‘In the Midst of Plenty,’ famine folk musical featuring local actor Conor O’Kane, to be performed at Waterside Theatre

‘In the Midst of Plenty’ features Conor O’Kane, who recently starred as young John Hume in HUME: Beyond Belief, a cast of 15 performers from across Ireland, and a live on-stage folk band.

A show set in Roscommon telling the stories of cottier tenants as they survived through the years of the Great Irish Famine, ‘In the Midst of Plenty’ debuted last year with sold-out performances and rave reviews in the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park and the Roscommon Arts Centre. Its 2023 tour is selling out venues and receiving standing ovations from audiences.

The show explores themes of Irish womanhood, family, community, and rebellion, peeling back the curtain of antiquity surrounding the Great Hunger, and presenting the reality of this true story in all of its bare, heartfelt authenticity. The piece is an empowering story of strength, loss, resilience, and family connection.

“I’m delighted to be returning home with another production so soon after finishing HUME: Beyond Belief,” says Conor, who plays the role of Andrew Connor, the secret society mastermind of the assassination of the estate’s landlord.

“It means the world to me to be able to perform here, where I’ve witnessed first-hand the immense and immersive power of art when it comes to understanding our shared history,” said the actor who is a former pupil of Coleraine’s Loreto College.

“It has been incredible to safeguard a story of a community that lost so much” explained Anne-Marie O’Sullivan, the show’s Artistic Director. “The theatre piece exposes the complexities that led to such a mass tragedy whilst celebrating the inextinguishable bravery of the people who put their life on the line to create change.

“The production has weaved together such an array of creative, talented people. It has most definitely been one of the most inspiring and meaningful pieces of theatre that I have had the privilege to be a caretaker of to date.”

Tickets are available from the Waterside Theatre by logging onto https://www.watersidetheatreni.com/