An Grianán Theatre has the fourth of its series of online shows broadcast this weekend and it’s very much a local affair. Ramelton based actor and playwright Maggie Hannon brings her first show to the stage, and to the audience, virtually.
The play has been directed by the very experienced Gweedore actor Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhrighde. It’s been recorded by the team at An Grianån Theatre with assistance from the team at the RCC in Letterkenny, and the play is about Catherine Black, a nurse from Ramelton who became King George V’s private nurse in the last seven years of his life.
The show can be watched at any time on Saturday and Sunday and tickets are €10 each. You only need one ticket no matter how many people are watching with you.
‘It’s been a great learning experience’, explained Daithi Ramsay, Marketing Manager of An Grianán Theatre, Daithi is from Letterkenny and now lives in Ramelton.
‘I myself have been doing the video and sound editing, and it’s a steep learning curve! It’s great though at a time like this to be able to support a local artist in this way. We had Maggie’s show booked in but obviously in level 5 we couldn’t go ahead with an audience, but this way she will get paid, the audience can get to see her in the comfort of their own homes, and with the video she also has a calling card to take to other venues.’
‘Broadcasting has obviously come about as a stop gap until we can work at full capacity again but I really think it’s here to stay, I think it’ll go hand in hand with live performances in the future, which is why it’s so important for us to skill up in this way, and it’s been a fantastic way to connect with the Donegal diaspora all over the world. We’re getting a tremendous response from all over the world!’
Written and performed by Margaret Hannon. Catherine Black (1878-1949) MBE, was born in Ramelton. She trained as a nurse in England and worked in the slums of Whitechapel, at the Somme in World war 1, and as King George V’s private nurse in the last 7 years of his life. Her memoir ‘King’s nurse Beggar’s nurse’ was published in 1939 and there’s a copy in the library at Buckingham Palace. This one-woman play is based on that memoir. She is coming to the end of her remarkable life. She has been exposed to the best and worst of humanity, and has always focused valiantly on forgetting the latter. At last she realises that the past doesn’t go away, and that the only way to forget is to remember.
See Sister Black online this weekend, 25th and 26th November – book here.
