Past Productions


Doubt
A Parable

Shift Theatre Company starts their programme for 2010 with a production of ‘Doubt – A Parable’ by J P Shanley. This wonderful play (description here) features a strong cast with Niamh Clancy as Sr Aloysious, Glen Forbes as Fr Flynn, Sarah Allen Clarke as Sr James and Donna Anita Nikolaisen as Mrs Muller. The show will run from 6th to 17th July 2010 (no show on Sunday 10th) for 13 performances.

Shift is proud to be associated with the charity One-in-Four for this production, and all* proceeds from Monday night 12th July will go directly to this worthwhile charity. A Q&A session will be held in the theatre immediately following this performance, and will feature Maeve Lewis, Director of One-in-Four and members of the cast, followed by a reception.

*We would like to thank the cast and crew who have donated their performance, Derek & Sorcha of wwwticketoffice.ie, who have donated the booking fee for this performance, and Creative Artists Agency NY on behalf of John Patrick Shanley, who have waived the performing rights for one night’s performance.

Wholly Family

For Shift’s first production, we were invited to share a venue with another company*. With a short lead time, we decided on an evening of monologues under the theme of ‘Family – you can’t live with them; you can’t kill them’. The show featured work from writers such as Alan Bennett, Sebastian Barry, Joanne Harris, Joseph O’Connor and William Shakespeare, and was directed, performed and produced by the Company.

In the capable hands of Shift’s Artistic Director Joyce Ward, and co-directors Emer Horgan and Bernie McNelis, the monologues were linked by a common thread of dysfunctional families and family members in crisis, and showcased the varied and considerable talents of the fledgling group.

One of the last productions to be performed during the final year of that great city-centre venue, Andrew’s Lane Theatre, the show was a huge success, with sellout performances.
*The evening included a performance by Vagabond Players.

Emma
In April 2009, Shift’s production team were invited to direct and produce a play for La Touche Players, a Dublin-based group who were celebrating their 40th year and wanted a show to mark the occasion. A reading was arranged for expressions of interest and, delighted with the turnout, the team decided on an ambitious undertaking - Sandra Fenichel Asher’s stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’! With a cast of sixteen and an eight-week lead time, the team quickly got to work and by opening night, the show was ready. Complete with Regency costumes, hired Louis X1111 furniture and a ballroom scene featuring Mr Beveridge’s Maggot, cast and crew did a wonderful job and entertained full houses almost every night.

The production was directed by Bernie McNelis & Joyce Ward, and sets and sound were also designed by Joyce. Especially notable were Annie Taaffe in the eponymous role, Emer Horgan as Jane Austen herself, and Aoife Lyons as the irrepressible Harriet Smith. The production was the subject of an audio diary on RTÉ’s ‘The Arts Show’.

Hay Fever

October 2009 saw Shift undertake Noël Coward’s ‘Hay Fever’ with a professional cast. Auditions were held in June and were well attended, the team seeing almost sixty hopefuls. There was great talent on show and casting proved a difficult task! Once again, Shift’s high production values and attention to detail were evident in every element of the production.

The beautiful 1920’s set was designed by Joyce Ward with furniture provided by Renaissance Antiques and Niall Mullen Antiques. Costumes were hired from the Abbey Theatre and Footlights Theatrical Costumes and hair and make up was by Lydia Fox. The two-week run was extremely well received and was favourably compared to Gate productions (high praise indeed!).

The show was directed by Bernie McNelis and Sound and Lighting were by Emer Horgan. Set construction by Gerry McCann & Gerry O’Brien.