Booking open for 'The Cavalcaders'

Tickets are now on sale for 'The Cavalcaders', which will be presented by Kilcullen Drama Group at the end of the month, writes Brian Byrne.

The play, by Wexford writer Billy Roche, is directed by Letitia Hanratty and is unusual in that there's a musical element, potentially a test both for the actors and for the audience — though we suspect the melodics will have been well sorted by the opening night, thanks to the musical direction of Monica Martin.

The setting is an old shoemaker's shop, where the owner is retiring and reminiscing with his colleagues about their years together. Not just as cobblers, but also as a 'Shoemaker Shop Quartet' who have a sideline as semi professional musicians.

The stories told by the 'men on the last' reflect complicated lives that include mental illness, failed romances, and emotional instability ... but leavened by humour and the occasional song rehearsal.

The cast comprises familiar and new performers, with Fergal Sloan, Maurice O'Mahony, Phillip Cummins and Padraig Dunne holding the male and musical elements and Eilis Phillips with Aideen Delahunt as the women trying to keep things in some semblance of order.

Listen, it's going to be good, people. The dates are 27 and 28 November, and 2, 3, 4 and 5 December. Mark in your diaries and book, €10 a seat, from Berneys Chemist.