Fantastic opening night for new Tallaght Theatre

THE long-awaited opening of the new Tallaght Theatre last week was a celebratory affair, with a crowd of 80 people who came to see the Tallaght Theatre Group tread the boards once again after a six-year hiatus.

The Tallaght Theatre Group, which has been active in the area for over 40 years, is made up of amateur performers with an enduring passion for bringing the arts to Tallaght.

The group was inactive in recent years, as they were waiting for the rebuilding of the Tallaght Theatre on the Greenhills Road, which was delayed as a result of the pandemic.

Their former theatre was demolished in 2018 to make way for the Temple Woods residential development at the former site of the Cuckoo’s Nest in Kilnamanagh.

The new Tallaght Theatre is now where the former carpark for the original theatre was located.

The opening of the new theatre last Wednesday, March 30, marked the first performance by the group in six years with a warmly received performance of Brian Friel’s ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come’.

Breda Sweeney from Tallaght Theatre told The Echo: “It was a fantastic night. We got a great reception from the audience.

“There was a great buzz, because it’s community theatre and a lot of the patrons were people who had seen us in the past.

“But there were lots of new faces too.”

Last week’s performance kicked off the Tallaght Theatre Group’s ten-day run of ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come’, which is being performed at the theatre up to and including this Friday, April 8.

“We had about 80 people at the opening night, and then the next two nights we were full,” said Ms Sweeney.

“The fact that we were back in the community and so many people came, shows that we were missed.”

Tickets for the performances tonight, Thursday, April 7, and tomorrow, Friday, April 8 are €12 each. For further details visit the Tallaght Theatre Group Facebook page, or call 086 811 9688 to book tickets in advance.

As for the exciting future of the new Tallaght Theatre, Ms Sweeney said she hopes it can become an arts venue with a wide variety of uses, such as art exhibitions.

“We would love to have more artistic output in the theatre, than just doing theatre performances,” Ms Sweeney added.