Drama Circle Miss All-Ireland Honours by One Mark

After winning the All-Ireland one-act play section in Naas with “The Pot of Broth”, the Sligo Drama Circle proved once again that they rank with the best in Irish amateur drama by finishing runners-up in the Drama Finals in Athlone with “The Crucible”. The premier award, the Esso Trophy, was won by the Strand Players of Dublin, with “Marat Sade” but they were pushed all the way by the Drama Circle and in the end, only one mark separated both groups. Commenting on the Circle’s production, the adjudicator, Miss Iris Ballard of London, said that the demands of the play were fully grasped and fulfilled by the producer and his team. She had praise for most aspects of production and the groupings and movement were particularly to her liking. She found the pace of the play satisfactory and was impressed with the advantageous use made of pauses and stillness to highlight important moments. Regarding this aspect, she pointed out that all too often the use of the long pause was overlooked by amateur companies and the Sligo players were the first at the festival to use it effectively.

All the other major issues in the play were forcefully put across, especially the sense of mass hysteria and she found that the use of different ground levels worked extremely well. One quibble she had was that the witchcraft link between Salem and the Barbados could have been more firmly established. The costumes were consistent with the period as was the Puritanical outlook of the Salemites except in one case, where she would have preferred brown to maroon. In relation to acting, Miss Ballard was pleased with the all-round balance of the cast. All performances met the requirements of Miller’s characters. She was lavish in her praise of Joan Fitzpatrick’s portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor, which she found extremely moving and sensitive. This was greeted enthusiastically by a capacity audience and eyebrows were raised all round the auditorium on the final night when the best actress award was given to Shelagh Jones of Greystones.

from The Sligo Champion, May 12th, 1972