most important theatrical works of the 20th Century.
Following on from our successful production of the West End smash “The 39 Steps”, MUSE Productions return to our new stage in the Oakwood Arms with one of the all-time classics of modern drama, Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”. Recently voted “the most significant English language play of the 20th century”, this stylised piece of theatre is classed as “Theatre of the absurd”, and sees the two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon waiting endlessly for the mysterious Mr Godot. While waiting, they encounter Pozzo and his slave, Lucky, who delivers one of the most difficult and lengthy “stream of consciousness” soliloquys in theatrical history. The final member of the cast is the “The Boy” who delivers the news that Godot may not be arriving that Evening, “But surely tomorrow”!
This is a unique opportunity to see this play performed here in Shannon. The rights for the play are very closely guarded by the Beckett Estate and it is with great pride that we bring it for the first time to the Amateur stage here in this region. While previous productions have been mostly comedies, (and indeed, there are many comedic moments in this piece also) this will be the first serious full scale production by MUSE since our inaugural production of “Romeo and Juliet”. The cast for this production range from the most experienced to the least, with veteran actor Noel Murphy taking role of Vladimir, a part he first played at the tender age of 23, in the Everyman Theatre in Cork, through to young Albert Wojcik who is introduced to Shannon audiences in his role as “The Boy”. Noel is ably matched by his namesake Noel McNamara in the role of Estragon, and the duo of Pozzo and Lucky will be played by Eoin Sheedy and Tony Little respectively. The director is once again Ted Germaine, with Frank Boland serving as Stage Manager. Running for three nights only, from Tuesday May 21st to Thursday May 23rd, this is an experience not to missed for any fan of theatre in Shannon or the surrounding areas.
Booking is now open for the fantastic spy comedy “The 39 Steps”! This “Hitchcock meets Hilarious” production will have audiences of all ages rolling in the aisles. The Oakwood Arms has been transformed into a 1930’s style theatre and this week the final touches are being put on the lighting and sound plots for a highly involved and breathtaking production. Get the Christmas season started early with a family trip the “The 39 Steps”, or even call into Pier 39 for a pre theatre early bird menu. Interval drinks can also be ordered in advance to add to the event! Tickets are €10 and are available on 087 155 3055. The show runs from Monday Dec 3rd to Friday Dec 7th.
Only a couple of weeks left to “The 39 Steps”! Rehearsals have been frantic for the last two months, and Tony and Ian have been working hard on all the sound cues. Paddy, Frank and the stage crew are performing miracles to transform the Oakwood Arms function room into a 1930’s Theatre. Diarmaid has his lighting rig coming in a week early to give us a full week of Tech rehearsals. Anne and Nicky have pulled together all manner of wierd and wonderful props and costumes for this truly exceptional piece of theatre. Tell your friends, bring your kids, just don’t miss it. There are early bird menus available in Pier 39 so why not make a night of it. Those of you who have taken the seasonal November “pledge” can look forward to bar service for your interval drinks as you kick off the Christmas season! Booking opens next Monday on 087 155 3055.
Muse Productions in association with Castlewood Players will present Three One Act Plays this Wednesday and Thursday the 24th and 25th October in the Oakwood Arms. First we will have “Bar and Ger” a play by Geraldine Aron about growing up, with Lauren Dunne and Eoghan Rice playing the title roles of Ger and Bar respectively. Next, Castlewood Players bring us “The Low Terrace” by John McKenna, which they will be bringing on the One Act Drama Circuit immediately following these performances. Finally, Kathleen Browne and Noel McNamara give us “The Galway Girl”, another Geraldine Aron play, tied to the first by a family connection, with Bar and Ger being two of the children of this unhappy couple.
Doors open at 7:30pm both nights and the layout will be cabaret style so drinks purchased in the bar can be brought in to the venue. The plays will begin at approximately 8pm with a 15 minute break between each play. Tickets are €10 on the door.
Hi All,
Its been a while hasn’t it? We’re still trying to get the footage of “Run for your Wife” into usable shape for a Video night, but unfortunately our video guy got a job in Cork and doesn’t have much free time to work on it!
Anyway, we are proud to announce that our next Full length play will almost certainly be the parody of Alfred Hitchcocks “The 39 Steps” fresh from London’s West End. This is a clever parody with multiple characters played by a small cast, clever use of lighting, sound effects and props all combined to bring a classic spy story to the stage including Nazi spies, Biplane Battles, Train Escapes and even the Forth Bridge! This production is still running in London, but Restricted rights are available until the end of the year before they are being withdrawn again. We plan to put this on the 3rd week of November 1st Week of December for 5 nights. The cast as written calls for 3 Men and 1 Woman to play all the roles, but there are options to split this out further if necessary. Ted will be directing and it will be his call on how he wants to handle that.
We will have a reading for “The 39 Steps” on Thursday night next, the 13th in the Oakwood Arms at 8pm. We hope to see as many of you as possible there. In the meantime, check out this trailer for the West End Production
In other news, we are inviting our friends from Choke Comedy back in October to present a new short comedy play by Ann Blake and Marie Boylan called “Tan”, about two Limerick girls getting ready for a night out on the town. We will be presenting two Geraldine Aaron One Act plays to support this, with Eoghan Rice and Lauren Dunne in “Bar and Ger” and also Edel McFadden and Noel McNamara in “The Galway Girl”. This may be a slightly different interpretation depending on how it works out in rehearsal!
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| Written by Victor O’Sullivan |
| Thursday, 24 May 2012 12:04 |
| IRELAND’S first comprehensive school has been quietly churning out performers and musicians who have helped to shape Ireland’s contemporary musical heritage for almost half a century.
A founding father of Celtic Rock, Johnny Fean was one of the first pupils to attend St Patrick’s Comprehensive in Shannon Town back in the sixties. Johnny, the lead guitarist with the legendary Horslips noted, “The comprehensive school did play a big part in developing the confidence of its pupils in those early days. It was the first of its kind in Ireland, with boys and girls attending, it opened up whole different outlook for a teenager like me”. He embraced the new world that Shannon and its experimental co-educational school provided. “Mixing with different nationalities in the new Shannon town back then, was like nothing that had ever been known before in Ireland and, when I look back now, I consider myself very lucky to have been part of it. In a way, it was saying goodbye to the old Victorian way of schooling and opening up a brand new chapter with a new outlook.” Around the same time as creative director Bill Backer was conceptualising Coca-Cola’s I’d like to teach the world to sing just down the road at a café in Shannon Airport, Johnny was fine tuning his Celtic Rock guitar-sound with Horslips. “Over the years there have been some remarkably talented people that have emerged from Shannon, with the likes of Patrick Cassidy, Ray Fean and more recently Gari Deegan achieving great recognition on RTÉ’s The Voice,” Johnny added. He attributes part of his drive to those confident early days in Ireland’s new town. “What I learned on guitar in Shannon in the 1960s; from that music gave me the confidence to take it where ever I pleased and I saw no obstacles in my way…the musical landscape seemed endless to me.” Eamonn Lenihan, presenter with RTÉ’s Lyric FM recalled his own time in Shannon. “There were the factory managers and their families from North America and mainland Europe and refugees from Northern Ireland, Chile and Vietnam and so forth, people who brought a very different dynamic to Shannon, compared with other towns.” He recalled an interview he held with the ground-breaking guitarist. “As musician John Fean agreed during a radio interview – it was no coincidence that a Celtic blues guitarist like himself came from Shannon and not Dublin or Donegal.” It’s a view shared by St Patrick’s current principal, Morgan Heaphy. “Music and the performing arts are a very important part of today’s life at our school. This is recognised in the wider community and, as a result, we seem to attract students who are interested in music and drama rather than sport for example.” In fact, it’s hard to distinguish the comprehensive school from the wider Shannon Town community. Former students established the acclaimed Shannon Gospel Choir and also the Muse theatrical workshop company, where the town’s two post-primary schools challenged each other to the death in a remarkably successful production of Romeo and Juliet. St Patrick’s Comprehensive has also hosted the musical society’s annual production over many decades and the principal noted the significance in the choice of the venue, “the long association with the Shannon Musical Society also has an influence on how others view the school”. It’s no coincidence that the school piloted projects such as transition year from its curriculum centre. Mr Heaphy also said the school nurtures a sense of the individual, which can challenge pupils to explore new ways of thinking. “I think the fact that we don’t have a school uniform or rules in relation to hair length and colour means that students have the opportunity to express their individuality and creativity on a daily basis. Students are encouraged regularly to step outside their comfort zones.” Former student Dominic McInerney is the lead guitarist with pioneering metal band, Censura. The band charted in 2011 with their debut EP The Island and are currently preparing for a European tour. “I think what set St Patrick’s Comprehensive School apart from others in the time I was there was the freedom to be different. No uniform meant you could express yourself without saying a word. If you were the new guy and if you didn’t have a group to hang out with, all you had to do was look around for the crowd of Metallica shirts hanging out beside the radiators next to the sweet shop,” he noted. Dominic remembers extra-curricular activities such as setting up the stage for the annual musicals, which resulted in a hall pass. “It was definitely a peek into the life I wanted, although I would have done anything to get out of memorising the Irish language or pulling my hair out in maths.” He added, “I think ‘the Comp’ had some very encouraging teachers that supported my non-academic and creative mind…intentional or not, the school did help me to become the person I am today.” |
Muse Productions return to the Oakwood Arms Hotel this April with ‘Run for your Wife’, a classic farce guaranteed to chase away the winter doldrums. This hilarious comedy centres round the travails of a London Cabbie who has been successfully juggling a double life until an accident derails his meticulous schedule. The audience are made privy to his ‘little secret’ in the opening scene as two concerned wives simultaneously phone the police regarding the whereabouts of their missing husbands – and describe the one and the same John Smith! The stage is then set for hijinks and mayhem as John (played by Chris Rowley) dashes from one home to the other, desperately struggling to keep his two carefully orchestrated worlds from colliding.
As John endeavours to cover his tracks, his lazy but likeable neighbour Stanley (played by Chris Willetts) becomes his unwitting accomplice, and the preposterous scenarios that ensue make for two hours of nonstop action and light-hearted fun that will have you wondering what can possibly happen next. This play, by Ray Cooney – the uncrowned king of farce, is comedy at its best. Laughs are fuelled by slapstick, physical comedy, double entendre and cases of mistaken identity which cross all boundaries with virtually no holds barred. Joining Chris and Chris on stage are Kathleen Browne and Aideen Clancy as the unsuspecting wives, Martin McNelis and Eoin Sheedy as the police officers investigating the missing persons report, Eoghan Rice as the colourful upstairs neighbour and Helen White as the intrepid reporter.
‘Run for your Wife’ will run for 5 nights from Tuesday April 10th to Saturday April 14th at 8pm nightly in the Oakwood Arms. Tickets are €10 and are available on the door, or can be prebooked on 087 155 3055
