Sightless Cinema makes welcome return to Dunamaise Arts Centre

SIGHTLESS Cinema returns to the Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise on Thursday 17 October following the huge success of the visually-impaired group’s hilarious comedy show ***Blind Panic*** last year.

And this year will be no different as the group is back with a fantastic series of audio shorts titled ***Home***. These comedic gems will be delivered in surround sound, where all the pictures are in your head, as optional blindfolds are provided for theatregoers.

More great news is that some tickets priced at €12 and €8 are still available for what is sure to be a wonderful sell-out show.

The programme includes ***The Committee***, a comedy by Laois Sightless Cinema, where Ballinagalt village Tractorfest committee is falling apart. Can a hero emerge to save the village? They will also perform live on the night with ***Waiting***, their comedy about a squeamish dad at the birth of his first child, creating all sound effects live in the style of the first radio dramas on the wireless.

The event also features recorded and live audio plays, performed by casts of Sightless Cinema Network members from Meath and South Dublin. These include ***Homeward Bound***, about when a mother dies leaving the family farm to two brothers, along with big questions to be answered and a mountain to climb; and ***Sleep*** which is set in a sleep-study clinic, where insomniacs and sleepwalkers rule the night.

Michelle de Forge, director of the Dunamaise Arts Centre, spoke to the Laois Nationalist following a recent rehearsal session in the Laois theatre. She said: “The performance on Thursday 17 October is the culmination of a year-long project and this is year two of bringing it to the stage. The project and performances have gotten brilliant reviews, and the radio documentary called Are You Blind or Wha! Made by local radio presenter Anne Marie Kelly has won the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) award for best documentary “Anyone who was at last year’s performance by Sightless Cinema will know what a treat they are in for! There will be three pre-recorded radio plays and three live performances by each of the three groups. Last year the mix of plays included a spooky ghost story and some brilliant comedy that had the audience roaring laughing, so we’re really excited about what is going to be presented onstage on Thursday evening.” Local cast-members Deirde Honan, Ger McHugh, Kathleen Sweeney, Marian Murray and Colin Sims, speaking in unison after a recent rehearsal in the theatre, said that they are delighted to be taking to the stage on Thursday evening (17 October) and that they are very much looking forward to entertaining their audience once again.

Sightless Cinema Laois is funded by Creative Ireland Laois, Laois County Arts Office, Dunamaise Arts Centre and Rethink Ireland. Sightless Cinema is a collaborative arts project for people with sight loss to devise and produce audio theatre.

The remaining tickets are available on www.dunamaise.ie, and from the Dunamaise Arts Centre Box-Office. For more information, phone 057 8663355.