Kildare drama group tackle McDonagh's 'Lieutenant of Inishmore'

When a self-styled 'Lieutenant' in the Irish National Liberation Army, busy with nasty mayhem in Derry, hears that his pet cat on the Aran island of Inishmore is unwell, he drops everything and returns to the island. As you would. But in The Lieutenant of Inishmore it's all much more than about a cat. The play is written by Martin McDonagh, so its particularly dark style makes laughter and serious subjects uneasy theatre seat companions. Even in the leather luxury of Kilcullen's Town Hall Theatre.

Kilcullen's Drama Group are no strangers to McDonagh's black comedy, having previously presented The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West — the playwright's famed Leenane Trilogy — to deserved acclaim. Their current rehearsals for The Lieutenant of Inishmore are already indicating the likelihood of full house standing ovations. The director is Eilis Phillips, and the cast for this latest production are Sinead McKenna, Adam Tracy, Maurice O'Mahoney, Gerry O'Donohue, Dave Byrne, Fergus Ryan, Alan Clarke and Enda O'Neill. The play will run from 24-26 April, and tickets at €15 can be booked at 087 4707652.

Kilcullen Drama Group were founded in 1930, with their original home being the 'Carlow Stables', a former livery station for horse-drawn coach services, located on what is today the green of Nicholastown housing estate. The first play in the 'new Town Hall' was in 1935 with Autumn Fire, and the production was the official opening of that facility. 

After a number of crisis periods and reincarnations, one for a long time as a cinema, the theatre was refurbished in 1996, and the still-unique Volvo leather seats installed in 2000. 

The Kilcullen group have staged in excess of 150 plays over their time, and the theatre is also used for many other entertainment and community events, including in recent years the return of regular cinema screenings courtesy of Kilcullen Lions Club.