What the adjudicator, Irene O’Meara, said!! (Or what we think she said!)  

To see her comments on a specific play click the play name 

‘Night, Mother (Palace Players, Fermoy. Director: Liam Howard)  

‘Night, Mother is not alone a two-hander but is also without interval and its basic subject matter is nothing less than suicide. Little surprise then that this is a most demanding play for players, director and audiences alike. Adjudicator Irene O’Meara felt that the director Liam Howard discovered the struggle for control and for power that is at the heart of this drama and that it was, in the main, brought forth satisfactorily by his cast of Noelle Clarke and Kate Quirke. These are two most demanding roles and each was performed with sensitivity and significance with Noelle’s performance as Mama, in particular, being suitably heart-felt and emotional. With a few small reservations, the adjudicator felt the visual presentation of the play was excellent – sets, furniture, costumes etc being spot on and giving an appropriate sense of isolation and despair. Overall, while she felt that there could, at times, have been a little more tension as well as more variety in tone, pitch and pace, she agreed that this was a fine start to the Festival by Palace Players  

The Lonesome West (Ennis Players. Director: Geraldine Greene)  

The wonderful black comedy by Martin McDonagh telling the slightly less than loving relationship of brothers Coleman and Valene in their isolated backwater in the heart of Connemara . The adjudicator’s initial comments rested on the wonderful set which gripped all the senses and which very much spoke of staleness and stench and a great sense of dramatic non-realism. The overall presentation was very strong, though a little more care would need to be taken with one or two of the costumes which meant that characters drifted slightly into the background. Equally, the lighting was top class with just one or two very correctable effects being slightly mis-located. In the seeking out of the absurdity (or perhaps, reality) of these lives and in representing this constant antagonism and gnawing lack of love, director Geraldine Greene “knows what she is doing”. But she had a very strong cast and, in particular, “two fine men” for the two main roles. She had special praise for Jackie Scanlan in the role of Valene which she described as “a great role played greatly”. However, all the other performances also had strength and purpose and fine playing by Hugh Gallagher(Coleman), Joe Varden (Fr Welsh) and Ailbhe McMahon (Girleen)

The Crucible (Ballyduff Drama Group. Director: Geraldine Canning)  

A big classic drama from the pen of Arthur Miller. As adjudicator Irene O’Meara said, it is a huge dramatic work which needs courage, strength, sensibility and oomph in order to carry it off. Under the skilled direction of Geraldine Canning and with a great sense of ensemble playing, for the most part Ballyduff got it very right. It is a tale about authority, about church and state. Initially the cracks begin to appear and very soon things get panicky. The set needs to bring a rustic feral feel to us and it certainly did that, though perhaps being almost too perfect at times for its 17^th Century setting. Save for a colour or two and a visible zip or two, the costumes were spot on and she had similar comments on the lighting. From a performance perspective, the adjudicator was particularly taken with the playing of the young girls who operated with great discipline and were “directed meticulously”. She made special mention of the performances of Sally O’Leary and Sile Heneghan but there were many fine other performances including Brendan Dunlea as John Proctor, especially in the later confrontational scenes. This was a show needing to be filled with tension and with excellent timing and pacing. In large part, Ballyduff got it right  

The Weir (Kilmeen Drama Group. Director: Tim Coffey)

In this play, the author Conor McPherson takes us on a journey from a life of simplicity and ease to a very different world. In the hands of an inexperienced director, without an ear for idiom, this could be indeed a very difficult trip. However, Tim Coffey’s direction was top class and adjudicator Irene O’Meara said a “hats off” to a lovely production. It was played on a well-designed realistic set with much authentic detail and with the sepia colours of faded memories. She questioned one or two little lighting details but overall the presentation was excellent and she made special mention of the design team of William O’Regan and Felix Daly. The performances were also top class but much of this had to do with the director’s sense of pace and timing, with a lovely gentle pace at the beginning, exploiting silences and pauses, and then gradually building tempo and tension. However, each of the actors, each very different, also contributed handsomely to the overall execution of the piece. Each had a tale to tell and told it well though Irene was particularly taken with the story-telling prowess of Donie Walsh as Jim. Overall, she wondered about the appropriateness of the Cork accents and about some profile playing but complemented the cast which also included Denis O’Sullivan (Brendan), Denis O’Mahony (Jack), Declan Price (Finbarr) and Nora Scannell (Valerie). This is a play, said Irene where we needed to be sucked in and then sucked back out again and, indeed, we were. “Tomorrow”, said Ms. O’Meara, “I suspect I’ll be thinking of fairies ……”  

Dancing at Lughnasa (Conna Drama Group. Director: Emer Martin)  

Brian Friel’s masterpiece. Always a most challenging piece for an amateur group but with many nuances which many rural groups can understand and find empathy with. The adjudicator said that the set was fine – it had that lived-in feel and that all the cast members were comfortable in it. However, she said that while all the elements were individually ok, they didn't quite all gel together and needed more feminine touches. She also requested that the group re-look at the cyclorama lighting as well as the mixed set of accents. Overall, however, she said that the group and its director Emer Martin had got to the core of the Friel memory-play and had created a very believable piece of stagecraft. With small reservations, she felt that the main performances were genuine and had a true family feel to them. She had particular praise for Niamh McAuley as Agnes which part she said was “really sensitively played”. However, all the rest of the cast were also deserving of credit for their characterisations including George Peet (Gerry), Anne Barry (Kate), Assumpta Mangan (Maggie), Anne Gough (Rose), Gemma Barry (Chris), Phillip Peet (Michael) and Brendan Hurley (Jack). Some of the reservations she had were included Gerry’s inability to dance – “let him dance, and let him dance well”. However, the general sense of sensitive but energetic characterisation more than compensated for any of the reservations. Overall – Irene thought they worked well together with the “sisters” being believable as sisters, with lots of energy in the 'mad' moments and the sensitive moments being gently handled and the others providing solid and convincing support  

Same Old Moon (Brideview Drama Group. Director: Jack Aherne)  

This Geraline Aron comedy-drama is an ambitious work on many levels with many scenes and many parts and with an intricate mix of comedy and pathos. And while it is vital that we get the gags and the laughs it is also vital that “we should feel for Brenda Barnes – we should want her to succeed”. So said adjudicator, Irene Barnes, in her adjudication while acknowledging that, in many respects, Brideview, and director Jack Aherne, had got it right. She loved the set, with its overall modernity complemented and supported by the more traditional props and furniture. Generally, the visual aspect of the play was strong but with a few of the costumes – especially the men’s – not quite having the authenticity of the others. She stressed, however, that these were small points of finesse in an otherwise fine presentation. She was very impressed with performance, especially with many people playing a number of roles, and picked out John Baldwin (Desmond) and Vanessa Hyde (Mother Superior) receiving special mention. However, she heaped significant praise on Rachel O’Connell for her performance as Brenda Barnes and she said that, from the very start, she felt that the role was in very safe hands – “she was going to deliver!” She also was highly complementary of the music which accompanied the show – both for its choice and its operation. Overall, however, the adjudicator would have wished for more empathy, feeling that it “was gagged up a little” and played for laughs more than for poignancy  

The Seafarer (Thurles Drama Group. Director: Margaret McCormack)

The return home, on Christmas Eve, of “Sharky” to look after his ageing and irascible brother Richie. Funny at times but mainly infused with a blackness as all the badness and goodness of an alcohol-induced world come to bear on Sharky and his companions. At the core of this play, says Irene O’Meara, is the lack of love and caring that so often exists in these alcoholic male-dominated worlds. The director, Margaret McCormack, in the main, got the mood right. She certainly, as the adjudicator said, “got the most out of those boys”. There was no sagging of pace and there was good movement throughout. And all this was achieved on a set which spoke of grime and ugliness and was very well designed, as was the lighting and with a very good costume design. Generally, the acting was of a high quality though, once or twice, it wasn’t quite sustained from beginning to end. She made particular mention of the performances of Pat Loughnane as Sharky and Liam Ryan in the very difficult role of the blind Richard

Poor Beast in the Rain (Skibbereen Theatre Society. Director: Fachtna O’Droscoll)

Part of Billy Roche’s Wexford Trilogy telling the story of the return of Danger Doyle to a Wexford town on the weekend of the All-Ireland Hurling Final. Gritty stuff which ranges from high comedy to utter despair. Adjudicator, Irene O’Meara, felt that the group failed overall to get the essence of the play even though there were some good performances and some good moments. The betting-office set was reasonably ok even though it could have done with being more claustrophobic and the costumes were generally adequate. “The overall production suffered from a bit of overacting and a bit of under-acting”, said O’Meara, while never quite getting the balance right. Some of the performances were believable though some lacked a genuine empathy for the characters, but they were not helped at times by the large set, the very time-consuming scene changes and a general lack of good pacing. From an acting perspective she liked Carmel O’Driscoll as Molly and Donagh Long as Danger though she “never quite got the swagger from him that this character deserves”

Portia Coughlan (Bridge Drama. Director: Pat Whelan)

A harsh but touching tale from the pen of Marina Carr. Based in the bleak Midlands landscape of the Belmount River area, Portia Coughlan is haunted by the death of her twin brother. She longs to escape, but she is as inextricably tied to this place as she is chained to her grim memories. “The writing of Carr” said Adjudicator, Irene O’Meara “is as much infused with poetry as it is with the basic bleak language of everyday” And it is vital that the linguistic textures are realised in order to reach into the heart of her plays. Bridge Drama, under the direction of Pat Whelan, generally got it right and gave to us a very engaging and genuine production of this work. “Portia has a long and lonesome journey” says O’Meara “and we have to travel that journey with her”. The set was satisfactory with good textures and lighting effects on much but she felt that more could be done with the living area, especially with the black flats. Generally speaking, the flat Midlands accent was achieved and sustained. Most of the time, Director, Pat Whelan got the moods but once or twice the adjudicator wanted a little more tension. “I wanted it in my gut and not just in my intellect”. She was generally satisfied with the performances though sometimes she wished that she would get “just a little bit more”. She was particularly taken with Mairead Ryan as Portia whose performance Irene described as “sheer class”

The Memory of Water (Holycross/Ballycahill Drama Group. Director: Pat McGrath)

 Sorry! I was unavoidably absent for the adjudication. General comment was of a reasonably ok production with satisfactory acting performances. However, it was paced too slowly for the adjudicator’s liking and lacked some empathy and bite.