Island Productions who are staging "The Playboy of the Western World" in June this year as part of the Ardhowen Theatre's Summer Season of Drama, are, this year, celebrating their 17th year presenting work for the Theatre. In that time they have presented sixteen productions of both comedy and serious drama, covering the works of Brian Friel, Hugh Leonard, Sean O'Casey, Willy Russell, Alan Ayckbourn and others.

The Company are pleased to have worked over the years with professional actors such as Des Braiden and Tani Bentis and of giving an early chance to young and emerging talent such as Ciaran McMenamin, now a busy and talented professional actor himself.

It's the second time that the Company have staged "The Playboy", having presented it ten years ago when the late Imelda McLernan played the Widow Quinn and with William Caulfield now a professional star of stage and television in his own right, playing the part of Michael James.

The play itself is a comedy set on the west coast of Ireland in the early 1900s and deals with what happens when a young lad who has travelled many miles, arrives into a village shebeen one evening with a tale of having killed his father. Despite his tale of a murderous deed, he is welcomed as a hero by all, including in particular, the women and young girls of the village. Pegeen, the daughter of the house who runs the shebeen, falls in love with him despite the fact that she is betrothed to a young but timid farmer for whom she has no love whatsoever and with the wedding about to take place. What happens when her betrothed Shawn Keogh schemes along with the Widow Quinn to thwart this burgeoning romance, is only a prelude to the events which follow .......

The production runs for seven performances - on 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st June at 8.00 pm. nightly.