Iontas Theatre Event Guide Jan - May 2020

Í NTAS THEATRE WHATS ON WINTER

AND SPRING 2020

MUSIC THEATRE FILM CONFERENCE CAFE-BAR

Í

NTAS

ARTS & COMMUNITY CENTRE

MEETING ROOMS The ideal event space with 8 fully equipped meeting rooms

CONFERENCE Accommodating up to 308 people.

Car parking 280 spaces

EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Our professional team and technical support take care of you

RECEPTION AREAS Converse in our Café, Bar, Gallery or Foyer. Outdoor space available.

OCCASIONS Weddings, Communions, Confirmations, Christmas Parties, Staff Parties, Birthdays, Family Parties & Family Events

Íontas Arts & Community Centre - home to everyone.

Whether you are attending one of the performances at our renowned Íontas Theatre or attending dance class, getting creative in our arts room, catching an exhibition in our gallery space, attending music practice, rehearsals or an afterschool club, learning to cook or using the centre to study after school – everyone is welcome. We are a Conference Centre and are also home to the Gallery Café, Íontas Crèche, and Íontas Day Care. We are proud to facilitate other tenants that also do invaluable work for the community including Castleblayney Library, Blayney Blades, the Moving On programme, Castleblayney Trust, Muckno Community Employment and Castleblayney Gardens.

(042) 9753400/01

www.iontascastleblayney.ie

arts@iontascastleblayney.ie

@iontastheatre

facebook.com/iontastheatre

@iontastheatre

COMEDY

JANUARY

PAT SHORTT

HEY! NATIONAL TOUR 2020 Date: Fri 3rd Jan Time: 8pm Tickets: €29 Pat Shortt brings his acclaimed live comedy stage show called ‘Hey!’ to Íontas Theatre. Following the sell-out successes of ‘The Hall’, ‘Selfie’ and ‘How’s Tings?’ and fresh from starring roles in the hit play ‘A Skull In Connemara’ and the film ‘The Belly of The Whale’, Ireland’s best loved comedian takes to the road with his latest quirky look at Irish life. Featuring brand new material and sketches, this new show is a rogue’s gallery of odd ball characters, bizarre situations and even a song or two! "Hey!" delivers a peculiar take on modern life that only the unique imagination of Pat Shortt could conjure up. A show not to be missed. "Hey!" You have been warned!

FAMILY

SNOW WHITE - THE PANTO Dates: Mon 6th - Sat 11th Jan Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €16 This coming January, Íontas Theatre teams up with Born2Perform Stage School to bring you timeless classic ‘SNOW WHITE’ OH YES IT IS! A magic mirror, jealous queen, poisoned apple and loads more besides, join us for the first major highlight of the new year from top notch production team and serial all Ireland winning stage school BORN2PERFORM! These shows will run over 6 days and nights, so don’t delay buy your tickets today!

For details about the schools matinee (Tue-Fri, 10am) contact Iontas box office 042 9753400/401

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JANUARY MUSICAL

Castleblayney College Present

GREASE – THE MUSICAL Dates: Thu 16th & Fri 17th Jan Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €13 The students of Castleblayney College presents the hit musical Grease. The story centres Sandy and greaser Danny, who fall for each other during a carefree Summer fling, and unexpectedly discover they are now in the same high school. Danny is torn between his feelings for good-girl Sandy and his status with the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies. It’s automatic, it’s systematic, it’s hydromatic in a performance not to be missed!

MUSIC

THE FUREYS Date: Sat 18th Jan Time: 8pm Tickets: €31 Legends of Irish music & song The FUREYS, renowned for their hit songs ‘I will love you’, ‘When you were sweet 16’, ‘The Green fields of France’, ‘The old man’, ‘Red rose café’, ‘From Clare to here’, ‘Her father didn’t like me anyway’, ‘Leaving Nancy’, ‘Steal away’ etc return to Íontas on Saturday 18th January 2020.

The FUREYS have been entertaining audiences worldwide for 42 years, audiences that have included former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Former Irish President Mary McAleese and the late Pope John Paul while Tony Blair has publicly stated his favourite peace song of all time is the FUREYS “Green Fields of France” and President Michael D Higgins attended their last concert in National Concert Hall.

FILM

JANUARY BLAYNEY FILM @ ÍONTAS PRESENT

THE LUNCHBOX Date: Wed 22nd Jan Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €25 (Season Membership) / €7 Praised worldwide when it came out in 2014, The Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra, despite being set in Mumbai, is a universal romance. Bollywood star Irrfan Khan plays a widowed office worker who is delivered the wrong lunchbox at work, an error that triggers an unusual relationship with the neglected housewife who prepared the meal.

Thus, they learn that unintended actions can sometimes bring unexpected prospects. The way two lonely souls may connect in a very large and busy city, is represented here with subtle charm.

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JANUARY

VISUAL ARTS

ÍONTAS ARTS PRESENT

WINDOWS IN, LADDERS OUT

A SOLO EXHIBITION BY GARY KIERNAN Date: Fri 24th Jan until Tue 17th Mar Time: ALL DAY FREE ENTRY Opening reception Friday 24th January, 7pm, All Welcome.

The focus of Gary’s art practice deals with, what he describes as a nontraditional approach to self portraiture.

Fragmentation of the human form is what excites him; with inspiration drawn from the break-up of his family unit as well as a perceived fragmentation of the self. Gary’s work can be seen as an investigation into the human condition and how human emotions are depicted and read.

MUSIC BEN REEL Date: Sat 25th Jan Time: 8pm Tickets: €15 / €13 Ben Reel is a native of Silverbridge, South Armagh. Soon after high school at the age of 17 he started his musical career in 1989 performing & songwriting with local band “Trim The Velvet”’ before going solo in the late nineties.

Against the backdrop of the troubles in Northern Ireland, music became Ben’s way out. He first picked up the guitar when he was fifteen years old, inspired by the realness of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison & Neil Young whose music struck a chord that resonated deep into Reel's psyche. This is still reflected in Ben's heart on the sleeve approach to performing and writing.

Today Ben Reel performs occasionally as solo or duo with his wife Julieanne or with his Dutch band `The Haarlem Boys’ but mainly he performs with his fantastic Irish band `Ben Reel Band’. He divides his time between touring Europe and the USA and producing music for himself and other musicians.

The Nashville Calling is Ben Reels 9th Studio album.

THEATRE

JANUARY

Date: Thu 30th & Fri 31st Jan, Sat 1st Feb Time: 8pm Tickets: €15 / €13 In this new play, Johnny Johnston and Mick Garrett are two veteran musicians whose long musical careers look set to end playing in small pubs in the local area where they get little attention and even less adulation. Then out of the blue comes a chance to play a big gig which fires their enthusiasm right up. But as they start rehearsing, a rarity, we begin to get an insight into their relationship and motivation for performing to disinterested punters.

In this comedy where Buddy Holly looms large, where they attempt to make a funeral singer a star and where a sceptical drummer keeps them in check, these two long-time friends, with the help of Johnny’s wife Mary, discover their need for recognition in whatever guise it comes.

Supported by the Creative Ireland Programme and Monaghan County Council

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FEBRUARY MUSIC

DEREK RYAN Date: Sun 2nd Feb Time: 8pm Tickets: €31 Irish country sensation Derek Ryan’s road to stardom is set to continue with his biggest concert tour yet. Following on from the phenomenal success of his recent TEN tour, Derek Ryan returns with a brand new concert show for 2020.

Derek and his fantastic band (now rated as Ireland’s leading country band) are back on the road to perform many of Derek’s classic hits from ‘Hold On To Your Hat’ ‘Down On Your Uppers’ and ‘God’s Plan’.

Continuing to propel to new heights, Derek Ryan has firmly cemented his position at the top table of Irish Country’s elite with his brand of original, self-penned material and country classics.

The Carlow man is a multi-recipient of awards for his performances and song-writing including the Sunday World accolade for ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Songwriter of the Year’. But Derek, being at the forefront of this new wave of young Irish country stars, continues to remain ever loyal to his worldwide army of fans.

COMEDY

DES BISHOP Date: Sat 8th Feb Time: 8pm Tickets: €25 I am often asked “where do you get your material from?” The truth is really that I try to see the funny in everything. My mother died in March 2019 and of course it was sad and grief can be tough sometimes but I saw a lot of funny in that too.

Since death comes to us all and grief is something most of us will experience I thought there must be plenty of people who would like that funny to be shared. Also I did a show about my Dad being sick back in 2010 and I couldn’t face my mother in the afterlife because I know her first question would be “your Father got a show, how come I didn’t get one?”

I think it’s tougher to lose your mum. My Dad was best supporting actor. My mother was the actress in a leading role.

You are never ready when the star of the show dies. So this is a show about My mother. It’s a show about motherhood and sacrifice, anxiety and grief, the mistakes you make as a mother and a son and the hard road to forgiveness and finally it’s about loss, grief and the chaos that surrounds it.

Where do I get my material from?

Life and death!

FILM

FEBRUARY

BLAYNEY FILM @ ÍONTAS PRESENT

THE ENIGMA OF KASPER HAUSER Date: Wed 12th Feb Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €25 (Season Membership) / €7 This is the classic of our season. The 1974 New German Cinema drama, directed by Werner Herzog, follows the real story of foundling Kaspar who lived the first 17 years of his life in a cellar, without any human contact except for a man who feeds him, and who one day leaves him in the town of Nuremberg where he becomes a subject of curiosity to the locals, before being rescued by an elderly, kind professor who does his best to help him develop. But having grown up away from the norms and conventions of “civilized” behaviour, Kaspar will find it difficult to fit in.

THEATRE

CAHOOTS NI PRESENT

UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE Date: Fri 14th Feb Time: 10am and 12pm Tickets: €5 (Teacher free) Based on the internationally acclaimed book by award-winning author Marita Conlon-McKenna, Cahoots NI’s Under the Hawthorn Tree follows the journey of three brave siblings as they fight for survival during the Potato Famine in Ireland, 1845. When their father goes to find work and their mother leaves to find him, Eily, Michael and Peggy, starving and faced with the workhouse, embark on a treacherous journey to find the great aunts they have heard of only in stories. This story of family, history and hope is told like never before in a new play by Charles Way, directed by Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney, with original music by Garth McConaghie.

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FEBRUARY MUSIC

SHARON SHANNON Date: Sat 15th Feb Time: 8pm Tickets: €25

In June 1989 Sharon was rehearsing and demoing tracks for her first album, when she was whisked away to Glastonbury festival with The Waterboys.

In the 30 years that has elapsed since then, Sharon has recorded 10 studio albums; 5 Live albums , 4 Best of compilations and 3 live Concert DVDs. She has received many awards including being the youngest ever recipient of the Meteor Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2009.

She has collaborated, recorded and toured with everyone from Willy Nelson, Bono, Johnny Depp, Shane McGowan and John Prine to Nigel Kennedy and the RTE Concert Orchestra and had many hit records including The Galway Girl with Steve Earle, Its Christmas time Again with Wallis Bird and Go Tell the Devil with Imelda May.

Sharons Irish theatre tour Jan/Feb 2020 will showcase music from her back catalogue beginning in 1989 right through to the present day.

MUSICAL CASTLEBLAYNEY MUSICAL SOCIETY PRESENT

BACK TO THE OASIS – THE MUSICAL

Date: Fri 21st & Sat 22nd Feb Time: 8pm Tickets: €15 / €13 A journey back in time, to the Oasis Niteclub outside Carrickmacross, during the 1980s. Full of great 80s music, and great 80s characters. Watch as Blayney boy meets and falls in love with his Carrick girl. Listen to the music and laugh at the clothes. This show will bring you singing and dancing right back to the Oasis.

FEBRUARY

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FEBRUARY

MARCH

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AT A GLANCE

J A N U A R Y

COMEDY

PAT SHORTT

Fri 3rd

FAMILY

SNOW WHITE – THE PANTO

Mon 6th - Sat 11th 3

MUSICAL

GREASE

Thu 16th - Fr 17th

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MUSIC

THE FUREYS

Sat 18th

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FILM

THE LUNCHBOX | BF@Í

Wed 22nd

5

VISUAL

WINDOWS IN, LADDERS OUT

Fri 24th

6

MUSIC

BEN REEL

Sat 25th

6

THEATRE

GOLDEN JACKETS & BLACK BOW TIES

Thu 30th-Sat 1st Feb 7

F E B R U A R Y

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MUSIC

DEREK RYAN

Sun 2nd

COMEDY

DES BISHOP

Sat 8th

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FILM THE ENIGMA OF KASPER HAUSER | BF@Í

Wed 12th

9

SCHOOLS

UNDER A HAWTHORN TREE

Fri 14th

9

MUSIC

SHARON SHANNON

Sat 15th

10

MUSICAL

BACK TO THE OASIS

Fri 21st & Sat 22nd 10

FESTIVAL

CASTLEBLAYNEY DRAMA FESTIVAL

Fri 28th Feb

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CONTINUES THROUGH TO MARCH 7th

- Sat 7th Mar

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FAMILY

BLAYNEY BLADES – International Women's Day Fri 6th

M A R C H

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FILM GEMMA BOVERY | BF@Í

Wed 11th

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THEATRE

I DO NOT LIKE THEE DR FELL

Sat 14th

16

THEATRE

THE WIT & WISDOM OF MI MOTHER

Fri 20th

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COMEDY

NEIL DELAMERE

Sat 21st

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THEATRE

AN OGEOUS BROSE

Thu 26th

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THEATRE

Dr JACK

Fri 27th

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Sat 28th

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PODCAST LIVE BLINDBOY PODCAST LIVE

MUSIC

ROBERT MIZZELL

Sun 29th

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MUSIC

CHRISTY DIGNAM & JOE JEWELL

Thu 2nd

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FAMILY

FUSION SHOWCASE

A P R I L

Sat 4th - Sun 5th

20

FILM 45 YEARS | BF@Í

Wed 8th

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THEATRE

AN EVENING OF SAMUEL BECKETT

Fri 17th

21

COMEDY

FARMER MICHAEL & KATHLEEN

Fri 24th

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COMEDY

CALLANS KICKS LIVE

Sat 25th

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AT A GLANCE

M AY

COMEDY

MRS JONES’S DIARY

SHOWCASE MONAGHAN ARTS NETWORK

Fri 15th - Sat 16th

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Thu 21st

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PLEASE NOTE DOORS OPEN 20 MINS BEFORE THE PERFORMANCE TIME UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE Please check out our website and Facebook pages for additional events and activities.

These may be included in our programme as the season progresses.

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STAGE

www.iontascastleblayney.ie WHY NOT GIVE SOMEONE SPECIAL A

#lovetheatre Gift Vouchers (€5 - €100) are available from Íontas reception and online at www.iontascastleblayney.ie or by calling our box office 042

9753400/401

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MARCH FILM

BLAYNEY FILM @ ÍONTAS PRESENT

GEMMA BOVERY Date: Wed 11th March Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €25 (Season Membership) / €7 In Anne Fontaine’s comedy, Martin is a baker who has a deep appreciation of one of France’s most celebrated novels, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, in which a young woman’s romantic ideals fail to match the realities of her country life, leading her into two affairs and eventually suicide. One day, Martin meets English newly-weds moving into the house next to his. Their names, Gemma and Charles Bovery, echo the characters of Flaubert’s novel.

Bit by bit, he becomes obsessed with the idea that Gemma's behaviour replicates that of her fictional near-namesake, and that she is headed for the same tragic finale. His attempts to intervene prove hilariously disastrous.

THEATRE

CORCAGHAN DRAMA PRESENT

I DO NOT LIKE THEE Dr. FELL Date: Sat 14th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €15 / €12 A BERNARD FARRELL PLAY. During a group therapy session set in America six people are taking part with hope to better their lives and get more out of life. But they got more than what they paid for as Dr Fell exposes their secrets of sexual encounters, and social problems in front of the entire group.

‘The pace is relentless with comic expression lurking in every scene and more twists and surprises than is decent in a single two hour play’.

MARCH

THEATRE

WHITE ROSE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

THE WIT AND WISDOM OF MI MOTHER

WITH SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES

BY MI DAD Date: Fri 20th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €15 / €13

A Yorkshire coalminer’s daughter, she took to the stage at the age of just 14 … and so her travels and adventures began.

“The Wit and Wisdom of Mi Muther” is a funny, touching memoir of a life lived to the full.

Teeming with heart and humour, this show will have you mesmerised from minute one as a daughter relates her mother’s journey from the bright lights of the variety halls to her twilight years with a cuppa, carpet slippers and Corrie on the box.

Life’s been a bit of a song and dance for Mi Muther. Come and meet her – you’ll laugh a lot and learn a little.

COMEDY

LISA RICHARDS PRESENTS

NEIL DELAMERE END OF WATCH TOUR

Date: Sat 21st March Time: 8pm Tickets: €25 Fresh from a sell-out tour, star of BBC’s the Blame Game, Fighting Talk and the Newsquiz Neil Delamere returns to Iontas Arts Centre with a brand new show.

Time waits for no man, especially one trying to buy a watch. Things always get complicated.

“You’ll be hard pressed to find a more gifted comic at the Fringe. *****” The Scotsman

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THEATRE

MARCH

BIG GUERILLA PRODUCTIONS PRESENT

AN OGEOUS BROSE Date: Thur 26th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €16 A grumpy builder, (Seamus O’Rourke) and his young enthusiastic labourer (Charlie McGuinness) arrive on Mogue’s Island to dig a grave in the depts of winter. It’s cold and eerie and full of myth. The more they dig, the more they realise that this was not such a good idea. Have Barney Bellew and Hector Hoctor really got something in common?

– Well, it just might be that they are both entangled in an ancient curse.

An Ogeous Brose is scary and funny in equal measure where you can expect the unexpected... A great night out!

From the fellas that brough you ‘The Quare Land’, ‘Danger Money’ and ‘The Cavan Curse’.

THEATRE

ÍONTAS ARTS PRESENTS

DR. JACK Date: Fri 27th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €12 /€10 Inspired by the photography of JJ Clarke, Dr Jack is the delightful tale of a friendship between nine-year-old Lily and her neighbour Dr Jack, her chance find of his trove of old photographs and the world of wonder that opens when time collapses propelling Lily through a magical doorway into Dublin of the early 20th century.

This beautiful evocation of JJ Clarke's world was inspired by conversations and workshops in Castleblayney with children now and people who remember Dr Clarke when they were children 60 and 70 years ago.

MARCH

PODCAST LIVE MPI ARTISTS PRESENT

THE BLINDBOY PODCAST TOUR Date: Sat 28th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €26 Blindboy's increased notability away from his band Rubberbandits, has allowed for him to explore wider avenues and create perhaps outrageously mind-altering brainchildren which can only be described as courageous, yet bonkers.

With a number one selling book under his belt and a podcast that has reached interest not only in Ireland but internationally, the satirist could possibly single-handedly change people's mind set on mental health and the deafening stigma it surrounds.

Outspoken, informed and empathetic, Blindboy engages his audience with an unusual touch of realism. There is a very authentic feeling of "freedom" he exhumes which allows his listeners and participants to openly speak their mind without judgement and no topic off limits - certainly an air of belonging encircling the space you find yourself in when listening or in company of Blindboy.

His uncanny ability to articulate what nearly everyone is thinking is unparalleled and something that is sorely needed in Irish society.- The Daily Edge

MUSIC

ROBERT MIZZELL Date: Sun 29th March Time: 8pm Tickets: €25 Robert Mizzell has made Ireland his home for over 20 years. He served his apprenticeship in Country Music since he first arrived here. The father and husband is now one of the top Country Music Artists in Ireland, enjoying huge success all around the country. He has released 13 solo studio albums and 2 full length DVD’s to date and is constantly touring Ireland and the UK with his band. Robert was voted ‘Ireland’s Favourite Country Music Singer’ in a poll conducted by RSVP magazine.

‘Kick Ass Country’ was Robert’s first major hit, but it was the song ‘Say You Love Me’ that made him a household name in Ireland. Anyone who has ever been to one of his shows will agree that it is two hours of non-stop entertainment and that Robert Mizzell definitely puts his heart and soul into every song proving why he is one of Ireland’s top country music recording artists!

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APRIL

MUSIC

CHRISTY DIGNAM & JOE JEWELL Date: Thur 2nd April Time: 8pm Tickets: €25 Aslan's extraordinary singer and frontman Christy Dignam and his lifelong friend and co-founder of Aslan, songwriter/guitarist Joe Jewell perform together in this intimate acoustic show featuring the main hit songs of Aslan; Crazy World and This Is, The duo will also perform some very special cover songs by other artists such as David Bowie and Pink Floyd that inspired the duo throughout their rock n roll career with Aslan.

Christy and Joe relate many great stories of the origin of the songs, and some stories of their good and bad times on the road. 'Some Songs and Stories' is a truly beautiful musical acoustic experience. If you love music and a good laugh, this is the real deal.

MUSIC

FUSION SHOWCASE

Date: Sat 4th & Sun 5th April Time: 7.30pm, 2.30pm Tickets: €12 / 10 ON SALE FRI 7th FEB BOX OFFICE 042 9753401 Fusion, Castleblayney's only community youth group have been providing workshops for children in the performing arts for over 10 years. With a cast of nearly 200, their annual showcase is highlight of the Íontas calendar. This show celebrates all that is good with Castleblayney and its surrounding areas through song, dance and a little drama. The energy, enthusiasm and talent from the cast not to mention the eclectic mix of musical numbers will make you want to get off your seat and start dancing along. Buy your tickets early so as you don't miss out!

Matinee Sunday afternoon!

FILM

APRIL BLAYNEY FILM @ ÍONTAS PRESENT

45 YEARS Date: Wed 8th April Time: 7.30pm Tickets: €25 (Season Membership)/€7 45 Years is a 2015 British romantic drama film directed by Andrew Haigh. It follows Kate and Geoff as they prepare for their 45-year anniversary party. The sudden and upsetting news that Geoff receives, however, unveils a secret event and threatens the heretofore solid balance of their married life. What may have been a banal story of a marriage running into the sand turns into a thought-provoking exploration of love. Their superbly nuanced performances won awards for both Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.

THEATRE

ÍONTAS THEATRE PRESENTS ‘Well? Shall we go?’

AN EVENING OF SAMUEL BECKETT Date: Fri 17th April Time: 8pm Tickets: €14 / 12 Three of Beckett’s shorter plays - Come and Go, Ohio Impromptu and Footfalls - and the final scenes of Waiting for Godot will be performed by a cast including John and Tommy McArdle. An introductory talk by Brian Duffy will set the plays in the wider context of the evolution and essential themes of Beckett’s writing. The audience will have the opportunity to respond as the evening proceeds.

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COMEDY

APRIL

FARMER MICHAEL & KATHLEEN

Date: Fri 24th April Time: 8pm Tickets: €22.50

After only 3 years on the comedy scene, Stevo & Sinéad have gathered a following of over 500,000 people worldwide, and over 100 million views on some of their sketches.

They've sold out sold shows all over Ireland and the UK, including St George's Hall, Southport Comedy Festival, London, Cork, Belfast, as well as performing in Vicar Street & Goodison Park.

They've also appeared at length on RTE’s Ryan Tubridy Show, Galway Bay FM, iRadio, 4FM and 98FM. The King & Queen of farming satire may offend some but aren’t planning on quitting any time soon!

As featured on : RTE, TV3s Six O Clock Show, CNN, FOXtv, SKY TV.

COMEDY AIKEN PROMOTIONS PRESENTS CALLANS KICKS Date: Sat 25th April Time: 8pm Tickets: €30 Impressionist Oliver Callan brings his award-winning Callan’s Kicks comedy show to life on stage for the first time in five years.

Aiken Promotions and Leo Varadkar (ledgebag and Teesh) are totes excited to announced RTÉ’s award-winning show Callan’s Kicks Live on stage nationwide in 2020. Oliver Callan brings his huge cast of characters on the road for the first time in the age of Leo, Boris and Trump. It’s no Kylie concert, but Leo heads a troupe of voices from the world of Irish politics, sport and entertainment.

As the 2020 General Election campaign gets underway, Callan goes from town to town deconstructing our leaders and stars in a special night of comedy and satirical commentary. Join the Marty Party, Paschal “I only have a certain amount of money” Donohoe, hear an alternative history of Ireland, a whirlwind tour of county accents, movie stars and GAA legends.

Ever wondered what really happens during Marian Finucane’s newspaper panel? What did Enda Kenny do next? Who’s actually pulling Mary Lou McDonald’s strings? Is Michael D Higgins still a thing? Why is Bertie back? Can Dermot Bannon be stopped and brought to justice?

Oliver Callan brings his most ambitious live show on the road yet, with dozens of impressions, sketches and voices kicking our leaders and legends into the next decade.

M AY

COMEDY

MRS JONES’S DIARY END OF WATCH TOUR

Date: Fri 15th & Sat 16th May Time: 8pm Tickets: €20 OFF HER ROCKER! Confessions of a Badass Granny growing old (dis)gracefully!

Join the marvellous Mrs Jones in this uninhibited, unruly and outrageous story of her colourful life!

You've laughed at her in the Smash Hit comedy shows 'It's Wine O'Clock' and 'Nobody Puts Bernie in a Corner'. Now she's back with her own laugh-out-loud, feel good, one woman show!

Recently widowed, Mrs Jones is a woman who smokes too much, drinks too much and has a tendency to say whatever comes into her mind. Hash tag no filter! Learn about her hysterical history as lead singer of renowned country Showband' The Smugglers.'

SHOWCASE EVENT TOMMY SWARBRIGG PRESENTS

MONAGHAN ARTS NETWORK Date: Thur 21st May Time: 8pm FREE ENTRY The Monaghan Artists Network was founded in 2014 and are keen to show the diversity of artistic talent in the county from the many diverse communities by way of monthly open entertainment evenings.

Each month we aim to bring the arts to audiences that may not always have access to Dancers, Poets, Emerging and Established Artists Sculptors, Singers, Photographers and Bands. Íontas Theatre are delighted to host this very special night of arts curated by The Monaghan Arts Network featuring participants from the monthly showcase.

This is a cabaret style event with unallocated seating.

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WORKSHOPS

THEATRE: Fusion – Performing Arts Youth Groups (5 – 18yrs) Every Friday for young singers and performers.

Contact: 089 4376319 @fusioncastleblayney

CREATIVE ART: Art Society Group with Iontas

Weekly Wednesdays 7pm – 9pm. Monthly directed, weekly self-directed.

Contact: 042 975 3400 @Iontastheatre

MUSIC: Muckno Singers. Join and perform!

Weekly Wednesdays 7.45pm – 9pm.

Contact: 087 9208043 @muckno.singers2014

DANCE: Irish Dancing with McMahon School (+3 years) Mondays 5pm – 6.30pm Contact: 087 2469606 @McMDance

MUSIC: Brass Instruments with Bernard O’Connor Weekly Mondays 7pm – 9pm Contact: 086 0462424

MUSIC: Piano Lessons with Aubrey Bustard Weekly Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays.

Contact: 086 2205446/042 9665647

MUSIC: Traditional Music Lessons with Francis In association with Tullycorbet Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Weekly Fridays 4pm – 6pm Contact: 087 2395396 @tullycorbetcomhaltas

CREATIVE COOKING: Darina’s Delicious Delights Various classes & skill levels.

Usually Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4.30pm Contact: 086 1225228 @darinasdeliciousdelights

CREATIVITY & ENVIROMENT: Farm to Fork

Weekly Saturday gathering at Castleblayney Community Gardens.

Various workshops and courses for all skill levels.

Contact: 042 975 3421 @castleblayneycommunitygardens

CREATIVE INSPIRATION: Beginners Yoga

with Prema Modern Wellness Weekly Thursdays, Gentle Yoga (Hatha Vinyasa) 7pm – 8pm Contact: 078 94558363 @premamodern

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SPRING / WINTER 2020 AT

ÍONTAS ARTS AND COMMUNITY CENTRE Hello and welcome to a new season at Íontas Arts and Community Centre.

As we arrive at the end of 2019 and look forward to the beginning of a new year, we can reflect on what has been a substantial year for the arts and entertainment programme in Íontas Arts and Community Resource Centre.

As well as being venue partner and supporting Declan Gorman’s Theatre Artist In Residence Programme, we had the privilege of hosting rehearsals for forthcoming opera project ‘Elsewhere’ by composer Michael Gallen. This culminated in a wonderful sold out concert evening in St Maeldoids, Castleblayney. The night opera came to ‘Blayney will be talked about for many a year to come.

Declan Gorman’s theatre artist in residence programme culminated in two wonderful productions Dr Jack and the site specific ‘Streets of JJ Clarke’ which took place in various locations around Castleblayney as part of Culture Night and added a great deal of colour, vibrancy and art to the town. Indeed a recurring theme for Íontas Arts this year was the number of new spaces where we were able to produce arts events.

Images from Elsewhere at St Maeldoids

As well as St Maeldoids and the streets of Castleblayney we also hosted a Culture Night Miscellany in Castleblayney Scouts Hall in September, with thanks to the Castleblayney Enterprise Centre and a Traditional Arts event in St Peters (The Tin Church), Laragh (November), with thanks to Laragh Heritage group.

Many thanks to both Declan and Michael for their wonderful and substantial contributions to the arts in Castleblayney and Monaghan. We look forward to working with them again in the not too distant future.

In 2020 we welcome back local theatre company The Black Pigs Dyke with a new production Golden Jackets and Black Bow Ties.

Their production And a Red Flag Flying, was one of the early successes of our 2019 programme and we eagerly await their new play which will premiere in Iontas Theatre on 30th January. We are also delighted to announce the return of the McArdle brothers (John & Tommy) to the stage for a once off production An Evening of Samuel Beckett. This takes place in April and will feature additional talks and Q&A. And don’t forget the Castleblayney Drama Festival for 2020 takes place over 9 days from February 28th. Early bird tickets for this are on sale now until 18th January.

Other highlights to note include the return of Neil Delamere, Seamus O’Rourke (An Ogeous Brose), Oliver Callan, Sharon Shannon and Castleblayney Musical Society amongst other fantastic performers.

As ever thank you for all your support throughout 2018 - another hugely successful year at Íontas - and we look forward to having many of you back in 2019 for another year filled with diverse activities for all.

The Arts and Events team at Íontas.

Monaghan County Council Comhairle Chontae Mhuineachaín

Photos by Shawn Ahern (Elsewhere), John Nutley (Declan Gorman) & Joshe Slabbers (Streets of JJ Clarke).

Images from Streets of JJ Clarke

COMING UP IN 2020

BOOKING INFORMATION: OPENING HOURS

Mon – Fri 10am – 6pm Show nights from 7pm or 1 hour before performance

DROP IN

ÍONTAS Conabury, Castleblayney, County Monaghan A75 HK09

(042) 9753400/01 www.iontascastleblayney.ie arts@iontascastleblayney.ie facebook.com/iontastheatre @iontastheatre @iontastheatre

IMPORTANT INFORMATION •

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Latecomers will be admitted during the first available break in a seated performance where possible.

Please note €1 box office admin fee will apply for all tickets sold. This is included as part of the advertised price Please notify box office staff on any special requirements or assistance you may need when booking.

A loop system for those with hearing difficulties available at the theatre. Please check with our staff when booking.

Unfortunately once purchased tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded.

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