
The 2023 RT All-Ireland Drama Festival
Launches at Dublin's Abbey Theatre
Drama groups from around the country gathered today at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, for the launch of the 2023 RT All Ireland Drama Festival, under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland.
Starting on Thursday, 27 April, and running until Friday 5 May, drama festivals from across the island of Ireland will compete in the All-Ireland deciders, with the presentation of the final awards on Saturday May 6.
Festival Director, Regina Bushell, said: This is a very special year for the festival as the ADCI, founded in Athlone in 1953, is celebrating its 70th Anniversary. Fittingly, the standard of the plays this year is truly very high, and expectation is building as our groups prepare to perform under the watchful eye of this year's adjudicator Paula Dempsey. And this year we have the premiere of a brand-new Irish play written by one of the group members, as well as two amateur premieres.
Dee Forbes, Director-General, RT , said: With the RT All Ireland Drama Festival, RT is proud to foster creativity and acting talent through drama, and to bring the excitement and tension of this unique festival to audiences all over Ireland, through the partnership with RT lyric fm, through RT .ie and our social channels, and through RT Radio 1. We are delighted this year to produce yet another ambitious radio and television campaign that gets to the heart of what make this festival so enduring: the power of drama, of the individual, and of the collective, and the resilience to start again. The spotlight is on Athlone during May, and we will be there .
The festival also revealed a revamped website at http://www.dramafestival.ie. The official draw for the line-up for the 2023 RT All Ireland Drama Festival took place on Monday 10 April.
The 2023 festival sees the return of last year's winners, Ballyduff Drama Group, presenting an exciting Irish premiere of The Welkin' by Lucy Kirkwood, while former winners Newpoint Players will present Happy Days' by Samuel Beckett. Dundalk Theatre Workshop will perform Brian Friel's masterpiece Faith Healer', and Thurles Drama Group will present Conor MacPherson's play, 'The Seafarer'. Former winners Dalkey Players are presenting By the Bog of Cats', Marina Carr's play. And the festival will also welcome back former double winners, Prosperous Dramatic Society. Prosperous are performing the amateur premiere of Oleanna by David Mamet. Back too are Wexford Drama Group with the amateur premiere of the winner of the 2014 Moli re Award for Best Play, Florian Zeller's The Father , alongside Ballyshannon Drama Society with their production of the Pulitzer Prize winning, A Delicate Balance' by Edward Albee. Butt Drama Circle will return with another premiere, a new three hander Irish play Darkness Echoing' written by Butt Drama member Shaun Byrne, following on from the success of last year's An Incident with Dave Cotter'.
This year's adjudicator Paula Dempsey, is an actor, director and drama adjudicator and holds an MA in Modern Drama Studies from University College Dublin. She has been adjudicating since 2007 and is a member of the Association of Theatre Adjudicators.
Tickets are now on sale and can be booked through the Dean Crowe website at http://www.deancrowetheatre.com/ or at the theatre box office, phone (090) 6492129. Admission 20 (includes a 1 Booking Fee). Concessions are available.
The Athlone Festival will also have a packed programme of fringe events, including fringe highlights the Annual Schools Playwright competition and the Athlone Film Festival. Now in its 10th year the playwright competition attracted entries from TY students from 12 counties. Sponsored again by Athlone Credit Union the awards ceremony takes place on 25 April. Further details are available on our website and social media.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/09/2026
Next-Generation Freeform Control Surfaces Lay the Foundation for AI-Enabled Media Operations
At IBC2026 (Sept. 11 14, RAI Amsterdam, Stand #1.B73), Imagine Com...
02/09/2026
Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, the world's largest theater stage, has modernized its backstage production infrastructure with a comprehensive Riedel solut...
02/09/2026
Women in Media announces that it will host the two-day Reel/Forward in-person conference devoted to navigating today's production scene. Guests can enjoy pa...
02/09/2026
The expanded partnership brings Teradek's Live Production solutions to New Media AV's European dealer and integrator network, opening new opportunities ...
02/09/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, announces a major expansion to its award winning Studio...
02/09/2026
BCNEXXT, the developers of the advanced playout platform Vipe, today announced that premium entertainment brand Foxtel has selected Vipe to underpin playout for...
02/09/2026
SubtitleNEXT helps HOT Telecom's subtitling team keep a cool head with reliable QC capabilities
Profuz Digital, global developer of digital media and local...
02/09/2026
Case Study: Mission Digital Strengthens Battery Safety with Safe-ion
As productions become increasingly dependent on battery-powered equipment, the safe storag...
02/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Influenza viruses constantly shapeshift to evade recognition by the immune system. This shapeshifting occurs in critical proteins like hemagglutini...
02/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Clinicians often use a medical test called a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to diagnose heart problems, which uses electrodes placed on the chest ...
02/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Proteins may look like rigid molecular structures, but inside our c...
01/09/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 produc...
01/09/2026
DAZN has announced an agreement to acquire EverPass Media, a commercial sports distribution platform serving bars, restaurants, hotels, and other venues in the ...
01/09/2026
The USTA and Kalshi have announced a multi-year partnership making Kalshi the Official Prediction Market Partner of the US Open, beginning with the 2026 US Open...
01/09/2026
MASV will exhibit at IBC2026 (Booth 5.B40, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14). CTO Majed Alhajry will appear on a panel session, A Tale of Two Feeds: Automation o...
01/09/2026
FingerWorks Telestrators has announced a partnership with Broadcast Rental to ex...
01/09/2026
FOR-A has announced the expansion of viztrick AiDi into two dedicated products: Go Vertical! AiDi and AiDi Sports Hub. Developed by Nippon TV and delivered glob...
01/09/2026
Sony Pictures Television has launched Live TV on PS5, a free ad-supported streaming experience available to PS5 players in the United States. The service is acc...
01/09/2026
Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin has installed a Riedel production infrastructure spanning video, intercom, control, and I/O across the venue, implemented in col...
01/09/2026
Arkona technologies GmbH has announced an OEM partnership with BFE Studio und Medien Systeme GmbH to offer arkona-branded control panels for its SDI-IP routing ...
01/09/2026
Cricket Australia has launched Cricket TV, a direct-to-consumer streaming service built on Eluvio's Content Fabric platform. The service is currently in ear...
01/09/2026
Eluvio has announced it was selected to power Pasifika , a new direct-to-consume...
01/09/2026
Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media workflow platform Streamcake, has appointed Jon Marquard as Director and Chairperson. The appointment marks ...
01/09/2026
Gravity Media has announced a multi-year renewal of its agreement with Stawell Gift Event Management to produce the complete broadcast of the Powercor Stawell G...
01/09/2026
Beam Dynamics will exhibit at IBC2026 for the first time (Stand 14.FT29, Hall 14), introducing License Intelligence, a new module for managing software licenses...
01/09/2026
Interra Systems has announced that ZOO Digital has selected BATON for file-based quality control across its media workflows. ZOO Digital delivers localized ente...
01/09/2026
Bridge Technologies has announced the deployment of its VB330 monitoring probe at Sunrise, supporting the Swiss telecommunications provider's IP-based telev...
01/09/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the continued expansion of its managed coach communications partnership with Scottish Rugby Union, now entering its third se...
01/09/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
01/09/2026
SMPTE today detailed the centerpiece of its IBC2026 program: the SMPTE Roadshow: Future of Media Infrastructure, a full-day workshop on Monday, 14 September, th...
01/09/2026
Inside the Music and Sound of Michael
Sound Particles have announced an upcoming webinar with John Warhurst, the Academy Award- and BAFTA-winning supervisin...
01/09/2026
Piano offers tutorials, lessons & feedback via app
Roland have just launched a new digital piano that integrates with a mobile app in an effort to encourage...
01/09/2026
Update introduces 7.1.4 support via Dante
Trinnov have just announced a software update that will allow Nova units with eight licensed Optimizer channels to...
01/09/2026
SBS secures exclusive rights to FIFA World Cup 2030
1 September, 2026
Media releases
Major sports rights deal ensures all Australians will be able to view...
01/09/2026
SBS announces the launch of outcomes-based measurement across its network
1 September, 2026
Media releases
New offer sees national broadcaster put outcomes...
01/09/2026
Revealed: The Booster Economy' how $140bn+ in everyday inheritances'...
01/09/2026
SBS census explorer to provide new insights into contemporary Australia
1 September, 2026
Media releases
The 2026 Census Explorer will give marketers new i...
01/09/2026
SBS and oOh!media launch exclusive SBS News content partnership across office, a...
01/09/2026
SBS offers marketers greater reach with extension into outdoor, creator economy ...