Search Results for 'John B Keane'

THE TOWN Hall Theatre will continue its high standards in presenting quality theatre, comedy, and music events to the public as a strong line-up of events has already been planned for the opening months of 2012.

“When I’m finished with this role, I’ll definitely see changes in the way that I play the role between the first night and the last. That’s one of the great things about acting on the stage, in a great production like this,” said Aisling O’Sullivan, who is currently playing the lead role in The Druid’s production of John B Keane’s Big Maggie. The play is classic tale of money, land, secret sex and family life and she took some time out of her schedule this week to speak to the Mayo Advertiser ahead of the show’s stop off in The Royal Theatre next Tuesday and Wednesday, December 6 and 7.

Take the hassle out of Christmas shopping and avail of the Harbour Hotel lunchtime special offer — enjoy a tasty lunch, take in some Christmas shopping, and avail of two hours’ free parking in the heart of Galway. The Harbour Hotel is just a three minute walk from Eyre Square, where you can explore the Christmas market.

Big Maggie by John B Keane is a compelling vision of the Irish mother as sociopath, and it is making a stop in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar for two days only on December 6 and 7. Maggie Polpin (Aisling O’Sullivan) is a just widowed mother of four living in rural Ireland, now sole owner of the family shop and farm. She is a complex figure, far from the clichés of Irish femininity which preceded her. This is a hard-bitten, uncompromising woman who puts her personal security above all other concerns. She rejects the place which cultural precedent has laid out for her and chooses to drive all of her children away rather than nurture them like a mother hen.

THIS WEEK’S run of Druid’s production of John B Keane’s Big Maggie sold-out before the actors even took to the stage for the first performance last Friday night.

MAGGIE POLPIN, the central character of John B Keane’s Big Maggie, is one of the author’s most memorable creations and Druid’s new production of the play sees one of Ireland’s finest actresses, Aisling O’Sullivan, take on the role.

THE FIRST day of rehearsals in Galway kicked off on Monday morning at Druid Lane Theatre for the 11 cast members of Druid’s production of Big Maggie by John B Keane, directed by Garry Hynes.

Rehearsals are currently under way for Druid’s upcoming production of John B Keane’s Big Maggie and among the cast is Keith Duffy who plays the part of travelling salesman Teddy Heelin. At the end of Monday’s rehearsals, Duffy sat down to talk about the play and reflect on some of the highlights of his years in music, television, and performing. “I’m very lucky to have had the career that I have,” he states candidly. “As a teenager I wasn’t very ambitious, I was quite insecure and didn’t have much confidence in myself. Getting into Boyzone was the first bit of luck I’d had in life. And we didn’t really know what it was we were trying to create, whether it was a hit single or to sell out a big venue, we were all new to the business. Everything just seemed to happen naturally, it’s only looking back you realise how lucky we were.

The final curtain fell on Druid’s production of Sean O’Casey’s The Silver Tassie, concluding a phenomenal 22 weeks of touring, and resulting in critical acclaim for the play and Garry Hynes.

THESE ARE the opening lines of Bryan McMahon’s wonderful play The Honey Spike which Mephisto Theatre Company is bringing to the Town Hall Theatre in a production featuring Galway’s finest actors and which marks the 50th anniversary of the play’s first staging at the Abbey.