70th Ulster Drama Festival - Margaret

Margaret by Shaun Byrne performed by Ballyshannon Drama Society.

Margaret is in her late eighties. At times she is her old self, sharp, lucid, clear; other times confused, frightened and frustrated. She talks to an imagined Denis, to herself, to the audience.

The play joins Margaret in the last days of her life in the Ritz Hotel suffering from dementia and explores her troubled relationships: with the Irish, the miners, her children, the public, her male colleagues and the fallout from The Falklands War. On stage she is joined by Denis whose stories, songs and mimicry distract and console her as past demons, guilts and successes return to torment, flatter and deceive her.

While Denis’s private impressions were humoured by his wife, they remained largely behind the closed doors of Number 10, only occasionally emerging as a parlour piece for close friends and confidants. It is her distorted memories of these characters that allow us, the audience, a further glimpse into the world of her fractured imagination.

Adjudicator Paul Brennan ADA.

Book for all six nights and enjoy a 20% discount. Definitely not to be missed.