Amateur dramatics is a big part of our history

I always find it strange that rural Ireland has such a strong tradition of amateur drama. I could mention several groups in places such as Castleconor, Cloonacool and Dromard, all with a strong tradition of producing great plays. Likewise, I know quite a few amateur actors who have won all-Ireland medals, all of whom were born in the foothills of the Ox Mountains.

Drama in a rural area provides people with the opportunity to participate in something unique, to become someone else, if only for the space of a few short hours. A local drama group provides as much entertainment - and excitement - as the parish football or hurling team.

Amateur drama

Lucy Henderson of the University of South Wales in a paper, The Chequered History of Amateur Theatre, outlines the early days of amateur dramatics.

The history of amateur theatre in Britain began in the Middle Ages when enthusiastic storytellers rose from their seats and gathered friends to help them bring their stories to life. This developed into the mystery and miracle plays of the fifteenth century, which were designed to teach the general public, who typically did not speak Latin, stories from the Bible. These plays were performed by troupes who travelled around the country, and by 1500, many towns and villages had designated theatre spaces. After the Reformation, religious plays were no longer allowed, and troupes of actors had to get patronage from noblemen to perform.

During Shakespearian times, theatres were being built around Britain, and the new theatre industry boomed until 1642 when Oliver Cromwell ordered their closure. After this time, we see the rise of private theatricals – a kind of theatre rebellion where wealthy people would perform plays and musicals for friends in their houses. These performances are largely considered to be the beginnings of amateur theatre as we know it today. Henderson picks up the story once more:

In 1801, the first amateur dramatic society in Britain was formed. Called the Pic-Nic Society, it was a group of upper-class amateurs who performed in the Tottenham Street Theatre. They put on variety shows, with short plays, parables, and singing, and a large picnic at the end.

Literary Revival 

Here in Ireland, the Literary Revival of the second half of the 19th century was a key moment in the development of amateur drama. The creation of new plays was seen by their writers as a means of forging a new Irish identity.

A 2015 book, The Irish Dramatic Revival 1899-1939 by Professor Anthony Roche (UCD), provides a fresh reassessment of the works, creative struggles and ultimate achievements of artists such as William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, John Millington Synge and Sean O’Casey – all of whom helped define this period of far-reaching artistic change and development.

In 1903, Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Russell, Edward Martyn, and Synge founded the Irish National Theatre Society with funding from Annie Horniman. The Abbey Theatre opened on December 27, 1904, with three performances including premieres of On Baile’s Strand by W.B. Yeats and Spreading the News by Lady Gregory. In 1907, The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge caused riots in the audience. Later in 1912, during the first tour of America, the cast of the same play were arrested in Philadelphia for performing “immoral or indecent” plays. The case was subsequently dismissed.

The Abbey went on to stage many plays by eminent authors, including Padraic Colum, George Bernard Shaw, Oliver St John Gogarty, Thomas MacDonagh, T. C. Murray, and Lennox Robinson.

Unique pastime 

While it might seem that amateur dramatics is a strange pastime for ordinary country folk, considering the influence of the revival described above, maybe it is little wonder. Firstly, the Literary Revival was a very influential ploy in helping to restore pride in Irishness. Secondly, many of the plays of that time featured ordinary people and their struggles. While slightly lofty in tone and penned by the educated class, the use of folklore and the peasantry showed an understanding of the plight of the poor and the downtrodden. Such plays appealed to almost everyone, for one reason or another.

An interesting spin-off of the whole process was that plays and performances became commonplace, acceptable and a most accessible way of telling our stories. People began to realise that these plays could be acted by anyone and performed anywhere. And so, the tradition of amateur dramatics filtered into every parish in Ireland. In some places, it has faded away; in others, it remains. Where it remains, it provides a source of pride, a means of expression, and is one of the best ways known to people, in this part of the world, for passing the long nights of winter.

John B 

In all the history of theatre in Ireland, professional or amateur, in all that has been created in terms of national pride, a national theatre, eminent playwrights and famous actors, no one thing encapsulates it all better than the institution that is John B Keane (1928-2002). 

Keane was a playwright, novelist and essayist from Listowel, Co Kerry. A son of a national school teacher, Keane was educated at Listowel National School and then at St Michael's College, Listowel. He had various jobs in England between 1951 and 1955, working as a street cleaner and a barman. Keane was first published during this time in an unnamed women's magazine for which he received £15.

After returning to Ireland, he became a pub owner in Listowel from 1955. Keane cited many literary influences including Bryan MacMahon and George Fitzmaurice, fellow Kerry writers and playwrights. Keane's early plays included Many Young Men of Twenty (1956), Sive (1959), The Highest House on the Mountain (1961), The Year of the Hiker (1963), The Field (1965) and Moll (1971).

Keane was seen as a controversial writer when he first came on the scene. His plays, and the characters in them, were carved from the local, warts and all. They gave a voice to a section of society who, up to that point, had no voice; wronged women, broken homes, young girls disappointed in love and the curse of emigration. While Keane’s plays were written for and performed by professional theatre groups, they immediately proved hugely popular among amateur groups, especially rural groups.

On your doorstep 

The award-winning Cloonacool Players maintain local tradition when they stage a production of John B Keane’s Moll later this week. Moll is a hilarious and highly successful comedy about life in an Irish country presbytery. Do not for a moment think that this play is old-fashioned, it is a glorious window into our past, an education. A play about people and how they behave that never grows old.

Moll will play at Cloonacool Community Centre for three nights - Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 21, 22 and 23, at 8pm nightly. In addition, a few days later, the Western Drama Festival, based in Tubbercurry, runs from Friday, February 28 to Saturday, March 8 with nightly and season tickets available.

A feast of drama to usher in the spring.