'Plough' brings new talent to Drama Group

The upcoming production of The Plough and the Stars by Kilcullen Drama Group will debut a raft of new players on the Town Hall Theatre's boards, writes Brian Byrne.

They include Wayne Donoghue, Aisling Finnegan, Kevin O’Kelly, Brid Hernon Hoey, Annie Shiffer, Susan Byrne, Peter Ronayne, Rebecca Walsh and Iarlaith Behan.

The play is not about the Easter Rising directly, but is set with it as background to the lives of very ordinary Dublin people.

The original production of O'Casey's examination of the Rising and its effect on ordinary lives was presented a decade after the event. The playwright’s skill is in concentrating on the ordinary people caught up in the short, sharp, and ultimately failed uprising. And in particular, how the women — mothers, sisters, daughters; and the working men — bricklayers, labourers, fitters, carpenters, trade-union activists, and even English squaddies, became pawns, and collateral damage, in a power game beyond their control.

The play has a strong mix of pathos and humour. It will be performed by the Kilcullen Drama Group in The Town Hall Theatre, Kilcullen, between Wednesday 29 March to 6 April, 8pm each night. The traditional Senior Citizens preview is on Tuesday 28 March. Bookings at 045 481497, admission €12, special rates available for groups.