The Lifford Players recent poster
A famous scribe once wrote:
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.”
You could easily apply this, one of Shakespeare's most frequently quoted passages, to the Lifford Players.
Donegal County Council will honour Lifford Players and their achievements with a civic reception in the County House, Lifford on Monday 25 May 2015 at 6pm. This Civic Reception will be hosted by the Cathaoirleach Cllr. John Campbell and by the members of Donegal County Council.
From modest beginnings, the Lifford Players have gone on to make their mark at so many levels including winning local, regional and national awards.
The Lifford Players began back in 1952 when work colleagues in the County House and other places of work in Lifford formed a drama group calling themselves ‘The Lifford Players’ and the group is still flourishing 63 years later.
Over that time many names and faces have shared their talents on and off stage whether it was acting, production, set-building/designing, organising venues, people and places for festivals, performances or rehearsals.
As the Lifford Players developed and grew so too did their repertoire and influences. These extended from the likes of George Shiels, Sean O’Casey, Gerard Healy, Hugh Leonard, Lady Gregory to John B Keane, M. J. Molloy and of course the inimitable Brian Friel to name but a few.
No issue was too big or too small, no time period, character or setting prevented the group from meticulously planning their shows down to the very last detail and no audience or venue ever forgot what a pleasure it was to deal with the Lifford Players.
They were rewarded at various intervals in their six decade on the road with a variety of accolades for their on and off stage offerings, all of them richly deserved for levels of talent, hard work and skill they displayed
The Eighties was their most successful decade. They had three All Ireland winners: ‘Macooks Corner’ in 1982, ‘Wood of the Whispering’ in 1985 and completed an incredible hat- trick when they had the privilege of presenting Brian Friel’s masterpiece ‘Translations’ in 1987.
Not a group to rest on their laurels the Lifford Players have continued to blossom and develop and as one of the country’s longest running amateur drama societies, made sure their legacy continues to nurture and develop young up and coming talent to supplement their already experienced core cast.
Cathaoirleach Cllr. John Campbell is looking forward to the Civic Reception on Monday evening saying that this will be an important day for all concerned.
“Donegal County Council fully recognises the long history and achievements associated with the Lifford Players. With its local energy and dynamism, the local drama movement educates, informs and creates a critical audience which feeds into the aims and objectives of drama itself and to this end the Lifford Players have carved out a proud and rich tradition.”
“The Lifford Players have been major players on this stage and as their record and history show, they’ve performed to the highest of standards every time. We are proud to honour their achievements,” he said.
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