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What more appropriate video for Good Friday than ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. Ray Collins performed the part of Judas at the age of 16 in this production – which was in a word – remarkable. Here is a short extract from that show.

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In 2006 Flaggy Lane staged a Disney Extravaganza at Christmas in the Theatre Royal – here is the show programme from that show. Click below for the programme. 2006 – Disney Extravaganza – Flaggy Lane – Show Programme

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Here is a throwback to 1996 and our production of ‘Aladdin’ with David Flynn in the lead role of Aladdin – this is ‘One Jump’ – the opening number… Enjoy!

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I had a request for this one – and am happy to oblige. From the 1995 production of Brigadoon at the Theatre Royal here is the opening number. The show was produced by the Edmund Rice Choral and Musical Society.

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It’s hard to find anything from Avenue Q that isn’t going to offend somebody – but this is one that won’t for sure – unless you’re offended by quality vocals! Richie Hayes, Vicki Graham and Leon Sheehan in a great trio from Avenue Q way back in 2013!

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I’m again grateful to Jim O’Meara for passing on these vintage photos to me from Red Kettle (The Black Pool, The Shaughran & The Gods Are Angry Miss Kerr) and Arts For All – a predecessor to Red Kettle. Click the link below to peruse the gallery. Vintage Red KettleContinue Reading

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Tonight (Thursday) sees Gar Campion take to the stage of Garter Lane for 3 nights in his new one man show. Here’s Gar (Tony Kelly) with Jim Nolan on the Fringe with Mary O’Neill. Gar also invaded Deise Today with Damien Tiernan… Both interviews first aired on WLR – allContinue Reading

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I’m very grateful to Hilary McCormack for sharing a special scrapbook with me this week – full of memories – from the late 1960’s and in particular De La Salle Musical Societies productions. I’ll share it in several parts over the coming weeks. Today I have the 1965 section withContinue Reading

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Some photos from a different angle of the 1993 and 1994 John Player Tops entry from Tramore and Waterford Crystal. All taken from an audience perspective. Thanks to Jane Kennedy (Fraher) for these! Click on the link below to view 1993 / 1994 Photos from John Player Tops

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Nothing like a pack of mad nuns on the stage to celebrate Easter Week in style – that’s exactly what Vicki Graham’s merry troupe from Ignite Productions did in 2015. Here is ‘Raise Your Voice’ from the production with Trishauna Archer playing the lead part of Delores.

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Part 3 of 3 of this fascinating chat with Des Manahan – and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of editing and listening to it. This episode is like an ‘any other business’ episode where he talks of everything from the state of arts in Waterford today toContinue Reading

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Way back to 1965 and the silver jubilee production of De La Salle MS as they presented ‘The Merry Widow’ in the Theatre Royal. Many familiar names and faces, adverts from a long bygone era – it’s all in these pages. Thanks to Patrice Power for filling in this blankContinue Reading

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Jumping back 24 years today to 1996 and a piece of G&S. The Edmund Rice Choral And Musical Society presented ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ in the Theatre Royal and here is an extract. This featured Denny Corcoran as a Groucho Marx styled Chief of Police!

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Thank you to Patrice Power for sharing these vintage photos from 1958 and ‘The White Horse Inn’. 3 photos – in the first one is her Dad Paddy Doyle and the legendary Musical Director Stanley Bowyer. Then we have in costume Joyce Conway, Betty and Aileen Cooney. Finally in theContinue Reading

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Did you ever wonder what the letter looked like telling groups details of what comes next when they got through the Tops preliminary rounds? Wonder no more – have a click below. This is 1981 and the letter to Waterford Crystal (Group leader Dando Kelly) 1981 – Tops Letter SentContinue Reading

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Huge thanks to Alleyn Pheasy for sharing this video of me of Panto back in the 1980’s and the old Waterford Pantomime Society. There’s a rogues gallery of Dwarfs on display including Ritchie Collins, Padraig O’GrÄ«ofa, Noel Keating, Denis Grant, Jimmy Kelly,Liam Molloy and Alleyn Pheasy himself. Enjoy 🙂

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The first of a three part audio-podcast series with Des Manahan – recent winner of the Waterford News And Star Green Room Lifetime Achievement Award. I spoke to Des the day before he won the award and he didn’t have an inkling what lay around the corner the very nextContinue Reading

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It’s the 40th anniversary of the Portlaw Panto this year – huge congrats on reaching that milestone! So it’s only fitting to feature some memorabilia from the society. Here is the 10th anniversary programme from 30 years ago – 1990. There are some famous and familiar faces in the pagesContinue Reading

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I had the absolute honour of being invited to Des and Monas house this weekend gone to sit down and record some of his memories of days gone by. There is an absolute treasure trove – Des is such a gentle and humble man. I was wondering where to startContinue Reading

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Timely at the moment considering what’s coming up next weekend! Join Nicky Cummins and Sean O’Kelly for a couple of minutes to see what was topical 27 years ago. The lads are hilarious as ever!

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In 2014 the cream of Waterford (and indeed the collective countrywide) talent gathered in the Theatre Royal for a special night in memory of the legendary Bryan Flynn. It was a wonderful night of variety. The show programme contains many memories and other articles that are of huge interest includingContinue Reading

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Just a short jump back today – 4 years to 2016 and WMS staged ‘Oklahoma’. The award winning part of that production was the Ballet – winning at the AIMS awards in 2016. Have a look and enjoy – it’s a great piece.

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Who can remember the red incarnation of the Theatre Royal? The one that lasted from the late 1990s to the Late 2000’s? Here is a gallery of photos once again from Dermot Powers collection that brings back memories of an ‘in between’ time when the Theatre basked in a redContinue Reading

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Yep – half a million people have viewed videos, listened to audio, browsed show programmes and looked at photos over the last 2 and a half years. I always knew that a certain interest level would be there for the archive site and eventually it might clock up to aContinue Reading

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A huge thanks again to Dermot Power for these photos. I’m only too delighted to add them to the archive. This time it’s a collection of external photos, renovation photos and some featuring Flaggy Lane and the legendary Larry Fanning who did so much for the Theatre Royal in hisContinue Reading

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The opening from the Royal Variety Show of 2011 – featuring Anything Goes performed by Julie Power and the Lullaby of Broadway performed by Ursula Hauck – along with a host of dancers.

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I’m very grateful to Dermot Power who shared a veritable treasure trove of material with me during the week. I will share this out gradually over the next few weeks / months, but there are some great images there and articles and videos about the Theatre. To kick off haveContinue Reading

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Back in the day (as they say) the Stella Maris produced several Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas – H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers and The Mikado to name but a few. Here is a show programme from ‘The Gondoliers’ and an image of some of the cast inContinue Reading

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Some absolute gems here. Too many people to mention, too much strange carry-on! Some young faces, some older faces and some that are not with us anymore. It’s made of of rehearsal footage a little backstage on the night of the performance.

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With the week that is in it the first post of the year can only be a tribute to the late great Dick Hayes – the finest singer of his generation. This is taken from a tribute night to the great Denny Corcoran in 2003 – and Denny also appearsContinue Reading

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Here is a very very special video. Last month (November 2019) Jim Nolan’s latest play ‘The Red Iron’ hit the stage in Garter Lane. It was a sellout, a runaway success and the clamour for tickets was unprecedented as people tried to get in to see this latest masterpiece. WhereasContinue Reading

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Way way back to almost 50 years ago today and Des Keogh was the national Tops adjudicator. I have come across a number of these adjudications – and they are always interesting. This is a countrywide report. In the course of it he discusses the ACEC show, singling out theContinue Reading

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Happy Bank Holiday Weekend! Heres another one of the lovely vintage videos taken backstage and around the Theatre during the John Player Tops. I’m not 100% on it’s origin, but there’s loads of familiar young faces in there. Have a look!

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I’m delighted to share this with the kind permission of Mary Roche, the Coughlan family and Jim Nolan. This is a rare scene from the Gods are Angry Miss Kerr, Jim Nolans first play, as performed in Gala 121 by Stage Fright in honour of the 121st birthday of theContinue Reading

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Back 58 years to 1961 and the show programme from the De La Salle Musical Society production of Die Fledermaus. 1961 – Die Fledermaus – Show Programme

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The brilliant family from the 1993 Tops of the Town Tramore show that reached the televised final in the Gaeity Theatre. Using songs from the Pyjama game to a Chorus Line it was a show stopper. Enjoy.

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Hope everybody had a nice August break. Coming to our own Theatre Royal next week is a double dose of Waterford plays – Rigor Mortis by Pat Daly and Ghosting by Anne O’Riordan and Jamie Beamish. Joining me to talk all things Rigor and Ghosting are Mick Quinlan and AnneContinue Reading

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Featuring the legendary Ritchie Collins leading the troops is the 1984 Clover Tops opening which started with “No Business Like Show Business’.

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Loads of familiar faces here from Ray Ban, Tramore and Port and Docks. Have a look and see how many young faces you recognise! There’s quite a few! Originally from the News & Star. 1992 – Tops Press Photos

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Todays video comes from the Ray Ban Tops show of 1992 and its an extract from Little Shop Of Horrors featuring Skid Row (led by Billy McCarthy), Little Shop Of Horrors and Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.

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I was delighted to be given a copy of an old cassette recording of the launch of Stage Frights ‘Pentimenti’ in the Waterford Crystal Showrooms way back in 1998. It’s important to acknowledge and thank David Hennessy for this valuable recording he shared with us all. Joining me to talkContinue Reading

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In 1989 Red Kettle produced the Tennessee Williams masterpiece ‘The Glass Menagerie’ in Garter Lane under the direction of Barry Cassin. Here is the show programme for a browse. 1989 – The Glass Menagerie – Red Kettle – Show Programme.

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Very few people in Waterford haven’t heard of Jim Nolan, and don’t know about all he does for Theatre in Waterford. Shows like ‘The Gods are Angry’, ‘The Salvage Shop’, ‘Brighton’, ‘Dreamland’, ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’ and now ‘The Red Iron’ have all come from Jim’s pen. Countless otherContinue Reading

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Season 2 of ‘Showtime’ continues with a lively and fun chat with Jamie Beamish and Richard Hardwick, creators of the much loved ‘CAT’ which returns to the Theatre Royal next week. Some great anecdotes and craic and even a soundbite from Elaine Paige (sort of) make up this weeks episode.Continue Reading

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Way way back many centuries ago… well not exactly – way way back 21 years ago Premier Production produced ‘Joseph’ in the Forum – becoming the first local society to produce a musical in the Theatre. Here is the opening sequence from that show with many many familiar young faces.

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One of my favourite parts of ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ is the ‘Notes/Prima Donna’ sequence – which was so wonderfully delivered in todays video back in 2014 by an amazingly talented cast of so called ‘juniors’. I say so-called as they would put many a seasoned performer to shame.Continue Reading

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In 2017 the South Eastern Theatre Group produced ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ – another highly successful production with AIMS nominations reflecting this, winning the award for best Ensemble. Here’s the show programme for a look. 2017 – Jesus Christ Superstar – Show Programme

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Well now we are into the Irish Summer (!!) lets keep going with some summer-themed songs and ‘Summer Lovin’ from Stage Frights production of Grease back in 1991 – The show that re-invigorated theatre in Waterford. There’s a host of legends in this show… and in this clip too –Continue Reading

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A little bit of Me And My Girl today and the opening to Act 2 – ‘The Sun Has Got His Hat On’. This is from the Edmund Rice Choral and Musical Society and this production was staged in 2003, directed by Bryan Flynn. Enjoy!

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Today I’m adding in the 1995 WIFLO Season Brochure to the archive. In 1995 the Waterford entry was ‘Oliver’ by Stage Fright under the direction of Bryan Flynn. It was to finish as runner up in the festival as well as scooping a number of individual awards. Added to theContinue Reading

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To round off the weekend 25th Anniversary here is a special episode I put together with the help of Bill Stafford, Paul Browne, Karen Hearne, Ben Hennessy, Richie Hayes and Seneiva Magill , with thanks to David Flynn for a special appearance. Enjoy!

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Some more comedy from the 1994 Tops of the Town national winning show. This time from Davy Sutton and Nicky Cummins as Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton.

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For the weekend that was in it back in 1994 the RTE Guide ran a feature for ‘Tops’. Here it is to peruse. 1994 – Tops Feature – RTE Guide

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Another Tops clip – this time from Ray Ban again – 1992. The Finale of the show started with a Blues Brothers ‘Gimme some lovin’ lead by Terry ‘Scol‘ Grant and led into ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’ led by Hazel Tebay. Another classic scene.

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Way back 50 years today to the spring of 1969 and a production of South Pacific from De La Salle Musical Society. Here is the show programme from that show that featured many well known stars from yester year. South Pacific has remained a favourite – since being produced byContinue Reading

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Back to 1985 today and the Presentation Secondary School produced ‘Calamity Jane’. Here’s the show programme to peruse. 1985 – Calamity Jane – Show Programme

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Today is the fifth anniversary of the passing of our dear friend and inspiration Bryan Flynn. Here is the video of the Tops Of The Town final 1994 Chaplin scene. No further description is necessary. #genius

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This time of the year has become Waterford Musical Society’s time of year and with their production of ‘South Pacific’ approaching here is a throwback to their last Rogers & Hammerstein production – the classic ‘Oklahoma’. Here’s the show programme (which is always a well produced treat from WMS). 2016Continue Reading

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Back a short hop today to 2017 and Ignite Productions were once again producing an original piece of theatre that was challenging. This time it was the recent Broadway / London Lin Manuel Miranda masterpiece ‘In The Heights’. 2017 – In The Heights – Show Programme

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The Variety Show preceded the Bilberry Goats comedy shows and was in essence 2 tops of the town style halve with extracts from musicals, comedy and various other acts. Produced by Michael Grant and Padraig O’Griofa, they kept variety going in a city void of variety for a number ofContinue Reading

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From 2006 – The Finale of ‘Babes In The Wood’ – a mash up of Bat Out Of Hell and Holding Out For a Hero.

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The first Schools production of Les Mis in Waterford was performed by De La Salle College in 2006 in the Theatre Royal. Here is the show programme from that very performance. 2006 – Les Miserables – Show Programme

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Another of the Backstage videos – this time of Crazy For You by Premier Productions in 2003. This mainly features a tour of the set (or lack thereof) by the Stage Manager Brian ‘Juckey‘ Collins in his own inimitable style. Good fun – enjoy!

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This is the opening from the Tramore Tops 1992 production produced by the late great Bryan Flynn. This show got to the national quarter finals. The opening featuring songs from Company and Godspell was fronted by Carrie Crowley and Keith Dunphy.