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Cambusdonald Royal - The Second Sorcerer's Tale took to the road on Saturday last and was performed in Castle Island as part of the Kerry Drama Festival. In front of a full house of betweeen 150 and 200 people, the cast rose to the occasion and were given a great review by the adjudicator afterwards.

The Backstage crew had left Claregalway at 6am and arrived in Castleisland at 9am. The renovated Protestant Church was a unique venue with a lovely feeling of the performing arts all around. Set designer Malachy Noone lost no time in getting to the job at hand and with the help of John Brennan, John Fahy and Patsy Cahalan the set quickly took shape. The stage is the smallest of the circuit and there were some minor adjustments required....

By 12 noon when Frank Moran, Demot Hession, Joe O'Connell and Ollie Moran all sauntered in, the stage was literally set. Well, almost. Lights were hung, sound cables laid and tins of paint were opened. Despite the crew thinking they were ahead of schedule during their 2pm tea break, work continued furiously with everyone lending each other a hand. Sound checks echoed through the hall and lights were put through their routine.

By 4:30pm when the cast arrived we were finally begining to see some hope of being ready. Finishing off the set took every bit of the time we had but finally at 6:15pm tools were laid down and we walked over to the hotel for a deserved dinner. The break was short lived before Frank and Joe took up office in their little control room. The crowd was starting to appear and people showed some signs of nerves. Backstage Director Philip Cribbin gave his few final words of encouragement and advice. Stage Manager Fidelma O'Rourke was in control of them now.

The Curtains were surplus to requirement today and at 8:20pm the hall lights dimmed and the actors took centre stage. From the moment the lights were brough up the crowd were entertained to a brilliant show.

When the show ended the crowd were applauding and giving their appreciation to the show and cast. The adjudicator spoke for 15 minutes and the night came to an end. Back at work the whole set was taken apart again and despite some concerns, it all fitted into the rental van ready for the road. Before hitting the road, some of the crew and all of the cast relaxed in the local hotel for an hour.

Everyone was relieved the night had gone as planned and despite being drained, we all looked forward to Wednesday's trip to Tubbercurry in Co.Sligo.

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