'Troubled Bachelors' in Ardcroney
Friday February 3rd sees the Ardcroney Players take to the stage with their 2017 production 'Troubled Bachelors', a comedy in three acts by AJ Stanley.
Although written and set in the 1940s, the play shows that, despite the passage of time, some problems never seem to go away. We are all too familiar with the difficulties presented in modern times by the acute shortage of housing for those in need but it seems that similar difficulties existed way back then.
To their credit, the County Council at the time devised a unique policy to resolve the problem and make houses available for families in need but in doing so created a nightmare scenario for their existing bachelor tenants. While some were prepared to succumb to the Council’s wishes, a trio of bachelors in the townsland of Tullabawn were having none of it. Their battle with the Council and its officials sets the background for this extremely funny play.
The bachelors, Peter, Tom and Jack, are determined to stand up for themselves and “fight to the last ditch” to safeguard their rights, and in doing so decide to start out on a collision course with the powers that be in the council. Who will win out? Will “people power” win the day or will the often quoted maxim of “you’ll never beat city hall” prevail? I’m afraid you’ll have to come along to the hall in Ardcroney on one of their six performance nights to find out the answer to that one.
The cast of this year’s production is a combination of some old faces with a welcome scattering of new blood. The roles of the bachelors, Peter Carmody, Jack Whelan and Tom Kirby, are played with usual gusto by Noel Coonan, Oliver Moroney and Denis Darcy. Naturally, no plot would be complete without a female interest and the three local lassies, Mary Swan (Pat Carey), Daisy Walshe (Maureen Shelley) and Molly Dwyer (Rosemarie Carey) cause ongoing annoyance and difficulties for our bachelor friends. Are the ladies really only up for annoying the boys or could they be trying to secure their futures by catching the fish that don’t want to be caught?
As part of their protest against the Council’s policy, our intrepid bachelors lay siege to the Council offices where their altercations with the Chairman (Gerry O’Rourke), Secretary (Philip Heenan), Rent Collector (Joseph Mulcahy) and council clerk (Martina Cleary) is one of the high points of the play.
While the Players are delighted to be back again, this year’s production will be very much tinged with sadness as, for the first time since their establishment in 1950, they will take to the stage without their beloved founder and chairman, Noel Mulcahy, who sadly passed away in May 2016. Noel had been the driving force behind the Ardcroney Players for over 60 years and performed with distinction in all but two of their productions over that time. But we know that Noel, his wife, Una and his family would want nothing more than to see the drama culture, nurtured by him over the years, continue into the future. So we invite you all, old friends and new, to come along and have a laugh at our Troubled Bachelors between Friday February 3rd and Saturday February 11th (see separate advert for more details). Doors are open nightly at 8pm with curtain up at 8.30. Tickets (€10, or €5 for students) can be purchased at Sullivan’s Foodstore, Ardcroney, or booked by telephone at 087-6373828. As is customary in Ardcroney, all patrons will be invited for refreshments after each show.