Celebrating 75 years of Athlone Little Theatre

At the end of February, the group undertakes a very ambitious new venture in the shape of one of the first ever amateur productions of Conor McPherson's groundbreaking new play, The Seafarer. This production by Paddy Martin is deep into rehearsals at the moment and local audiences are promised an experience that is both chilling and hilarious. Prior to that, the Little Theatre and its immense contribution to the life of Athlone will be celebrated at a civic reception, kindly hosted in the Civic Offices by Athlone Town Council, where the current chairman and members of the group will be honoured in place of those who have gone before and accept a tribute to a truly unique local legacy. This very special ceremony takes place on February 1 next. On February 5, the group will celebrate the 75th with a special event of its own – a gala ball in the Sheraton Hotel. This unique evening will feature presentations to a number of Little Theatre stalwarts who have each completed a staggering 50 years in the service of local drama. There will be anecdotes and vignettes galore, and a chance to spend a memorable night in the company of old friends. Tickets for this much anticipated pageant of local history and hilarity are on sale at €50, and a limited number are still available. But it is most fitting that the 75th anniversary is marked on the stage that has been the dream factory, the fulcrum of the Little Theatre since 1965. To that end, the group invites its supporters to join them at the theatre with a most unusual production entitled Curtain Calls. As part of this event, six separate directors and casts will be presenting highlights from previous golden ages of Athlone Little Theatre, with excerpts performed from six of the group's most successful and memorable productions. The plays on offer will include Translations, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Chastitute and The Return Room, a moving play written by one of the most significant figures in the history of the group, Aileen Coughlan. The story of the Little Theatre began with a small meeting in a room of the Bon Bon Restaurant in 1936. Reflecting the close relationship between Athlone and the Defence Forces, the founding father of the longest surviving amateur drama group in Athlone was one Capt Michael Cosgrove, of the Army Signal Corps. The first play presented by the fledgling group was a comedy called The New Gossoon, by the Ulster playwright George Shiels. In those days, the Little Theatre didn't have a home of its own, so the Army kindly stepped in again, offering a temporary stage in the Gymnasium of Custume Barracks, and an unbroken record of performance was begun. Curiously, that first year of Athlone Little Theatre's existence saw four plays being produced. This was a hectic schedule that the group continues to emulate today, something which continues to mark the Little Theatre out as unique among amateur drama groups. Back in the 1930's, the torch of producer was passed from Capt Cosgrove to a young lady named Aileen Coughlan. Still a character much revered throughout Athlone and beyond, Aileen became the Little Theatre's dominant figure for most of the next 50 years. There is hardly a single member above a certain age who doesn't have at least ten Aileen stories. She shaped the course of the group for decades, and made a lasting impression on many of the people who passed through it. The Little Theatre played a key part in the establishment of the All Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone in 1953, and seven years later, Mel O'Flynn – now the Theatre's President – won the gold medal for Best Actress at the Festival, for her performance in Aileen Coughlan's production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution. A key milestone in the history of the group was the construction of its very own home, a purpose built theatre in St Mary's Place in 1965. This building had once served as a small Church of Ireland national school. It was converted to a theatre through the voluntary sweat, hard work and genius of the Little Theatre's own members, and fittingly, the first play presented in the new theatre was Aileen Coughlan's The Return Room. Today, as in 1936, the Little Theatre continues to serve as an outlet for talented people of all ages, bitten by the bug of live performance. It continues to produce plays to a standard which is admired and envied by other groups. It boasts actors and directors of singular talent and in recent years has served as an outlet for new and emerging playwrights.