REVIEW | Longford's Backstage Theatre Group's An Evening of One Acts

Longford’s Backstage Theatre Group showcased a fun night and highlighted what talent the county has to offer.

Taking place on Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18 in the Backstage Theatre, An Evening of One Acts offered an entertaining evening. Mary Newman, from the Drama League of Ireland, had also been in attendance, along with friends, family and drama enthusiasts. For some, it was the first time on stage as actors, while others were more experienced with the group.

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Although the night was supposed to have Michele Ciba’s ‘Dada’ as one of the initial three performances, this was rescheduled to a later date.

A public Facebook announcement prior to the night had said that an actor had to pull out due to personal circumstances. Nevertheless, this did not stop the enjoyment for ‘Baby Steps’ by Moira Mahony and Sarah Fahy; and ‘Dada’ by Frank Houlihan.

Christine O’Brien demonstrated her skillful directing skills with ‘Baby Steps’, and lead actors, Oisin Hourican and Sarah O’Keefe gave phenomenal, fun and realistic performances when depicting Chris and Ash. The Chorus delivered an effective way to tell the backstory of the lead characters, adding humour, subtext and a liveliness to what was a heartfelt story.

‘Dada’ was the same, having shown the skill of Maureen Dunne as a director. It starred Peter Columb, Jim Davey, Dee Monahan, Trish McCormack and Laura Brennan.

Writers of the two pieces showed how much could be achieved with only one act, supplying a complete plotline which led to a round of applause by the crowd. Both plays were separated by an interval, which involved a raffle for people to enter.

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Overall, everybody left the theatre smiling. As Christine O’Brien discussed last week with the ‘Longford Leader’, she hoped that the night would create discussion and make people want to return to watch the theatre. With the reactions by the crowd, this goal seemed to be achieved.

An Evening of Short plays was a great success for the group, cast, producers and writers.

These plays were a wrap for the autumn production of autumn 2025. The next round of productions will be in spring of 2026.