Two full length plays

Performances in Tallaght Theatre 1st week of February 2025

Theatre stage

Auditions for 'Ubu Roi', directed by Philip Byrne, were held on Monday 30 September and Tuesday 1 October in St Tiernan's School at 7:30pm.

Performances will be in the first week of February 2025 in the Tallaght Theatre.

The Ubu trilogy is an absurdist play, Ubu is satire, with symbols of the crass stupidity and avarice of the bourgeoisie and their lust for power, this play has universal themes that are as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. King Ubu follows the story of Pa and Ma Ubu, who murder the King of Poland to gain power, money, and reign. 'Ubu Roi' parodies many Shakespearean plays including Macbeth, Hamlet, and Richard III.

Characters in 'Ubu Roi'

  • Pa Ubu (Male 35-65)
  • Ma Ubu (Female 35-65)
  • Dogpile (Male 18-40)
  • Bilikins (Male or Female 18-30)
  • Tsar Alexis (Male 25-45)
  • Queen Rosamond (Female 35+)
  • Peardrop (male 25+)
  • Conscience (male or female any age)
  • Memnon (male or female any age)
  • Eleutheria (female 18-35)
  • Pisseasy (male 35+)

 

Auditions for 'Ulster American' were on Wednesday 9 of October in St. Tiernan's School at 7:30pm.

Following the late submission of a 3-Act play, the committee is delighted to announce that Declan Rudden will direct 'Ulster American' for next year's circuit.

The play will be presented in dlr Mill Theatre during the week of 24 February 2025, followed by 8 different venues around the country in March and April 2025.

'Ulster American' by David Ireland is a contemporary dark comedy that features an Oscar-winning Hollywood actor, an English west-end theatre director and an up-and-coming female playwright who meet up on the eve of rehearsals of her new 'Irish' play, due to premiere in London's West End.

Characters in 'Ulster American'

  • Jay Conway (male) - an Oscar-winning American actor (40's)
  • Leigh Carver (male) - an English theatre director (40's/50's)
  • Ruth Davenport (female) - a Northern Irish playwright (30's)

 

A tribute to Paul Sharpe

Dundrum Drama Festival on 26 Oct 2024

Auditions

On Saturday 26 October 2024, the final night of the Dundrum One-Act Drama Festival in dlr Mill Theatre, a moving tribute was paid to the memory of former member, Paul Sharpe, who died on 30 May 2024. He was remembered in words and through photographs taken at many of his performances over a long number of years, including the photograph above, which was taken at the Balally Players Christmas Show in Marlay House from 12 to 15 December 2018.



 

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Balally Players Member Events

What's planned throughout the year (Sep to Jun)

Event Calendar A summary of the main group activities that are planned for the next six months and a record of the previous six months.

Most of the events and activities organised by the group are listed in the Calendar of Events.

To keep up to date, and transfer the details into your own diary, keep an eye on the calendar, which is updated each month.

The categories of entries in the calendar include Performances and Member Events. For some of the bigger shows, if the production team chooses to use the calendar, it will also include dates for rehearsals.

 

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Some useful resources from the Links page

For more useful places to visit on the Internet, including maps for rehearsal venues, see the Links page.

 

dlr Mill Theatre - Front of House volunteers needed

Mill Theatre

In return for access to the facilities at the dlr Mill Theatre for specified periods each year, the amateur drama groups in the areas around Dundrum provide volunteer support for Front of House. Several members of Balally Players give some of their time each month. To share the workload as evenly as possible, there is a need for volunteers to admit the audience and show them to their seats, if necessary.

 

If you can give one evening each month to help at the theatre (from 7:20pm), please contact Shona Ashmore, or Kate Canning through the dlr Mill Theatre office on 01-296 9340.

Annual Subscriptions — a little goes a long way

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Keeping our growing programme and group alive and well requires the modest subscription associated with membership. It also covers the insurance that each member must have before they can be permitted to participate in staged events.

Full details on the cost of membership are in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the About page and Treasurer, Seán T. Daly, can answer any questions about the Annual Subscription payable by each member of the group and accept payment, when in attendance at rehearsals and events. Alternatively, you can contact the Treasurer using the following email address: balallyplayerstreasurer @ gmail.com

Mailing List

mailing list

In addition to a record of all current, paid-up members of the group (maintained by the Treasurer), Balally Players also manages a Mailing List using the services of MailChimp.com Members of the general public can subscribe or unsubscribe using the 'Join Our Mailing List' option on the Home or Contact pages. The mailing list is used to distribute emails either to Members only, or also to anyone who wishes to hear about forthcoming productions and other topics related to the group's activities and interests. It is also used to send SMS text messages to Members and sometimes to anyone who has taken the option to include their mobile phone number.

All Members should ensure that their current email address and their mobile phone number are on the list. You can check and/or change your contact details by using the 'Join Our Mailing List' option. You should also notify the Treasurer of any change to your contact details.

Search the Site

This search facility will find references to plays, people or anything else within the pages of this website. It's great for searching past performances, newsletters or text within PDF files anywhere on our website.

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You may also use Google to find items, but it may not include recent entries if they were posted since the last time that Google scanned and indexed the site.

Calendar of Events

A calendar showing key dates such as group Performances and Member Events is kept up to date monthly throughout the active period of the year (Sept to June). It may also have details on some rehearsals and other events.

Search the site

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You can enter text above or use the Google Custom Search box at the end of this page to find references to plays, people or anything else within the pages of this website.

Recent Productions

For a complete list of all group performances and links to more information on some, visit the Productions section.

Newsletter Archive

Copies of newsletters sent to Members in the past are stored in the Newsletter Archive. The files are in PDF format with additional text versions of some of the newsletters.

Picture Galleries

Photographs taken at some productions and events are stored on the SmugMug.com site, some of which can be downloaded in various sizes. To see all of the available galleries of images, visit www.balally.smugmug.com For a guide to getting copies of the pictures, follow the link below to a PDF document about SmugMug with an illustrated set of instructions about Downloading Photos.

YouTube Channel

Follow this link to the Balally Players YouTube Channel. The video produced as part of the 30th Anniversary celebrations in June 2013 is located there.

Facebook

The link to our Facebook page is facebook.com/BalallyPlayers

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The link to us on Twitter is twitter.com/BalallyPlayers