The Shoestring Theatre Company Charleville became the first group in the country to qualify for the All-Ireland Drama Final in Athlone this year when they won the West Waterford Drama Festival last Saturday night with their stupendous pro-duction of Mark Doherty’s ‘Trad.’ This success follows wins at the Dublin Drama Festival in Rush, and the Mountmellick Drama Festival and puts them straight into the national drama final in Athlone in May.
The Shoestring group, having won their first three festivals, now go on to compete in the four other festivals they elected to go to last year, and this week they will play in the West Cork Festival in Rossmore and will then go on to Glenamaddy and Clare-galway in Co. Galway and New Ross, Co. Wexford to complete their commit-ments to the festival circuit.
This year will mark the 15th time Shoestring Theatre Company has represented Charleville in the All-Ireland Drama Final in Athlone.
Following their success on the festival circuit, the group bring their award winning production back to the Schoolyard Theatre for a run in April prior to going to Athlone.