Glanworth Players have just finished a successful run of five nights with Geraldine Aron’s 'Same Old Moon'. The play examines the life of aspiring writer Brenda Barnes and flips quickly between significant periods along the way. This demanding role was taken on by Glanworth Players chairperson Susan Hanrahan and she made it look like easy work, switching between costumes and years playing Brenda at different stages from age 11 into her 40's.

Favourites Amy Murphy, Mary O’Neill and John Ahern made a welcome return to the stage in Glanworth. Amy and Mary enjoyed bickering with each other as sisters Bridie and Peace, Brenda’s mother and aunt. Their meddlesome ways created many a comic moment on stage. Having been a member of Glanworth Players since 2003, John Ahern returned as Mooney, one of Desmond’s drinking buddies as well as playing landlord Mr Mullen and the very important 'postman' in times before internet and mobile phones.

After taking a year off from the stage lights, Helen Moloney was ready to make the audience giggle with her stern Mother Superior who gave Brenda a life lesson using some biscuits for demonstration! Also playing Café Daphne and Di, Helen capably switched between the characters. Marian O’Callaghan stole the show as Granny Cleary giving the audience plenty of laughs while she was getting ready for bed.

Having both made their debut last year, Tim Roche and Avril Vickery returned to the stage for a second chance at treading the boards. Tim took on the role of Desmond, Brenda’s father; no easy task as this role required him to play dead for a number of acts. Avril played a number of roles, most noticeably Bella Rafferty, the teen mischief maker doing her best to lead a young Brenda astray.

The group was delighted to welcome a number of actors this year with DJ Flynn, David Leahy, Michael O’Sullivan and Eddie O’Brien all making their debut for Glanworth Players. DJ entertained us at practices trying to learn how to walk on stage with stilts and made his entrance as the man of Brenda Barnes' dreams. David played Brenda’s cousin Kevin who cycled 150 miles to stay with the Cleary family, hoping to get a kiss off her 'while she’s still Irish'. Michael had fun playing the barman, retelling stories he’d heard in the bar to Brenda's father Desmond, and his friend Mooney. Eddie had to juggle two roles, acting as Brenda’s husband Mark while having to manage the many sound effects the play required.

Donal Howard was recruited as guest director to put the cast on the right track. After working with 14 different drama groups in the past, his experience was invaluable to us. This was a completely new take on drama for Glanworth Players having previously worked with mostly fixed sets. We were all on a learning curve having to be responsible for changing the set for each scene.

Glanworth Players' committee would like to take this opportunity to thank director Donal Howard, the cast and crew, the people front of house and the fantastic audiences who enjoyed the play over the five nights. From Glanworth Hair and Beauty, Helena and Jenn made us all look fantastic on stage and worked hard when it came to some swift costume changes between scenes. Joseph Carey and Ross Murphy gave us a hand on set build and Tomas Quirke was responsible for lighting on each of the nights. We would also like to thank Hennessy Cycles of Fermoy for providing us with an authentic bicycle from the era of the scene in which it was used and Catherine Sheehan for taking photos of us on stage. Please check them out on the Glanworth Players' Facebook page! Don’t forget to like our page while there to keep up to date with what we decide to do next!

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