Summer Theatre Season Starts

Alderman Seán Mc Manus, Mayor, formally opened Sligo Drama Circle’s Summer Theatre in Sligo Town Hall on Thursday night last. He spoke of the need for visitor entertainment in the town and reminded the audience of Sligo’s long tradition in drama. He hoped this Summer Season was a first step towards establishing a Little Theatre in the town and he promised to do everything in the town he could to hep to achieve this.

Thursday night’s plays were “Shadow of a Gunman” and “The Pot of Broth”. The O’Casey play was uncomfortably topical, having listened to the radio and TV news over the previous weekend and it was difficult to watch the arms raid and listen to the talk of ambushes and killing without thinking of Derry and Belfast. “The Pot of Broth” was exactly right from the old show business maxim – send them home laughing. It was extremely funny. The plays were very well received by the audience who were mostly visitors. It was encouraging to see so many holiday-makers present and to feel their obvious enjoyment of the night’s entertainment. It is to be hoped, however, that local people will support the venture. While the provision of worthwhile entertainment for visitors is a major object of Summer Theatre, the Drama Circle hopes that it will become a valuable part of the cultural life of the town.

The members of the Drama Circle are excited about the extended season. It is the biggest thing they have undertaken since the Circle was founded and if this season is a success it could be the beginning of all the year round theatre in Sligo. With almost thirty players and two producers involved, the resources of the Drama Circle are by no means exhausted. A number of parts have been double cast as some of the players were unable to play for the whole season. There is no reason, then, why the Circle should not consider a long winter season.

A feature of Thursday night’s show was the assured, confident playing of the younger members of the cast. A number of these young people are graduates of the Innisfree Players, which grew, I think, out of the Youth Clubs in the town. There are worse ways of spending a long, hot summer than learning lines and attending rehearsals. One final word. The backstage people got the show started in fairly good time and more important, ,maybe, the final curtain came down to give ample time for a quick pint! “Sive” gets its first showing tonight (Thursday) and for the next five or six weeks the plays will run each Wednesday and Thursday nights. And finally, look out for some striking art posters on display around the town. The artist is Misha O’ Reilly.

from The Sligo Champion, by A Special Correspondent, July 10th, 1970