Mid Ulster Drama Festival at Patrician Hall, Carrickmore

On Friday, March 24, the curtain will rise, and the audiences will cheer, as the the 54th Mid-Ulster Drama Festival at The Patrician in Carrickmore, officially opens.

Sponsored by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and directed by Patricia Nugent of Omagh, the 54th festival to-date will run for nine nights in a row, closing on Saturday, April 1, with a special ceremony to present awards to the winners.

A warm welcome awaits this year’s adjudicator, Padraic McIntyre, a native of Bailieboro, Cavan, who is making a return visit to Carrickmore, having previously adjudicated the Mid-Ulster Festival in 2012.

Getting the festival underway on Friday, March 24, is the well-established group, Butt Drama Circle from Ballybofey, with their production of ‘Darkness Echoing’.

Written and directed by Shaun Byrne, the emotive play revolves around the return home to Donegal, of expatriate, Joe, who is visiting his seriously ill father.

Joe, now living in London, is forced to deal with issues related to the death of his young son some years earlier, and is supported by Marie, his father’s home help.

The festival continues on Saturday night (March 25) with Ballyduff Drama Group’s production of ‘The Welkin’ by Lucy Kirkwood.

Ballyduff were last year’s winners of the festival’s premier award, the ‘Blue Riband’, and were also winners of the All-Ireland Open Finals in Athlone.

Set in 1759, The Welkin is a courtroom drama, which examines what happens when 12 ordinary women are co-opted onto a jury that must decide the fate of a young woman, who has been sentenced to hang for murder, but claims to be pregnant, a claim which, if accepted as true, could earn her a commuted sentence.

(Patrons are advised that this play contains strong language, scenes of violence and themes of miscarriage).

Newtownstewart Theatre Company takes to the stage on Sunday, March 26, with ‘Midden’ by Morna Regan.

This sharp, funny and moving play tells the story of five women across three generations. Ruth, who has found success in America as a businesswoman, returns to Northern Ireland, but her arrival home provokes instant strife; opening old scars and revealing incendiary secrets. On Monday, March 27, Theatre 3, Newtownabbey make a welcome return to the festival, with Arthur Miller’s ‘The Price’.

Described as ‘one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written’, this two-act play is about family dynamics, the price of furniture – and the price of one’s decisions.

Founded in 1984, Theatre 3 have made numerous appearances in Ulster, Irish and British finals.

The Pomeroy Players will make the short journey to the Patrician on Tuesday, March 28, to present ‘The Hen Night Epiphany’ by Jimmy Murphy.

With an all-female cast, the play tells the story of what happens when five women come together to help to clear out a run-down cottage before the wedding of its new owner. In this subtle, thoughtful, dark Irish comedy, tension and suspense build through the gradual revelation of the various characters’ secrets.

On Wednesday, March 29, Dundalk Theatre Workshop will stage their production of ‘Faith Healer’ by Brian Friel. The classic drama tells the story of faith healer, Francis Hardy, in four monologues, the first by Hardy himself, followed by his wife, Grace, his manager Teddy and, finally, Hardy again.

These three characters build conflicting impressions of their relationships and experiences, as their slippery accounts do not tally.

On Thursday, March 30, Ballyshannon Drama Society return to the Mid-Ulster Festival, with their production of ‘A Delicate Balance’ by American playwright, Edward Albee.

Awarded the ‘Pulitzer Prize for Drama’ in 1967, this enthralling play explores the paralysis which afflicts those who settle down too easily, and later discover that the choices they have avoided no longer give them any freedom of choice.

Another ‘Pulitzer Prize’-winning play, ‘Proof’ by David Auburn, will be on offer at the Patrician on Friday, March 31, when Glenamaddy Players make a welcome return to the Patrician.

Described as ‘an exhilarating and assured new play that is as accessible and compelling as a detective story’, ‘Proof’ explores the links between genius and madness, family relationships – and the elusive nature of truth.

Closing the festival on Saturday, April 1 are former Blue Riband and Al Ireland Open Finals winners, Prosperous Dramatic Society, with their production of David Mamet’s tough, unflinching play, ‘Oleanna’.

The play explores the explosive consequences of a sexual harassment claim made by a female student against her male college professor.

A tense, timely thriller has an additional resonance for today’s audiences, following the rise of the ‘#MeToo’ movement.

Speaking to the Tyrone Herald, Barry McElduff, chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, described the Mid-Ulster Drama Festival as a ‘major highlight in Tyrone’s arts and culture calendar’.

“Many people are so looking forward to this year’s 54th Mid Ulster Drama Festival; I, too, am one of those people,” Barry said. “I say this as chairperson of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, which is the Festival’s main sponsor, and also as a local person, with strong family and community connections to the festival, and to the Patrician Hall.

“We were privileged to be brought up with the cultural wealth of the Mid-Ulster Drama Festival,” he added. “It has grown significantly over the decades, and audiences have developed and widened.

“I wish every success to Patricia Nugent, festival director, and to the wider festival committee this year.”

“Audiences from wide and far will come along this year to support the drama companies on stage, and socialise with friends, old and new,” he added. “It’s fantastic to have it back in its full glory of nine nights.

“Live plays and live theatre are hard to beat when it comes to entertainment.”

BOOKING INFORMATION

Season or nightly tickets can be booked by contacting the Festival Box Office on 028 8076 1906, which is open daily from Monday, March 20 to Saturday, April 1 between 10am and 5pm.

Season tickets are excellent value at £50 for all nine nights, and nightly tickets are priced at £8.