Drama Festival concludes as Estuary Players retain title

The 57th RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival concluded on Saturday night last, as the Estuary Players from Baldoyle, Dublin, became only the third group in the history of the event to retain the top prize. This year"s event was 'hugely successful' according to Festival Director Billy Nott, who agreed with adjudicator Scott Marshall that the standard of the performances has 'never been as strong.' After the curtain went down on the last of the nine plays staged this year - Neil Simon"s "Plaza Suite" performed by Newtownabbey"s Theatre 3 company - attendees moved from the Dean Crowe Theatre to the Radisson SAS Hotel for the Festival Awards ceremony on Saturday. The Estuary Players" three-hour performance of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by American playwright Stephen Adli Guirgis profoundly impressed adjudicator Scott Marshall, who declared it a worthy winner of the 2009 festival. Set in 'Downtown Purgatory' the ambitious play considers the case for and against Judas Iscariot. The Baldoyle group was the first to perform the play in Ireland. Its performance at the festival took place on Sunday, May 2. The Estuary Players (who won the 2008 festival with 'The Price' by Arthur Miller) are now one of three groups to have won the title in successive years, with the others being The Runners, Tullamore, in 1956 and 1957, and Enniscorthy Theatre Group in 1996 and 1997. Meanwhile, the sole cast member in Marie Jones" "A Night in November", William Lyons of the Shoestring Theatre Company, took home the "Best Actor" prize this year for his outstanding performance as Kenneth McAllister. The "Best Actress" award went to Elaine Jordan of Bunclody/Kilmyshall Drama Group for her performance as Vera O"Toole in "The Wake" by Tom Murphy, while Silken Thomas Players won Best Stage Lighting and Best Stage Setting for a production of "Equus" by Peter Shaffer. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Mr Nott said that there was a massive level of interest in this year"s festival. 'From a box-office perspective it was hugely successful,' he stated. 'There were maybe a couple of empty seats during the first nights of the festival, but, by and large, it was a case of full houses every night. I was inundated with phone calls from people from all over the country who were looking for tickets. The festival has established itself as a huge attraction and every year its profile seems to get bigger and bigger. 'The adjudicator said that the standard of the productions this year was as good as you"d see on a professional stage and I would agree with that,' he said. 'We had a lot of very challenging plays this year, such as "Equus" and the overall winner, "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot." I think the standard has never been as strong.' RTE has agreed to sponsor the festival for the next five years and Mr Nott said that, in light of this news, the future of the festival was looking good. 'To have a prestigious sponsor like RTE gives the festival a huge lift and the coverage that they provide us with is invaluable,' he said. At the awards ceremony last weekend, committee member Shay Ellis acknowledged the support of management and staff at the Dean Crowe Theatre, as well as the municipal authorities and the local and national media. And while this year"s event has just ended, the committee is already starting to turn its attention to the 2010 festival. 'We"re going to have a "lessons learned" meeting this Friday and another the following Friday,' said Mr Nott. 'Planning the festival is almost a twelve-month operation, so we"ll take a break for the summer and then we"ll be back into the planning of next year"s festival from September onwards.' 2009 All Ireland Drama Festival: The full list of winners: * RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival Perpetual Trophy Estuary Players "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis Directed by Myra Maguire * Best Director Myra Maguire Estuary Players "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" * Best Actor William Lyons Shoestring Theatre Company (Kenneth McAllister) "A Night in November" * Best Actress Elaine Jordan Bunclody/Kilmyshall Drama Group (Vera O"Toole) "The Wake" * Best Supporting Actor Brendan Hughes Estuary Players (St Peter/Sigmund Freud) "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot!" * Best Supporting Actress Josephine Byrne Bunclody/Kilmyshall Drama Group (Mary Jane) "The Wake" * Best Stage Setting Silken Thomas Players "Equus" * Best Stage Lighting Silken Thomas Players "Equus" * Best Stage Management Bunclody/Kilmyshall Drama Group "The Wake" * DLI Summer School Scholarship Judy McKeever Balally Players (Agnes)"The Great Hunger" * Gormanstown Summer School Scholarship Colin Malone Silken Thomas Players (Alan Strang) "Equus"