Nine plays to be performed at All-Ireland Drama Festival
It's 'curtain up' time as the RTÉ All-Ireland Drama Festival 2026 takes centre stage in the Dean Crowe Theatre Athlone from tonight (Thursday, April 30) until Friday, May 8.
Nine amateur drama groups will contest for the RTÉ Perpetual Trophy, which will be awarded to the overall winner at a gala awards ceremony in the Radisson Hotel Athlone on Saturday, May 9.
The 2026 Plays
Opening proceedings are Balally Players, who present the 2022 play ‘Heaven’ by Eugene O’Brien. Directed by Seán Murphy, the play tells of Mal and Mairead, a middle-aged couple attending a family wedding. What starts off as a simple trip home becomes a moment of reckoning.
On Friday, May 1, at 8pm, Wexford Drama Group, directed by Linda Hynes, will perform ‘Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me’ written by Frank McGuinness. The play is about three men held captive in a Lebanese jail The play is loosely based on the true story of journalist Brian Keenan.
On Saturday, May 2, at 8pm, Kilmeen Drama Group, directed by Denis O’Sullivan, take to the stage to present Enda Walsh’s ‘Ballyturk’ the absurdist, high-energy play that explores the fragility of existence, the nature of memory, and the inevitability of death.
Sunday, May 3, sees Bunclody Kilmyshall Drama Group, directed by Kieran Tyrell, presenting ‘Da’ by Hugh Leonard. The play revolves around the living memories of Charlie, a grown man who returns home to Ireland after the death of his father only to find the old man’s presence is still very much alive.
On Monday, May 4, Ballycogley Players directed by Brigid Scully, will perform ‘All My Sons’ by Arthur Miller. Joe Keller strives to keep the truth of an old crime in the distant past. However, long buried truths are forced to surface and ultimately the American Dream comes tumbling down for Joe and those close to him.
Dalkey Players, directed by Emma Jane Nulty, take to the stage on Tuesday, May 5, at 8pm. They will present ‘Sive’ the classic masterpiece written by John B. Keane. Sive is a story of greed and bitterness, of a scheming matchmaker and a resentful woman, forcing a young girl to marry a much, much older man.
Meanhile, on Wednesday, May 6, Brideview Drama Group, directed by Jack Aherne, will also present ‘Da’. 2026 is Hugh Leonard’s centenary year.
The penultimate night of theatre, Thursday, May 7, at 8pm, sees Bridge Drama, directed by Susan Somers, present ‘Things I Know to Be True’ an acclaimed 2016 play by Andrew Bovell, exploring the complex dynamics of a suburban family facing challenging truths over one year.
Closing the festival on Friday, May 8, Corofin Dramatic Society, directed by John Clancy, will perform the Pulitzer Prize winning ‘Wit’ by Margaret Edison. At its heart, Wit tells the story of Vivian Bearing, a brilliant and formidable professor of metaphysical poetry, who undergoes treatment for advanced ovarian cancer.