Local writer’s first play to be staged in Tuar Ard

Stage Door Productions, a new theatre group based in Athlone, will stage their first play on Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29 in Tuar Ard Arts Centre, Moate at 8pm.

‘Care’ by local playwright Declan Finn tells the hilarious story of Tim meeting his new homecare assistant Ray for their first day together. Ray is an experienced home care assistant. Tim, with a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue, is reluctantly in receipt of some private home care hours. Join them on their first hilarious session together as Ray tries to navigate how to do his best for Tim.

According to writer Declan Finn, “The last 30 seconds of the play is the first thing I thought of, and I built the play around that sequence. The premise of the play is that the audience get to spend the hour with Ray and Tim and get to peek behind the hall door as these two people try to negotiate how this interaction will work best for them”.

Two seasoned performers, Declan and Martin Kellegher, originally from Cork but residing in Athlone for over 20 years, will take the audience straight through their hilarious hour together without an interval, as Ray tries to encourage Tim to try new things, and Tim tries to encourage Ray to leave him alone.

Martin and Declan have appeared on stage together on a few occasions and although their last performance was a number of years ago, their chemistry for comedy came back to them very easily in the rehearsal process.

“Martin is a great actor with sharp comic timing and the ability to hold the audience in the palm of his hand. I was delighted when he answered the call and took the chance on some new writing from a first-timer.”

After writing the play on and off over twelve months, Declan felt the time was right to start telling people about it.

“I thought if I told people, I might have to do something with it! Giving it to the first person to read was the most daunting because if my wife didn’t like it or didn’t think it was funny, I knew that was the end of the road! However, she thought there was something in it so I sent it to a trusted director friend in Dublin and his voice note of notes spurred me on.”

Declan, and all at Stage Door Productions, are very grateful for the goodwill shown to them in the build up to staging the play and he particularly wants to mention his friends at Athlone Little Theatre for many of the set pieces and their generous offer of a rehearsal space.