Next up, Isla by Tim Price

Following the back to back productions of Amongst Men and The Last Stand we’ve had a bit of a breather but gearing up again now to go. Isla by Tim Price is in pre-production with our partners, Verdant and the Civic Theatre. We had a table read last week which went well and the production goes into rehearsal proper on September 4th. It will open at the DTF later that month.

We have confirmed the pre-Christmas venues now for our staged reading of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan and I’ve already scoped out an approach to the music with Eleanor McEvoy, the composer. We will open at Wexford Arts Centre on December 14th for three performances and then play New Ross (where the book is set), The Pavilion in Dun Laoghaire and The Mermaid in Bray. Hoping then that we can add performances for the early January period.

Between Isla and STLT we are planning to do a rehearsed reading of Jim’s play Castel Gandolfo and, in an ideal world, I’d like to cast the reading as I intend to cast the play. The piece is very strong and Jim and I have been working away at it on and off all year. Of course, moving to production with this will depend on the Arts Council outcome for 2024 and we should hear about that in September.

We are also exploring the possibility of taking Amongst Men to New York for the 1st Irish Festival and The Last Stand to Edinburgh in 2024. Both are at the early stages of exploration. So a busy Autumn in the offing once the holidays are over.

We are delighted to welcome Tianna Moore as our new Social Media Manager.

Ben Barnes