Authors to feature on local radio airwaves

Janice Donnelly will be revealing more about the project when she takes to the local radio airwaves.

Janice and fellow author Shirley Gault will be appearing live on Justin Macartney’s Show on Carrickfergus FM at noon today (Thursday). They will be talking about their books, Buying Time and Trying Times by Janice and Reflections and Reflections Two by Shirley.

Janice stated: “ I’ll also be promoting a new play being produced by a cross-community drama group I belong to. The group is ACT (Andersonstown Community Theatre) and the play is The Bus Run.” The project is funded by Arts Council NI and the play is written by Patricia Gormley.

Janice continued: “The idea behind The Bus Run project is to highlight and showcase the talents of older people in our community.

“The show will consist of music, drama and song. Through the medium of drama the participants can bring their experiences to the stage as part of the West Belfast Feile in August.

“The Bus Run follows the antics of a group of older people as they embark on a weekend away. They are heading to Omeath - a tiny village just over the border -to take part in Omeath Has Talent. They have also heard that Dolly Parton is going to make an appearance at a funeral of an old friend at the same time.

“There are lots of twists and turns in this impressive show and the cast of approximately 30 performers are looking forward to treading the boards. Many of the participants have never performed on stage before and are very excited about making their debut performance.”

The group’s plan, she added, is to take excerpts of the play out into the community and offer a similar experience to others throughout Belfast and eventually towns throughout Northern Ireland.

Shirley’s play, Lookin’ for Robert Mitchum, will be launched later in the year.