THE curtain goes up on one of the longest-running festivals of its kind in Ireland this week as theatre groups from all over the north take to the stage in Ballymoney Town Hall.
The 81st Ballymoney Drama Festival begins tomorrow with a staging by Ballymoney Literary & Debating Society of Simon Williams’s Laying the Ghost, a chaotic comedy involving, fittingly, a retired actress who has a very eventful birthday.
Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan features among the eight other productions on the programme – presented by Slemish Players, Newpoint Players from Newry, Rosemary Drama Group, Bart Players, Holywood Players, The Clarence Olayers, Theatre 3 from Newtownabbey and The Phoenix Players from Portadown – which runs until Saturday March 7.
Well-known actors have trodden Ballymoney’s festival boards over the years, Liam Neeson and Jamie Dornan among them. The festival is organised by Ballymoney Drama Festival Committee, some of whom are taking part in the opening production.
:: Tickets at Ballymoney Town Hall or call 028 2766 0230 (adults £10, concession £8, students £5, 10 per cent reduction for groups over 10). Full details at ballymoneydramafestival.com
