Set
in the West of Ireland “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” tells the darkly comic
tale of Maureen, a lonely virgin in her early forties, and Mag, her manipulative
mother, whose interference in Maureen’s first and possibly last chance of a
loving relationship sets in motion a train of events which lead to the play’s
terrifying climax. WINNER OF THE TONY AWARD FOR BEST PLAY ON BROADWAY IN 1998
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
The
action takes place in Kyoto, Japan, about a thousand years ago – at the edge
of the derelict Rashomon Gate, at a police court, and in a nearby forest. A
single setting provides the three separate locales.
A Samurai officer is killed, and his wife assaulted, by a roving
bandit. Three interweaving and
contradictory narratives are given
at a trial –each
version is true in its
fashion and it is apparent at the
outset that the play is repeating Pilate’s ageless question-----What is truth?
Despite
the seriousness with which each version is
re-enacted, there is some
surprising high comedy.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
Summertime,
and the immigrant workers, dressed in new suits and dreams are returning home
for the annual holidays. They are young, vigorous and they have money in their
pockets. But they do not belong here any more – and they do not belong abroad.
They are resentful and dangerous; none more so than Christy Cavanagh. His
childhood fixation with Mrs. De Burca and her three daughters moves into a
frightening obsession when he finds that the date has been set for the auction
of their house and his bid to possess “heaven on earth” has tragic
consequences.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
A boy leaves home for the first time. a
man starts a job for which he is not qualified. A pensioner has just been sent a
mysterious package. In this play three generations of Dublin men tell their
stories and explore the possibilities life has offered them. They are deeply connected or are they ? Could they be the same person
at different stages of life ? This mixed up comedy and
pathos keeps the audience guessing. Port Authority weaves together a
wry, moving and funny tale of how modern man faces up to the responsibility of
love.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
Set in a bar in a remote part of Ireland
the local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress, Valerie, a young woman
from Dublin newly moved to the area. But she turns the tables on them.
Conor McPherson's award winning play 'The
Weir' is a spellbinding tale. McPherson has set the play in a pub in
contemporary rural Ireland. The place is virtually empty and surely moribund as
a business venture, though it is still frequented by a handful of locals. The
appearance of the outsider, Valerie, promises a new lease of life. She is shown
around by Finbar who has become a local property speculator and is now regarded
dubiously by his old friends. Valerie is a source of fascination to this house
of bachelors - spry old Jack, the garage owner, Jim the mechanic, and Brendan
the barman. 'The Weir' is a gentle, soft-spoken, delicately crafted work, but
its quietness belies its emotional power.
McPherson's writing is notable for its
empathy. The bantering relationships of the men, and their discomfort at
Valerie's presence and the revelation of the horror that befell her, are
brilliantly written. Most impressive of all is the way that McPherson can shift
the mood from jovial to chilling in an instant. The humour is easy and
bittersweet, underscored by a mournful sense of loss.
A
wonderfully charming and touching play about missed opportunities, loneliness,
haunted memories and love.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
The play is set in a seaside cottage in
the remote town land of Ballybeg in County Donegal. Though the time is the
present like that masterpiece, Translations, it too is preoccupied with
language and the effects of language and it addresses a characteristic Friel
concern. As Seamus Deane writes, "the most sterile of illusions is exposed
- that of a heroic past that has swindled to a most unheroic present",
Brian Friel's farce is brilliantly orchestrated and choreographed and it is
constantly hilarious.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
Set
on the island of Iona off the West Coast of Scotland,
the play follows five eventful weeks in the
lives of the monks, priests and novices of Iona, in particular Columba, the
Abbot. Facing continuous challenges and pressures from both within and outside
his monasteries, Columba is finally driven to making a chilling and perhaps
controversial decision when faced again with a domestic/ecclesiastical dilemma
bringing the play to a dramatic climax.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
Written more
than two and a half thousand years ago its themes and issues are as relevant
today as they were in ancient Greece. Antigone is a family tragedy which
has vast political nuances. Antigone seeks natural justice for her dead brother,
but is thwarted by her uncle, the ruler. The tragic consequences of unyielding
laws then unfold. The play also looks at other issues male chauvinism,
individual conscience versus state laws and the role of power outside man’s
control. Interesting also is the fact that Antigone is one of the first plays to
have a female character as a hero in the full sense of the word and she is
probably the first “conscientious objector “ in history.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
An Englishman, an Irishman and an
American are locked up together in a cell in the Middle East. As victims of
political action, powerless to initiate change, what can they do ? How do they
live and survive ? In his new play Frank McGuinness explores the daily crises
endured by hostages whose strength comes from communication, both subtle and
mundane, from humour, wit and faith.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
David Hare's incisive, funny, moving and
fascinating play, which mixes love, death and the theatre in a heady and
original way. It is set in 1979 to 1995 period, and tells the story of Esme
Allen, a well known West End actress, at just the moment when the West End is ceasing
to offer actors a regular way of life. The visit of her young daughter, Amy with
a new boyfriend sets in train a series of events which only find their shape
years later.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003
First produced in New York in 1987, Steel Magnolias
ran successfully at London's Lyric Theatre in 1989. Hilarious and touching, this
play for six women is set in a beauty parlour somewhere in Louisiana. Through
four scenes spanning three years, Clairee, Ouiser, M'Lynn and Shelby - Truvy's
regular customers - and Annello, her eager but inexperienced assistant, engage
in small-town gossip, running the gamut of the birth/marriage/death cycle. The
play moves towards tragedy when Shelby - a diabetic - dies following a kidney
transplant operation, and the deep strength and purposefulness underlying the
antic banter of the characters is ultimately revealed.
All Ireland Open Finals 2003