Festival programme promises a feast of drama, an action-packed fringe festival and a live stream www.rte.ie
The 2025 RT All-Ireland Drama Festival, held under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI), will take place from 8th - 16th May in the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone. As part of this year's All-Ireland Drama Festival (AIDF), the nine finalist drama groups gathered in Athlone on Sunday 13th April to attend the official draw for the line-up for the RT All-Ireland Drama Festival Final.
The plays included in this year's RT AIDF Final - listed in the Programme below are wide-ranging and include several adaptations for stage, a premiere of an Irish adaptation of a play, two amateur premieres, a farce and a black comedy.
For the first time, the RT All Ireland Drama Festival Gala Awards will stream live on www.rte.ie/culture at 9pm on Saturday 17th May. With awards for achievements both on and off stage, including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Stage Design, the stakes are high to see who will win the coveted Perpetual Trophy and The Abbey Theatre Award.
At the launch today in the Abbey Theatre, new Festival Director, Michael McGlone, opened the proceedings acknowledging the importance of the continued support of the national broadcaster and the national theatre, and thanked Kevin Bakhurst, Director General RT , Mark O'Brien, Director, Abbey Theatre and Liam Hannaway, Chairperson of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland, all of whom were in attendance. Quoting Stella Adler who said that, The play is not in the words, it's in you', he wondered was she thinking of the RT All-Ireland Drama Festival.
He added: I look forward to welcoming all nine finalist groups to Athlone, including the three groups who are returning to the final after a period of absence. I have attended a number of drama festivals around the country and I have been so impressed with the calibre of productions taking place on our stages. With such a high standard now being consistently achieved in amateur drama throughout the island of Ireland and with a wonderful programme of performances lined up, audiences are in for a real treat at the RT All-Ireland Drama Festival in May. I can't wait.
Speaking at the launch, RT Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst said: I am delighted to return to our national theatre on behalf of RT for the launch of this wonderful celebration of amateur drama across Ireland. The RT All-Ireland Drama Festival is unique in the way it brings together community groups from all over the country who give their all as they take to the stage and proudly represent their communities.
In what is the 21st anniversary of the partnership between RT and the RT All Ireland Drama Festival, it is great to see such an exciting week of the very best in amateur drama in the Dean Crowe Theatre in Athlone. I am also delighted that RT will mark this milestone by streaming the Gala Awards live on RTE.ie on Saturday 17th May. RT 's continued support of the festival recognises the vital role it plays in celebrating local communities and those who contribute so much to them. I'd like to congratulate the organising committee and wish all this year's finalist amateur drama groups the very best of luck.
The Programme
Opening the 2025 Festival, on Thursday 8th May will be Ballycogley Players, directed by Pat Whelan, who return to the Festival with the farce, Lend Me A Tenor' by Ken Ludwig. Set in 1934, the play follows the misadventures of a small opera company on the night of their biggest performance.
On Friday 9th May, Brideview Drama Group, directed by Jack Aherne, return to Athlone to perform The Weir' by Conor McPherson. This is a haunting play with its roots in Irish folklore.
Brad n Players, directed by R id n Dunne, take to the stage on Saturday 10th May, with their production of Little Gem' by Elaine Murphy. One year can bring extraordinary change; just ask three generations of North Dublin women who find themselves suddenly facing the unexpected.
Corofin Dramatic Society, directed by John Clancy return to Athlone, and will also present a performance of The Weir' by Conor McPherson on Sunday 11th May.
Last year's winners, Ballyduff Drama Group, directed by Ger Canning, take to the stage on Monday 12th May with The Blackwater Lightship' by Colm Toib n, adapted for the stage by David Horan. It's 90's Ireland and HIV/AIDS is still a terminal diagnosis. Can a makeshift family unit face up to the illness of a young man who has the disease and each other?
On Tuesday 13th May Wexford Drama Group will perform Skylight' written by David Hare, which is a beautiful and biting romance set in 1990's London. A schoolteacher receives an unexpected visit from her former lover. As the evening progresses, they attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.
Balally Players, return to Athlone on Wednesday 14th May. Directed by Declan Rudden, they will perform Ulster American', a black comedy written by David Ireland. An Oscar-winning actor, a director and a playwright meet. The stage is set for success but when they meet to discuss the play's challenges and provocations a line is crossed, and their heated discussion quickly escalates into violence.
Bridge Drama, directed by Susan Somers, present a play based on the bestselling book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon, adapted for the stage by Simons Stephens on Thursday 15th May. Christopher Francis Boone is fifteen years old. He embarks on his own investigation to find the killer of his neighbour's dead dog, but the truth turns his world upside down.
On 16th May, Newpoint Players, directed by S
Europe Stories
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
18 Dec 2025
VEON Upgraded to Nasdaq Global Select Market, Enhancing Investor Visibility Dubai, December 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital o...
18/12/2025
Thursday 18 December 2025
Sky Sports remains the exclusive home of the Masters ...
18/12/2025
Using the additive process of 3D printing, layer after layer gets printed until an object is as close to the final shape needed as possible. Historically, machi...
18/12/2025
In 2025, RT proudly supported 185 arts and cultural events across the island of Ireland, reflecting significant growth since the scheme was re-launched in 2014...
18/12/2025
RT Sports Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
18/12/2025
RT lyric fm presents a very special Winter Solstice edition of Ambient Orbit, l...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Wuppertal December 17, 2025
Riedel Builds Global Communication and Commentary ...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
11/12/2025
Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
Festival programme promises a feast of drama, an action-packed fringe festival and a live stream www.rte.ie 
