Banteer Drama Group
The venue is home to Banteer Drama Group, who has performed many plays here over the past number of years including: ‘The field’, ‘Sharons Grave’ and ‘The Chastitute’ by John B Keane; ‘Juno and the Paycock’ by Sean O’Casey; Hugh Leonard’s ‘Da’ and many more.
The membership of the group currently stands at approximatly 40 and is growing annually. It comprises of all age groups from teenagers, who frequently join following their experience of amateur drama in school, right up to the senior citizens!
In 2000, the group extended its repertoire and introduced comedy, in order to cater for the varied tastes of the increasing audiences. For the past four years, the group has performed a 2/3 act comedy in the spring, followed by three one act plays each autumn that range from the tragic to the hilarious.
Each year the group competes in the Ballincollig Festival of One-Act Plays with ongoing success. October 2004, was no exception, when the group secured the Adjudicators Prize with the premier of local playwright Mary Gaffney’s ‘Any Other Business’ and also the ‘Best supporting Actress’ over the four day festival.
For many years the Group have traveled to various venues in England with their 2/3 act productions and have performed in the Bournemouth Centre for Community Arts in Boscombe for the past four years.
There has been an amazing increase in audience attendances each year.
“Last year the two act comedy ‘Ir Runs in the Family’ by Ray Cooney ran for a total of nineteen perfomances including two in England and one in at Listowel Writers Week”
The Group are also involved in Youth Drama with members giving of their time voluntarily to facilitate weekly drama classes for children between the ages of eight and fourteen years. The children in turn stage four sketches at the season. A Drama workshop was also held for children in July 2004.
could i have details of current productions
It’s that time of year again folks when Banteer Drama Group take to the stage with their latest offering. The group have been in rehearsal for the past number of months and have taken a departure from their annual one-act plays in favour of a three-act production, ‘The Destiny of Fools’.Written by Mitchelstown man, Michael Dennehy, this play tells the story of publicans, Timmy and Kate O’Grady and the upheaval caused by the return of their wayward daughter, Nancy from England. Set in West Cork in the 1950’s, we meet the various locals in the sibin nestled at the foot of an imposing mountain, a mountain to which Kate has a strange and unhealthy attachment.
The cast of 20 features some of the group’s best known and established actors and also introduces some new talent to the stage.