Alfresco outing for Athlone Little Theatre
Members of Athlone Little Theatre make a welcome and long-awaited return to the boards with a live outdoor performance of Lady Gregory's classic comedy one-act play 'Spreading the News' which will be staged in Athlone Castle on Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29, with two performances each afternoon at 3pm and 4.30pm. This will be repeated the following weekend on Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5 at the same times.
Athlone Little Theatre is very grateful to Athlone Castle for allowing them to stage their first live show since the very successful production of 'Relatively Speaking' by Alan Ayckbourn back in February, 2020. This one-act play will be performed outdoors at a specially designated space on the castle grounds with limited audience space in keeping with Covid restrictions.
Gossip and misunderstanding leads to plenty of high-jinks in this classic farce by Lady Augusta Gregory, who first staged the play for the opening of the Abbey Theatre over a century ago. She deftly uses a market setting in rural Ireland to show the plight of the hapless Bartley Fallon (Rory Chadwick/Paul Slevin) who becomes the victim of fake news spread by the hard of hearing Mrs Tarpey (Chrissie Killian/Leona Burke) and her gossip-hungry neighbours.
All of the action happens just as a new magistrate (Billy Nott/John McGlynn) arrives to town to inspect stalls expecting the worst from the general populace.
Directed expertly by Joe MacCarrick, the experienced cast also includes Malcolm Whelan, Michael McGlone, Ruth Benson, Anthony Merrigan, Olive Martin and Saoirse Mulvihill. Athlone Little Theatre is delighted to welcome several newcomers to the stage for this special outdoor production, including Sinead Handy as Mrs Fallon, Pete MacDonagh as Tim Casey, Rory Chadwick (Bartley Fallon) and Linda Butler (Biddy Ryan). Character Coach is Ray Collins, while Pete MacDonagh is also the Stage Manager. Looking after costumes and props is Jill Moran.
With such a huge appetite to see live performances again, this Athlone Little Theatre play, the first in more than 18 months, is sure to be a hit with local audiences over the two weekends.
Pre-booking is essential and is ONLY available online at www.athlonelittletheatre.ie for this production which is weather permitting and with a much-reduced capacity.
Admission is €5. Exact change on the door please. As this is an outdoor production, attendees are asked to dress appropriately for the weather and be in their seats 15 minutes before the performance begins.
This production of 'Spreading the News' by Lady Augusta Gregory will be staged in line with Covid-19 public health guidelines.
Athlone Little Theatre acknowledges the kind support of Westmeath County Council and Athlone Credit Union.