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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
Festival programme promises a feast of drama, an action-packed fringe festival and a live stream www.rte.ie 
