Youghal Theatre Company’s production of ‘Sive’ came to a close last night (Sunday 30th Oct. 2011). The cast and crew of over 30 people got a standing ovation from the appreciative audience for their excellent performance.

The full house sign was again up on the final night as were the previous performances. The proceeds from the opening night are generously going towards the recently formed Save Youghal Ambulance campaign. The Youghal Theatre Company facebook page said – Tonight is our final performance of John B Keane’s ” Sive ” Thank you friends to all of you who came to see ” Sive ” at The Community Centre, North Main St., Youghal, Co. Cork, looking forward to our next production.

The next production by the company is ‘The Passion’ which will play next April and with a full cast, the previous production was a one man show with Brian Hogan.

THE OPENING NIGHT of Youghal Theatre Company’s ‘Sive’ took place last night at the Youghal Community Centre, North Main St. Before the show, invited guest the Mayor of Youghal Eoin Coyne briefly addressed the audience to wish the cast and background team the best of luck with the production. The proceeds from the opening night are generously going towards the recently formed Save Youghal Ambulance campaign.

The play which is one of Irish theatre’s best-loved plays is sure to thrill Youghal audiences this week. Michael Beecher of the Youghal Theatre Group said everyone is excited by the production. “Sive is a great show and even after all these years it’s still a powerful play,” he said.

Written by John B Keane, Sive is based in rural Ireland of the 1950′s. Sive is a story of greed and bitterness, of a scheming matchmaker and a resentful woman forcing a beautiful young girl to marry an old man for money.
Sive caused considerable controversy on it’s debut in February1959. Since then it has become an established part of Ireland’s theatrical canon and is also featured on this year’s Leaving Certificate syllabus.

Sive is a young and beautiful orphan who lives with her uncle Mike, his wife Mena and his mother Nanna.  A local matchmaker, Thomasheen Sean Rua, convinces Mike and Mena to organise the marriage of Sive to an old man called Sean Dota for the sum of two hundred pounds. However, Sive is in love with a young man, Liam Scuab, who is deemed unsuitable for her.

Distraught, forced to do the will of her uncle and his bitter wife, and faced with an unthinkable future, Sive takes the only choice left to her…….

 

Youghal Theatre Company proudly presents John B. Keane’s  ‘ Sive’
(by kind permission of Mercier Press)

Directed by Sean O’Neill

Venue: Youghal Community Centre

Mon 24, 25, 26, – , 28, 29, Sun 30 Oct 2011 @ 8pm sharp  (doors open 7.30pm)

(Please note: No performance Thurs 27 0ct)

Admission:  €20

Oap’s + Students:  €10

Tickets: Cree’s newsagents, Youghal or at door

Enquiries: Michael Beecher (Press Officer) 087 2349472

Youghal Theatre Company proudly presents John B. Keane’s  ‘ Sive’
(by kind permission of Mercier Press)

Directed by Sean O’Neill

Venue: Youghal Community Centre

Mon 24, 25, 26, – , 28, 29, Sun 30 Oct 2011 @ 8pm sharp  (doors open 7.30pm)

(Please note: No performance Thurs 27 0ct)

Admission:  €20

Oap’s + Students:  €10

Tickets: Cree’s newsagents, Youghal or at door

Enquiries: Michael Beecher (Press Officer) 087 2349472

John B. Keane’s Sive is a story of greed and bitterness, of a scheming matchmaker and a resentful woman forcing a beautiful young girl to marry an old man for money.

Set against the harsh poverty and difficult times of 1950s Ireland, Sive caused considerable controversy on it’s debut in February1959. Since then it has become an established part of

Ireland’s theatrical canon and is also featured on this year’s Leaving Certificate syllabus.

Sive is a young and beautiful orphan who lives with her uncle Mike, his wife Mena and his mother Nanna.  A local matchmaker, Thomasheen Sean Rua, convinces Mike and Mena to organise the marriage of Sive to an old man called Sean Dota for the sum of two hundred pounds. However, Sive is in love with a young man, Liam Scuab, who is deemed unsuitable for her.

Distraught, forced to do the will of her uncle and his bitter wife, and faced with an unthinkable future, Sive takes the only choice left to her…….

The press launch of  Youghal Theatre Company’s forthcoming production of  John B. Keane’s  ‘ Sive’ took place at the Mall Arts Centre last Thursday night (13th Oct 2011)

Youghal Theatre Company
Presents
J.B. Keane’s ‘Sive’
Directed by Sean O’Neill

Venue: Youghal Community Centre
Monday 24th,Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th, Friday 28th, Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October 2011.
Tickets – €20  OAP’s & Students – €10. Bookings and information  – 087 2349472. Show start 8pm sharp.

Youghal RFC in partnership with Youghal Chamber of Tourism & Development and the Youghal Vintners Association launched their second annual ‘Tag to Youghal Rugby Festival’ in Youghal Rugby Club, which will take place from 12th – 14th August 2011.

Following on from the success of the inaugural event in 2010 which drew teams from all over the country, this year’s event is set to be an even bigger and better spectacle, with €1000 worth of prize money to be won, and a festival packed full of music and entertainment built around the event.

Tag rugby has grown in popularity all around the country, with the most important rule about tag rugby being to have fun and enjoy oneself! Each team must have 2 ladies as a minimum with one female on the pitch at all times.

The ‘Tag to Youghal’ Rugby Festival kicks off for locals, tourists and visiting teams with a free open air concert by The Kieran Kramer Band,  in Market Square from 7.30 – 9.30 pm, on Friday 12th August, and continues with the ‘Pubfest’ music trail throughout the town.

On Saturday 13th August, the tag rugby blitz gets underway in Youghal Rugby Club, in Frogmore, from 12 noon and continues through to – 7.30 pm.  Pitch side music will be by ‘Diva Sensation’, plus expect food, and loads of fun competitions, all followed by prize giving ceremony.  A series of events including a crab-catching competition and food & craft fair will feature in the centre of the town once again throughout the day.   That evening ‘Gaga4Pint’; the Lady Gaga/Pink Tribute Band will take to the stage.

The weekend of fun continues on Sunday 14th August, with a vintage show at Farrell’s Summerfield Bar, and even more live music in the ‘pubfest’ throughout the town.

For more information on entry to the tag rugby competition, please contact Sean O’Neill on 087-0570202.  Teams are limited, so get signed up! Further information on the fringe festival can be found by calling Youghal Tourism Office on: 024-20170 or by logging onto www.youghal.ie.

Contact: Youghal Chamber of Tourism & Development: 024-92447 or email: info@youghalchamber.ie

 

 

Youghal Theatre Company
Presents
The Playboy of the Western World
By
J.M. Synge

Venue: Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010. Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15. Bookings and information  – 024 92011. Show start 8pm.

The play is set in M.J. Flaherty’s public house in Co. Mayo during the early 1900’s. It tells the story of Christy Mahon, a young man running away from his farm in Munster, claiming and boasting to have killed his father. He wins the hearts of the local women and especially captures the romantic attention of the bar-maid Pegeen Mike, the daughter of Flaherty.  His prowess at the local race/sports meeting confirms him to be a real hero with real expectations of marriage to Pegeen Mike.  When old Mahon appears alive and well, they turn upon their hero despite Christy’s offer to ‘slay his da’ a second time. Escaping from the villager’s clutches, he tames his father, and the two leave the public house disdainful of the gullible Mayo peasants.

Youghal Theatre Company
Presents
The Playboy of the Western World
By
J.M. Synge

Venue: Walter Raleigh Hotel, Youghal, Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010. Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15. Bookings and information  – 024 92011

The play is set in M.J. Flaherty’s public house in Co. Mayo during the early 1900’s. It tells the story of Christy Mahon, a young man running away from his farm in Munster, claiming and boasting to have killed his father. He wins the hearts of the local women and especially captures the romantic attention of the bar-maid Pegeen Mike, the daughter of Flaherty.  His prowess at the local race/sports meeting confirms him to be a real hero with real expectations of marriage to Pegeen Mike.  When old Mahon appears alive and well, they turn upon their hero despite Christy’s offer to ‘slay his da’ a second time. Escaping from the villager’s clutches, he tames his father, and the two leave the public house disdainful of the gullible Mayo peasants.

The “Playboy Riots”

The “Playboy Riots”  occurred in January 1907 during and following the opening performance of the play.

The fact that the play was based on a story of apparent patricide also attracted a hostile public reaction.  Egged on by nationalist’s, including Sinn Fein leader Arthur Griffith, who believed that the theatre was not sufficiently political and described the play as “a vile and inhuman story told in the foulest of language we have ever listened to from public platform”, and with the pretext of a perceived slight on the virtue of Irish womanhood in the line “adrift of females standing in their shifts”, a significant portion of the crowd rioted , causing the remainder of the play to be acted out in dumb show. Nevertheless, press opinion soon turned against the rioters and the protests petered out.

Venue

Walter Raleigh Hotel,

Youghal

Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 6th November 2010

Tickets  – €20  OAP’s & Students – €15

Bookings and information  – 024 92011

The Cast

Christy Mahon –  Brian Hogan

Old Mahon –  Will O Brien

Michael James –  Ted O Brien

Pegeen Mike –  Ruth Hayes

Widow Quinn –  Denise O Brien

Shawn Keogh –  Martin Hennessy

Philly Cullen – Donie Fitzgerald

Jimmy Farrell –  Michael Beecher

Sara Tansey –  Fiona Coughlan

Susan Brady –  Niamh Mc Carthy

Honor Blake –  Eimear Coleman

Sean O Neill –  Director

Lora Murphy –  Set Design

Warren Tivy –  Sound

Tony Irwin –  Lighting

Marj Mc Donald –  costumes

Michael Lee –  Stage manager

Jane Crowley –  Harpist

Patrick Mc Carthy  – Piper

Brian Hogan is the son of Noel and Assumpta Hogan, Youghal, and even though he was interested in acting when he finished school, he worked in various jobs and positions until when, in his late 20’s, he played a small part in Youghal in the John B Keane play, Many Young Men of Twenty. And that was that! Report: Denise Fitzgerald. Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

He studied various courses with the Gaiety School of Acting and studied film technique which, ultimately, led him to a role in Fair City. Making a career out of acting, Brian has since performed in shows such as Dancing at Lughnasa, The Glass Menagerie and Guys ‘n’ Dolls.

As fate would have it, Brian recently met Sean O’Neill, Playwright and Director, who also has firm roots in Youghal. Sean had written a play entitled The Passion, the World Premier of which is to be performed at the Mall Arts Centre, Youghal, from March 30th through until April 3rd.

Brian told the East Cork Journal that Sean asked him how he would feel about playing seven different characters in ‘The Passion’. “At first I found it exciting and extremely challenging to pull this off and make it work,” Brian said. “As a result of further discussions with Sean I was reassured that, with the correct approach and dedication, this would work.

Sean gave me the script, which I read, and it was then I realized I had a formidable challenge ahead of me. This was the first time I had come across a script that made me question my decision to become an actor. However, having expressed my concerns to Sean he instructed me to allow the characters to naturally evolve and to stop rushing towards the characters and allow the characters to come to me”.

Brian has obviously taken Sean’s good advice to heart and, after weeks of intensive rehearsals, he is very confident that this play will be something never seen before in Youghal. Having such a professional and competent, all-local team involved in the production is a great support and encouragement to Brian, who is now looking forward with great ‘passion’ to performing in his home town again.

Doors open at 7.30pm with complimentary wines, teas and coffees for the opening night. Tickets available at Cree’s Card Shop.