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Irish Theatre Players
In August we had a very successful production of ‘Little Gem’ by Elaine Murphy, directed by Suzannah Churchman. It was a great story that resonated with much of our audience and was well received by the critics. We were also able to welcome the Claddagh Association Seniors to our Matinee Performance, where we made a donation of $3,000 to their fantastic cause.
Our focus has shifted now to preparations for our much awaited 40th Anniversary celebrations on Friday 22nd of October. This promises to be a night of nostalgia as we take a look back at the many, many shows produced by the Irish Theatre Players over the years and the wonderful people who made it all happen.
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The Irish Theatre Players were formed in late 1981. The first production was Sean O’Casey’s ‘Juno and the Paycock’, directed by one of the founding members, and first president, Bill Motherway. Since then the Irish Theatre Players has grown into a fully-fledged community theatre group averaging three major productions a year and a One Act season of usually three or four One Act plays. The Irish Theatre Players have presented many of the Irish Classics over the years, including John B Keane’s ‘Big Maggie and Sive’, Brian Friel’s ‘Translations and Lovers’ and Sean O’Casey’s ‘The Plough and the Stars’. They have also presented more contempory plays like ‘The Factory Girls’ and ‘Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me’ by Frank McGuinness, both of which collected Robert Finlay Awards for production and acting. While the promotion of Irish culture and Irish playwrights always remains a premium goal, the Irish Theatre Players has adapted to changing times, changing audience demographics and changing tastes, and sometimes perform “non Irish”plays. What hasn’t changed however is that we nearly always play to full houses. Also on the same night we will hold The Irish Theatre Players Annual Awards Night where we celebrate our productions from the previous year and acknowledge the people who made them happen.
