Over three decades of dramatic excitement, community endeavour, investment in friendship and sheer good fun! And onward it goes. When the curtain goes up on this year’s festival in Ballyduff on March 7th, there will be the same sense of anticipation as there was when the first festival opened in 1981 with the same ethos of volunteerism, community and good humour, all tempered by the pursuit of theatrical excellence.

There will be ten nights of top-class drama spread right across the whole range of dramatic endeavour. For those who like their comedies, ‘The Lonesome West’ is a great piece especially if you like your comedy a shade of black. ‘Not Now Darling’ is as funny as you’ll get anywhere. There are modern classics like ‘The Playboy’ and ‘Our Town’. There are plays by great modern and highly acclaimed Irish playwrights like Brian Friel, Jim Nolan, Dermot Bolger and Jimmy Murphy. And there are keen examinations of modern life and where it’s heading and yet so, so different– like ‘Mercury Fur’, a post-apocalyptic look at urban decay in a futuristic London and ‘Callaghan’s Place’, a lovely tale looking at tough times and rural decay in present-day Leitrim.

So, do you choose your nights out by the plays – or by the groups who present them? No better than Conna or Haulbowline to create side-splitting laughter. The likes of Kilmeen, Ballyduff and Silken Thomas have all won All-Ireland Open titles – Kilmeen are the current champions. The likes of Wexford, Brideview and Palace are growing in stature by the year – Wexford almost took Athlone with ‘By The Bog Of Cats’ just a few years back. And there’s been nobody more consistent in Confined All-Irelands over the last decade than Kilrush and Skibbereen. No great help there. It might be better, like a lot of our patrons do, to go to the whole lot. Much safer!!

This year’s line-up of plays and groups is mouth-watering. Plays by American, Irish and British playwrights. Comedies, tragedies and plays of great dramatic content, ones to make you laugh and cry and ones to make you ponder. But tell you what? Why not look at the list and consider what you would like? Not sure what individual plays are about? The people who staff the booking line will be only too delighted to offer guidance and assistance. Or you could log on to our web-site at www.ballyduffdrama.com.

Booking for the Festival is on 058-60456, 2pm–8pm from next Monday, 25th February. Keep an eye on all the main advertising next week but, for the moment, here is the full list:

Thurs 7, ‘The Lonesome West’ (Conna), Fri 8 ‘Our Town’ (Kilrush), Sat 9 ‘Moonshine’ (Wexford), Sun 10 ‘Callaghan’s Place’ (Palace Players), Mon 11 ‘Dancing At Lughnasa’ (Ballyduff), Tues 12 ‘Mercury Fur’ (Silken Thomas), Wed 13 ‘The Hen Night Epiphany’ (Skibbereen), Thurs 14 ‘From These Green Heights’ (Brideview), Fri 15 ‘The Playboy Of The Western World’ (Kilmeen) and Sat 16 ‘Not Now Darling’ (Haulbowline).