The 24th Charles Macklin Autumn School

The seaside village festival celebrates the memory of the 18th century Culdaff -born playwright Charles Macklin, hosting writing classes, exhibitions, lectures, heritage walks, music, story-telling and plays. Drama: ‘The London Vertigo’ by Brian Friel, his adaptation of Macklin’s comedy ‘The True-born Irishman’, performed by the Balor Rep. The play was written as a satire on Irish people who behaved in a pretentious manner as they aped English manners and customs.

Music: Brian Friel enriches the dramatic experience by introducing music from a wide repertoire in many of his plays. A commissioned musical evening will showcase the musical component in Friel’s works providing an insight into the playwright’s eclectic musical tastes. Drama: ‘Macklin: Method and Madness’ by Gary Jermyn and Michael J Ford. Set in the London of World War Two, as the BBC is recording a Macklin play, the session is interrupted by a bombing episode and mayhem ensues. Art Exhibition: A retrospective of the works of Willie Doran, a distinguished Culdaff painter who trained in Dublin with some of the great artists of the 20th century.