Spirits high as beloved Town Hall reopens

BY CONOR POWER

AFTER an absence of over three years, Skibbereen Theatre Society will be back where it belongs – on stage at the Skibbereen Town Hall.

The long absence was mainly a result of the Covid-19 situation, because their last production was in February 2020, just weeks before the first lockdown.

But they were also absent due to the lengthy improvement works that were carried out on the town centre venue. 

These included giving the public toilets in the building an upgrade, as well as making the building wheelchair-accessible. More works will follow again in the autumn, in time to make it more cosy for the winter productions to come.

Now the local community is thrilled to hear the much-loved Town Hall will come alive with the magic of theatre once more in a few weeks’ time, when a new production of Spirit Level will open. 

The family-friendly comedy was written by veteran comedy writer Pam Valentine and the theatre company is delighted that a good laugh will bring people back to the theatre after such a long absence.

It will feature some familiar faces, including Ger Minihane and Angela Galvin, who play the principal roles of Jack and Susie. Kevin Cadogan plays the nervous estate agent and the remainder of the cast includes Jon Fenwick, Phoebe Cotton, Kathy Brien, and Máirín Dineen.

The play is being directed jointly by Fachtna O’Driscoll and Kevin Cadogan. The latter came late in life to drama, but has clearly been making up for lost time.

‘In the 10 years that I’ve been in the Skibbereen Theatre Society, I’ve been involved in eight or nine productions,’ said Kevin. ‘I’ve a small part in this one, as well as directing it with Fachtna.’

He is in no doubt that the general public are crying out to have theatre back in their lives as he and the Skibbereen Theatre Society got a taste of that hunger when they put on a show in Baltimore last year.

‘The last production we did was down in Baltimore last August,’ he said. ‘The town hall wasn’t open and we did Happy Birthday, Dear Alice. There was such an applause and such a reaction to it, with people standing up … when I went off stage, I remember thinking, that’s why we do it.

‘It’s not necessarily looking for attention, I mean,’ said Kevin. ‘It’s just the whole process of picking a play, reading it, sourcing the talent to play the parts and put on the show, bringing them together, rehearsing, doing the whole thing and then seeing the end product and the joy that it brings people. The satisfaction we get out of that is huge.’

Spirit Level opens on Wednesday June 28th, with a further five shows between then and July 8th. Each performance will be at 8pm at the Skibbereen Town Hall. After a famine of almost four years, it would be wise to book early to enjoy the feast!

The venue will also host singer Martha Wainwright as part of the town’s Arts Festival on July 26th.