Tipperary drama group performance to raise funds for local pantomime group

Thurles Drama Group will present ‘The Deep Blue Sea,’ by Terence Rattigan in The Source Arts Centre from Monday, November 17, to Saturday, November 22, at 8pm.

Opening night, November 17, will be a benefit night for the Thurles Panto Group who stage their annual pantomime in The Source every December.

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Thurles Community Panto Society was founded in 2016 by a group of likeminded friends.

The society has grown from strength to strength since then, with a focus on providing opportunities for young people to learn and enjoy themselves, both on and off stage.

It is a volunteer lead community society, with all committee members and production team working on a voluntary basis.

This year TCPS will stage its eighth show, ‘Jack and The Beanstalk.’

The show features a cast of almost 80 young people and adults, and will hit the stage in The Source on December 29, 30, and 31, with tickets currently on sale.

The current committee of the panto group is:
Chairperson - Angela Dunne;
Secretary - Aileen Mc Grath;
PRO - Laura Witherow;
Treasurer - Mary D Ryan;
Vice Chair - Margaret Culleton.

The group has established a Junior Committee this year, placing a strong emphasis on educating young people in how the show works from all aspects of production.

They currently have ten teenagers taking up this role and the chairperson of this group is Ewan Connors.

This group also works backstage as crew, technicians and in set design/makeup and hair.

The founding committee in 2016 were Danielle Martin, Shelley Martin, Eva McNally, Pat Hayes (PH), Declan O’Sullivan and Eamonn Shanahan.

Thurles Drama Group is delighted to be associated with another theatrical group in the town and would love to see all of their patrons support this group and the wonderful work they do for the young people of Thurles.

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Tickets for opening night are €20, which includes a wine and canapes reception at 7:15pm, and can be purchased from any member of the Panto group or from the box office in The Source.

‘The Deep Blue Sea’ is set in a modest London flat in the 1950s and follows Hester Collyer, a woman caught between passion and despair.

Having left her respectable husband, Sir William Collyer, for her lover Freddie Page, a former RAF pilot, Hester finds herself emotionally unfulfilled.

Their relationship, once passionate, has deteriorated into resentment and disillusionment.

Freddie, restless and immature, decides to leave Hester, while Sir William offers her forgiveness and a chance to return to her old life.

Hester refuses both security and despair, choosing instead to face life alone. Guided by the quiet compassion of her neighbour Mr Miller, she regains a fragile sense of hope.

The play ends with Hester embracing survival and the painful courage to continue living.

The group says it will be a fantastic week of theatre, and encourage all interested to book their tickets fast.