O’Casey classic opens new season in Athlone Little Theatre

Athlone Little Theatre’s new season of drama kicks off with a bona fide theatre masterpiece – ‘Juno and the Paycock’ by Sean O’Casey – from Friday, October 17 to Friday, October 24. The performance on Sunday, October 19 will be a matinée at 3pm.

Director Paddy Martin has assembled a top-class cast of 14, a mix of established talent and some newcomers to ALT, and a hard-working crew to bring this classic back to the stage in Athlone Little Theatre for the first time since 1945.

The second in O’Casey’s acclaimed Dublin trilogy, ‘Juno and the Paycock’ was first staged in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1924, following ‘The Shadow of the Gunman’ (1923) and prior to ‘The Plough and the Stars’ (1926).

Set in the slums of the capital during the Civil War, the play tells the story of the Boyle family struggling to survive the realities of tenement life. Jack Boyle (Pat Canty) and his pal Joxer (Joe Brady) would rather spend their time drinking than looking for work to support their families.

Boyle is a fantasist who's styled himself a captain of the high seas, and he regales his crafty companion with maritime tales to comedic effect.

Meanwhile, matriarch and breadwinner Juno (Edel Moriarty) does everything in her power to hold her clan together, including son John (Declan Finn) and daughter Mary (Emma Harmon), in the face of plenty of adversity and challenges.

They are joined by a stellar cast of fantastic Dublin characters, including Mrs Maisie Madigan (Chrissie Killian), ‘Needle’ Nugent (Dermot McElwain), Mrs Tancred (Elaine Walsh), Jerry Devine (Sean Doyle) and Charlie Bentham, played by Charlie McKeown. Linda Butler and Ronan Flynn are an Irregular mobiliser and Irregular, respectively, while Ronan McGrane and Aidan Ruane make up the large cast in several smaller roles.

At times poetic, poignant and hilarious, ‘Juno and the Paycock’ is a dramatic triumph that reflects on a mother’s resilience in the midst of life’s most trying moments.

As usual the first night benefits a local charity, and this time around Athlone Little Theatre is delighted to announce that the Athlone branch of St Vincent de Paul is the beneficiary of the proceeds of Friday, October 17.

To buy tickets for the first night ONLY, contact Tom at 087 7970628. For tickets for all other nights, go to www.athlonelittletheatre.ie