More Sligo Drama Circle Successes

Speaking at Cavan Drama Festival after the Sligo Drama Circle staged “Montserrat”, the adjudicator, Mr. Godfrey Quigley, said he was deeply grateful to the company for their presentation of this play as he had spent 13 or 14 weeks playing it himself, and he was incredibly moved by the Sligo presentation. The play had a lot of faults which made it difficult to present. It was a play of absolutely intense passion. Unfortunately, that night it was lightweight in the first half. To do this play properly it was essential to create emotional tension. The company could do it in the second half and he wondered why they could not have done it in the first half. If the company wanted the play to get the applause and accolades it should get, they would have to work on this lack of tension and lack of tempo in the opening.

“Other than that it was a first-class production from every point of view”, said Mr. Quigley. Dealing with the actors, Mr. Quigley said the standard was extremely high and there was excellent acting by the hostages. Marie Mulvihill, as Matilde, had given a lovely performance while Paddy Dooney, as Silas Ina, and Walter Mc Donagh, as Salcedo, were an example to the cast. T. P. Hayes in the title role showed that he was a very sensitive actor and he had given a beautiful, original performance. It was the best portrayal of the part he had seen.

In the first half of the play, said Mr. Quigley, he did not think that Eddie Mc Dermottroe as Izquierdo had the power to put the part over but it was brilliantly made up for in the second half and he thought that he was the finest Izquierdo he had seen. Mr. Quigley added that Joe Mc Morrow, who had substituted for Dominic Mc Govern as Fr. Coronil, had given a very fine performance for a man who had come in at the last moment.

from The Sligo Champion, April 2nd, 1960