Ballyshannon prepares for a 'full house' in 74th Drama Festival

Ballyshannon Drama Festival’s Festival Director, John Travers, told Donegal Live that the festival is “almost guaranteed to have a full house every night.”

The festival, now in its 74th edition, runs from March 14 to March 21, with eight separate theatre performances from companies across the country, at Ballyshannon’s Abbey Arts Centre.

Travers said: “This is the 74th Ballyshannon Drama Festival. We have eight groups, with four coming from the east coast, and then we have a group from Enniskillen, Oranmore, Clones, and Pomeroy.

“We are very fortunate to have 150 season-ticket holders, so we are almost guaranteed to have a full house every night, and we are very much looking forward to it.”

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When asked about the impact the festival has on Ballyshannon, John replied: “Apart from the cultural aspect, there is a spin-off in the area in terms of food and accommodation. 

“Ballyshannon is a great town for culture. Right throughout the year, there are a huge number of culture events. The town has suffered commercially in terms of loss of railways, but it has done so well because the cultural life is thriving. 

“We are delighted to involve the local schools in a pilot project being done in drama studies. You have people getting on stage from an early age, and they continue on to adulthood, and that is the secret to our success, with generation to generation getting used to the stage and continuing on.”