Drama: Looking back and Forward

In November 1994 the reborn Drama Group staged a production of Ray Cooney’s play, Run for your Wife in the new Town Hall in Kilcullen. The play concerned the activities of a sex-mad taxi driver (played by Bernard Berney, I ask ye!!) who had two wives, one living in Blackrock and one living in Stillorgan (guess where most of the activity took place?) This bigamist arrangement mirrored a somewhat unhealthy relationship that was to develop between the Drama Group and Ray Cooney.



We presented another five of his plays during the following years. There was also some more serious Drama on show, Big Maggie in 1996; Da in 1997; The Cripple of Inishmaan in 1998; Lovers at Versailles in 2002 and The Memory of Water in 2004.

In 2003 we presented the Sean O’Casey classic Juno and the Paycock. This play, is about the lives of a tenement family and their friends viewed against the background of the Irish Civil War. Typical of O’Casey a very serious story was suffused with tremendous humour, and Juno was one of the most popular plays we presented in the past thirteen years.

Encouraged by this response the group decided to attempt another O’Casey play this year. So on Friday 13th April 2007 we stage The Shadow of a Gunman. Once again the story is set in a Dublin tenement, this time the background to the events is the Black and Tan war. In such a grim and dreary setting Sean O’Casey, once more, creates tremendously comic situations. His genius is, partly, his ability to weave great humour and deep tragedy into a story and yet leave an audience quite unconfused. This play, I predict, will be another runaway success.

Proceeds from the opening night will go the The Senior Citizens Association., and all our Senior Citizens are invited to attend, as our guests, on the Gala Opening Night, Friday 13th April. The play will run until Saturday 21st April.

Book by phoning Bernard Berney at 045 481497.

Philomena Breslin.

Summary of Play

One of Sean O’Caseys trilogy plays, The Shadow of a Gunman was first produced in the Abbey Theatre in 1923. The play is set during the war of Independence and revolves around the would-be poet, Donal Davoren, who is attracted to the idea of being mistaken for an IRA gunman. The play shows off Casey’s ability in characterisation as an array of Dublin characters presented. However, in typical O’Casey fashion, the comedy is underscored by the tragic outcome.

It tells the story of the verbal sparring partners Donal Davoren and Sheamus Shiels which are played by John Coleman and Philip Cummins. Lettitia Hanratty plays the part of the brave Minnie Powel.

Supporting roles are played by Nessa Dunlea, Bernard Berney, Siobhain Murphy Fergal Sloan, Maurice O’Mahony, Roy Thompson Dick Dunphy and Vivian Clarke.

The Shadow of a Gunman is directed by John Martin, who first produced a play for Kilcullen Drama Group in 1972 called The Wood of the Whispering , by MJ Molloy. it is note worthy that two of that cast, Nessa Dunlea and Dick Dunphy, who performed then are now in the current production.

The Asssistant Director of the play is Eilish Phillips.