West Clare Drama Festival

0:00The curtain rises this Saturday on the 2026 Westclair Drama Festival as nine nights of outstanding amateur theatre get underway in Dumbig, with groups travelling from across the country to compete under the auspices of the amateur drama council of Ireland and a programme promising everything from comedy to high drama. It's set to be a fantastic week for theatre lovers and joining me now is the Chairman of the Westclair Drama Festival, Andrew Kaleen. Andrew, how are things? Good morning. Thanks very much. Thank you very much. Good to chat with you again as well and I'm sure this close to the festival excitement is high in Dumbig for drama lovers and theatre lovers but just everything else that the festival brings and we get to that as well but how are preparations going with the finish line in sight? Sure, look as it's all set really to go, all we're left with now is the preparation of the hall itself, maybe on Friday night as the first group for Mayo will be in on Saturday morning setting up so we need to have everything ready for them.

1:01Our theatre seating will be going in this afternoon and we'll be finished getting the finishing touches done then on Friday night and already for the go then on Saturday evening. Can you give people a reminder of the deal Austria's history of this festival and how its positioned itself as one of the key drama festivals in the country, Andrew? Yes, indeed. I suppose I just miss that by saying, of course, last year late 25 we lost our great leader in the festival in Mort McInerney, God be good to him and again we expressed the course our condolences to the McInerney family and I suppose one of the reasons for the festival being, as you say, as the illustrious as it is through the festival circuit is the work that Mort and many, many more did over 64 years indeed so and we're delighted of course to have Johnny Igo still involved in the committee and the executive also a founding member of

2:03the festival. So I suppose Mort would be synonymous throughout the country with drama with festivals and he would have been chair of the ADCI on two occasions in the history and of course we're privileged to have the presence chair of a chairperson of the ADCI in John Keane also from our festivals. So I suppose that plays a big part but one of the biggest things that really made I think John Begg and the West Coast drama festival stand out over the years was the Kate Melekaut here and how the groups were looked after when they travelled to West Cair and we really do appreciate groups travelling you can see from our programme that's there from Wexford and Mayo and CART and Kerry and obviously our own local groups and a group, Tipper Area of course we welcome back Holy Cross Penny McEl this year as well and so it's important because you know we're a little bit off the beaten track and Ellen so we take pride in how we take care of these people when they come to us for the festival. And you do because this is, as I say, one of the key drama festivals in the country but

3:07each year no matter how more experienced you all get a putting it on it is you, John, for taking Andrew, nine nights of us, nine consecutive nights, what does it take behind the scenes to bring that all together? Yeah, well it takes a very committed group of people and I suppose we have the executive group and then we have our ladies and gentlemen of the full committee and it does take a good number of people to keep that going for nine consecutive nights and I can tell you we will be quite exhausted at the end of the nine nights however we will also be energised by it. We have great fun doing this and preparing and getting ready and you know we've great people involved right down through the years and some new people have joined the executive this year but the youth coming in in our new secretary and advocate and an assistant PRO and Eva McInerney and Risa McInerney of course has taken over as festival director

4:08and I just don't know how Risa does what she does she you know as you know she's our county councillor as well and she's running her business and she's she's very much involved in all things community and done big so you know and all the rest of the committee and everybody who has a job takes under job, gets on with this and there's no force and you know as I say we have great fun we live a great nine nights over the festival and look we love we love welcoming the groups obviously but we really love welcoming the people into the hall the patrons who come along and you know the bums in the seats which is so important to the running of the festival from a financial point of view and I suppose then obviously you know we have people working with all our businesses who are supporting us our sponsors and advertisers and that also is hugely important to the running of festival it's not it's not cheap it's not it's not it's it's a it's a well-run show and it takes a lot of expenses

5:10involved so we're very very appreciative of the people who come along to support us whether through as I say the businesses or whether the people that come in to to pardon the nine nights to watch to watch the shows yeah well look there will be great variety you touched on the origins of some of the drama groups will be performing across the nine nights Mayo, Kerry, Corg, Waterford, Tipper area course three three groups drama groups for the home crowd to get behind Carthendromatic Society who we had in talking about with they'll be performing that on the Monday the 9th and Corgaclara drama group to an awake in the West and outgoing tide performed by Schliebati drama group so I'm sure I'm sure they'll get the loudest cheers across the nine nights all we need indeed and it's hugely important to our festival and to have to have the clear groups coming and you know Corgaclara have come along on the last number of years and they just raised the roof every year with with with the hall being full as well as the the

6:10reaction that they get from their production so you know yeah it's and we're constantly encouraging all because there's a lot of drama and clear all the way from Oakwood here down the road in Akira all the way up there to to Dulan are and to Kilfinora and Molok entire group there there there should they show down to Kildysert you know there's there is the county is full of drama and we'd love to see of course more and more the local groups coming along and having a go because the one thing the festival does is is it really because of course of the professional adjudication and again we will be of course welcoming Tamborn to do that job for us this year you know I think it's huge advice and you're always learning and learning and learning your craft and your skills so we'd love to see obviously the local groups coming along as well to the festival it really it really of course does fill the hall of course when you get the local support in but you know the also the traveling groups that come from outside they're well known

7:15as well and you often feel you know the hall is is very full for those groups and then this year I suppose it's you know there's some of the order plays coming back again Philadelphia here I come we haven't had that for some time so I obviously John B is always a winner in in in our festival always brings brings the crowds so you know it's great to see to see those and then you have the likes of one of the one of the Arthur Miller great players all my sons on the final nice you know so there's a great selection of material yeah and can I ask you on that because there is that nice mixture of comedy tragedy series drama how you go about selecting the program yeah I suppose again that goes back to to to to to readers great work as well in this applications open and I can tell you that they're only open on a midnight and all the applications are in by the marming you know as groups try to plan their schedule far the months of marriage in April and and I suppose we're we're fortunate enough you know over the last number of years I

8:18suppose it has the numbers have declined traveling but obviously call but played a part in that as well as you know the expenditure and the cost of doing those kind of when you go on the start that it is very expensive but so I suppose the number of players that are applying now groups that are applying has increased so I suppose the first thing you have to do is we're running two competition so you're confined and open so to have an open competition you really need to have four open groups so you have a four second and third if you had only three groups you can still run your competition but you only have a first and a second place because ultimately this is a competition and the groups are looking for points to go forward to the all iron finals and so we'd always try and get that split of four open and five confined so look it's it's it's great to get the open groups traveling and then the confined obviously as we're saying about our three local groups we will of course cater for the local groups first and then auto traveling groups then so

9:18so yeah you do a little bit of picking and choosing a times more on the plays we have we obviously there's no prejudice in us whatsoever towards groups it is more about the plays and you're thinking of your audience and and all that as well so yeah there's a little process there but generally speaking it's pretty seamless okay well across most of the night doors open at 7.15 curtain up at 8 p.m. earlier start on Sunday the 15th for Bally Codley players more for performing Arthur Miller's all my sons that gets under way from half seven so doors will be open earlier I'd imagine if people want to attend some or all of the festival Andrew can they buy individual tickets is there an overall festival package there is a course there is a course and it would have been well-flagged in social media since before Christmas that our season tickets were available only season tickets were available up to the middle of February and that just made it a lot easier for the person going to buy their season ticket but from since the 15th to 16th of February it's open to all ticket sales so anybody wants to just go on to www.wsclairdramifestivaldonbig.com

10:23and just follow the instructions they can still go ahead and buy their season ticket which we feel is brilliant value at 90 euros for nine nights or they can indeed go in and buy their individual night ticket for 15 euros for adults or 8 euros for child or student so just follow the instructions on the website or indeed come along to the door but you know some some some some some nights are selling fast and as I said they like to put the court clear or offend the local groups actually they'll they'll always feel and so I would suggest to people to go get online book your ticket but we will be accepting cash and car payment at the door if seats are available if seats are available almost stress the underliners yeah well look it's it's going to be a grace run from the 7th to the 15th of March in Dumbag in the festival obviously brings great for local businesses and just great for the the vibe around the the place as well I'm sure lots of excitement too so Andrew

11:27thank you very much for joining us hope it all goes off very well although it all tends to do so Andrew Colleen they're the chairman of the Wes Clairedramifestival