Brownstown show opens on Valentine's Night

Opening tomorrow night - St Valentine's Night - is a fantastic variety show at Brownstown Hall - and the players' hope is that the funds they raise will help in the construction of the next venue in which they'll perform - the area's new community centre, due to open by September.

For twenty three years Brownstown Community Centre’s players have produced and performed a top class variety show in the tiny brown prefab building that has served them well as a community hall.
Now, Brownstown is getting a beautiful, block built new community centre, which should be ready by September and the last ever variety show is to be performed in the old hall.
“Brownstown Community Centre has always produced a great variety show and it is brilliant for everyone involved. We have adults in the shows who would have started as little kids singing and dancing in the chorus. It is hard work and it is a lot of work but it’s worth every minute,” says Ursula Cahill, who has written the hilarious sketches for this year’s show, which is topically “The Gathering”.
Funny things happen to Ursula and she will tell you herself, she is a bit of a character. Ursula is the woman who asked the barman for an innuendo, she is the woman with a brake fluid habit that says she can stop at any time, she’s currently reading a book on anti-gravity that she can’t put down and her sketches are all about puns, or to be more correct, they’re a play on words.
“The sketches are all about the unique nature of the Irish rural community. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we are always ready to laugh at ourselves. And of course we have our digs, they’ll be a few names in there that people will know from in and around the area,” said Ursula.
The Gathering Variety Show is a mix of singing, dancing and sketches, with a production team that includes a music producer, a light and sound man, a choreographer, a director and over fifty children coming to perform from Fore, Glenidan, Delvin, Archerstown, Clonmellon and Collinstown.
In October of last year Brownstown Community Centre was approved €433,553 in funding under the Rural Development Programme towards building a community facility on the grounds of the Brownstown hurling club in Archerstown. This facility should be ready by September.
“The committee and the community all worked hard to fundraise and this will be our last show here. The end of an era. I hope that lots of people will come out and once more experience the variety show being performed in our wee hall with all its quirks,” said Eileen Smith, one of the hall committee,
“Everyone has worked so hard on this show. Lorraine Ledwith has produced all the musical numbers and over fifty kids are performing, singing and dancing and Lorraine has put so much work in to it and it is just lovely, I think it will be our best show yet,” said Eileen.
Tickets are available from any committee member. Adults are €10 and children are €5. The shows are on 14th, 15th and 16th at 8pm.