In the News

Public meeting called over Sudden closure of Athlone Theatre

WESTMEATH INDEPENDENT, 20 MAY, 2009

Shock expressed at closure of grant-aided facility
A public meeting is to take place tomorrow (Thursday) in response to the sudden closure of the Passionfruit Theatre in Athlone.
The organisers of the theatre and live music venue, which was established at the Freemasons' premises on Northgate Street, learned in recent weeks that the lease on the venue was finished and that they would have to move out.
Performances by Andy Irvine and The Guggenheim Grotto were among the events scheduled to take place at the Passionfruit Theatre in May but these gigs had to be cancelled, while a performance by John Spillane in June has been moved to the Palace Loft.
The locks have been changed at the venue and last week the ‘Passionfruit Theatre Company' lettering was removed from the front of the building.
The intimate, 60-seat theatre was opened to the public in March 2008 after being established with the aid of a €40,000 refurbishment grant from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
Organisers said that, in total, over €100,000 was spent on its development, with much of this coming in the form of contributions from locals.
A public meeting has now been called by the theatre's organisers to discuss issues surrounding the closure of the local facility and this is set to take place in The Bounty tomorrow evening at 7.30pm.
The late Joe Ducke, who passed away in January, was a driving force behind the foundation of the theatre and it's understood that the lease on the premises was in his name, along with the name of another individual no longer involved with the Passionfruit Theatre Company.
When contacted by the Westmeath Independent on Monday, Brian Burford of the Athlone Lodge of the Freemasons stated that the lease was finished because one of the two people on the lease had died and the other was no longer involved.
Mr Burford stated that "refurbishment work" would now be carried out at the premises, and that the lease "will be up for renewal to anyone who wants it, in due course".
It was rumoured that some Freemasons were unhappy with live music being played at the venue. When asked if this was the case, Mr Burford replied: "That's nothing to do with you." He then went on to say that the ending of the lease "had nothing to do with music being played there".
Athlone TD Mary O'Rourke made representations to Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv to help secure the government's €40,000 refurbishment grant for the facility at Northgate Street.
When asked about its recent closure, Deputy O'Rourke said: "At the moment there are a couple of us working on that matter and we are hoping that we will find some way through the present difficulty."
Since its opening last year, the venue staged a number of plays and hosted concerts by artists such as Damien Dempsey, Cathy Davey, Don Baker, Eleanor McEvoy and Mick Flannery.
Fiona Ducke, daughter of the late Joe, is the secretary of the Passionfruit Theatre Company. She said this week that she was "extremely shocked and upset" at the recent events.
"I am not just upset for Passionfruit Theatre Company and the hard work we have put into the venue but also for the wider community," she said.
"It was a community project from the very start. Public funding and local people's kind donations made the theatre the fabulous venue it is today. It is unthinkable that we cannot continue at 9 Northgate Street."

Public meeting to discuss future of Passion Fruit in Athlone

From Shannonside FM, 21 May 2009

A public meeting to discuss the future of the Passion fruit theatre company in Athlone is to be held tonight.

The group was set up five years ago, and last year took up residence at an old hall on Northgate Street.

It's understood that the group now face the possibility of becoming homeless because the owners of the hall do not appear to be in favour of renewing the lease.

The Theatre sign has been taken down from outside the building, and a sign has been put in the window advertising the premises for rent or lease.

It's also understood that about 100 thousand euro of public money has been spent on the hall in the past year to provide a stage and tiered seating, and other facilities.

Tonight's meeting gets underway at half past seven at The Bounty in Athlone.

Samuel Beckett’s First Love in the Passionfruit

ATHLONE ADVERTISER, OCTOBER 10, 2008

Regarded by many as the finest Beckett actor of his generation, Conor Lovett will star in the Gare St Lazare production of Beckett's masterpiece, First Love, in the Passionfruit theatre, Athlone next weekend.

Internationally renowned for their fresh and accessible versions of Beckett's prose works, Gare St Lazare present acclaimed actor, Conor Lovett, with this novella in which the narrator, expelled from the family home upon the death of his father, takes refuge on a bench by a canal. There he meets a woman who takes him home and the events that follow are hilariously terrible. A masterpiece of Beckettian perversity!

For those already interested in the work of Samuel Beckett, such a production is simply unmissable; however, for those unfamiliar with the work of Ireland's most famous playwright, this is the perfect occasion to become acquainted with Beckett's work, given the extraordinary talent that is Conor Lovett.

WESTMEATH INDEPENDENT, APRIL 1, 2009

Having both performed and lived in a variety of locations such as Scotland, England, the Middle East and the Basque Country, gifted folk singer Harry Bird is on his way to the Passionfruit Theatre with his full band this Saturday, April 4 next.

His musical experience is inspired from these many walks of life and will inspire any audience.

After leaving Durham based folk/reggae band "Wiggy and the Naturalists in 2003, Harry set off for Bilbao with a collection of songs inspired by the Stop the War demonstrations, Manu Chao's right hand and some old sea shanties. Five years later, as a response to the diverse musical traditions he encountered whilst playing around the Basque Country, he set up the collective "Chincho por Tatou" with the help of five imaginary friends: Chincho Etxelasai, Tátou Carapasse, Stito El-Gdada and the Crokie Brothers.