Porterhouse Players’ 3-Year Anniversary Tour
This year Portarlington-based amateur drama group “Porterhouse Players” will celebrate 3 years in business.
To mark the occasion, they are organizing a tour, performing their latest satire comedy in 3 acts, “It Happened at the Hotel Hollywood”, written by a director of the drama group, Frank Hollingsworth, in Portlaoise, Athy and Tullamore in October and November of this year.
Porterhouse Players’ 3-Year Anniversary Tour
The idea of the tour came after a success of this production in Mountmellick Arts Centre in July of this year, when the audience greeted the cast with a standing ovation at the end of the performance. The premier of this play took place in The Abbeyleix Manor Hotel in November last year, patrons and local newspapers called it “Irish Fawlty Towers”.
The success of the drama group is the result of joined efforts from all the cast members, especially an experienced artistic director David Corri. “Porterhouse Players” include enthusiasts of different ages and professionals who put lots of time, skills, inspiration into their performances, helping each other to achieve their goals.
The sets of the plays were made by professional set maker Jimmy Davy, who worked for decades RTE, made sets for Eurovision contests and on the set of soap “Fair City”.
Lots of music, charming melodies implemented into scenes of the shows.
Nearly all the ladies’ dresses, costumes, hats, accessories etc were specially made for this performance with the help of a designer. The cast are always trying to bring laughter, joy and glamour on to the stage. During two intermissions patrons can enjoy tea, coffee, homemade sandwiches, cakes and biscuits. There are always nice prizes for raffle winners. You will enjoy a stand of unique hand-made crafts – glamourous headpieces, bags, jewellery, accessories, souvenirs of high taste and a great selection of homemade organic jams, made by members of the cast.
Porterhouse Players’ 3-Year Anniversary Tour
It is a part of the drama group’s job, fund-raising for future performances, as drama groups in Ireland, with all the necessary expenses – astronomical venue fees, insurance, membership of Drama League of Ireland, advertisements etc are all certified as non-profitable organisations and just trying to survive, coping with less and less support from the government. This is why existence of the group would be impossible without help from their main sponsors – Supervalu Portarlington, Railway Bar, Portarlington Pharmacy, Whelan Electrical, Portarlington Credit Union, Saint Vincent de Paul, Pat Cooper Florist, Dunne’s Stores and Tesco and Tullamore. “Porterhouse Players” are already known in Portarlington, started doing performances in Railway Bar by initiative of owners – Christine and Shay Gallagher, when they invited the group to perform for fundraising for Donetsk refugees from Eastern Ukraine war-zone.
They later staged their plays “Comparisons” and “It Happened at the Hotel Hollywood” in Mountmellick, Fisherstown, Newbridge and Dublin.
Porterhouse Players’ 3-Year Anniversary Tour
Forthcoming shows of “It Happened at the Hotel Hollywood” are taking place in Portlaoise Parochial Hall Station Road on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th of October, in Athy Community Arts Centre Woodstock Street on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th of November, in Tullamore Community Art Centre High Street on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th of November.
Enjoy the shows!