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.
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.
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!
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.