The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Summer Production 2025

8th - 12th July

THAT'S A WRAP!

Congratulations to our fabulous cast, crew, and fantastic director, Ann Kelly, on an absolutely brilliant run of The Prisoner of Second Avenue!!

One of Neil Simon’s lesser known comedies, The Prisoner of Second Avenue is the story of Mel and Edna, a middle-class, middle-aged, middle-happy couple living in a Manhattan high rise apartment building. Mel loses his job, the apartment is robbed, Edna gets a job, Mel loses his mind, Edna loses her job...to say nothing of the more minor tribulations of noisy neighbours, a heatwave, a garbage strike, helpful relatives, exact bus fares and water shortages. The couple suffers indignity after indignity (some self-inflicted), and when they seem on the verge of surrender, they thumb their noses defiantly and dig the trenches for battle.

Ann has fond memories of the play, having played the role of Edna in Thurles Drama Group's award-winning 1988 production.

Thank you to our committee for the huge amount of work you put in to this show - it takes a village and we're so lucky to have such an amazing bunch of people running, and involved in, our group!

Special thanks to Maynooth Community College who provided us with our venue.

Thank you to the businesses who donated raffle prizes, to everyone who gave their time to help get the show to the stage, to our Front of House and Stage Crew teams for keeping things running so smoothly, and to Mai for these wonderful photos.

A massive thank you to Insight Theatre Celbridge for providing us with lights for the production, and to Joe Canavan for installing, designing and operating the lighting for us.

Finally, thank you so much to our fantastic audiences. The reviews and support have been great and are very much appreciated. We couldn't do these shows without you! 🥰🎭🗽

The Cast of The Prisoner of Second Avenue

 
Óran O'Rua

Mel

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This is Óran’s first play with An Nuadha Players. Óran began acting and directing with UCD Dramsoc, where he was awarded the Irish Student Drama Association’s Best Actor Award in 1998 and adapted for the stage the Robbie Hyland poem, "What Has To Be Done", directing the ensuing production entitled, "Betrayal”. He has played diverse roles both on and off-stage in over 50 productions, most recently playing the role of ‘Feste’ in “Twelfth Night” with Balally Players in Dublin. Directing credits include “An Ideal Husband”, by Oscar Wilde, “Bedbound”, by Enda Walsh, “Alone It Stands”, by John Breen, “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” and “The Glass Menagerie”, both by Tennessee Williams, “Small Box Psychosis”, by Barry McKinley, and "The Moon Cut Like A Sickle", by Ken Armstrong. Credits as producer include “Oleanna”, by David Mamet, “The Mai”, by Marina Carr and “Unoriginal Sin”, by David Tristram.
Martina Murphy

Edna

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Martina began acting many years ago when she appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in ‘The Wizard of OZ’. In 1985, she was one of a select group of actors chosen to present ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in the Project Arts Centre. With An Nuadha Players she was responsible for writing and directing - ‘Dirt Tracks’, ‘Conquered Not We Were' and ‘Breathing Lessons’. Her acting credits with Insight Theatre and Bow Productions include ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Translations’, ‘Eclipsed’, ‘By the Bog of Cats’ and ‘The Vagina Monologues’. In more recent years, Martina has written, produced and directed her own shows with her group Down at Heel Productions. One of her plays The Journey was produced as a Fishamble short, while another - The Inbetween - went on to be chosen for the Pavillion play platform. Another Killing Me Softly - was a Scripts finalist. Martina is looking forward to playing Edna - her first acting role in ages!
 
Tom Brady-Connor

Harry

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Tom joined An Nuadha Players in 2013 as Prince Charming in Cinderella. Since then he’s starred in many productions with An Nuadha Players as well as Insight Theatre Celbridge and Hy-Breasal Theatre. His credits include, The Snow Queen, The Hostage, Robin Hood, Twisted! A Wicked Fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, The Crucible, Brontë, Backwater and Rentals. Most recently he turned his hand to directing with Steel Magnolias in 2023. A previous committee member, he loves all things theatre and is excited to be back on stage with An Nuadha Players.
Áine O'Malley

Jessie

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This is Áine’s second time performing with our lovely group! She was a member of the Leixlip Theatre Group many moons ago so while she has been on stage plenty of times before in dramas, comedies, and even the Salmon Festival pub crawls (yes, that counts as theatre!). She joined us last year for the panto in her first performance in many years and enjoyed it so much she came back for more.
Katie Noone

Pauline

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Katie has been a member of An Nuadha Players since she was a child, appearing in many pantos and as director for the one act play "Blessed Be the Fruit". Katie has appeared with Insight Theatre on two occasions, for “Our Town” and “Alone it Stands”, and as director last year for "Tarry Flynn". In 2021, she toured the one act drama circuit with Lucan Drama’s play “Contractions”.
Patricia O'Malley

Pearl

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Tricia joined An Nuadha Players in 2010 for the Christmas Panto, Aladdin. Since then she’s starred in many pantos and plays with An Nuadha Players and Down at Heel Productions. Her credits include Sinbad, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Robin Hood, Twisted! A Wicked Fairytale, Snow White, The Case of the Count formerly known as Dracula, Same Old Moon, Echoes From A Room, A Tale of the Expected, the podcast of Fractured: A Family A Nation A Dream, recorded during Covid, Steel Magnolias, and, most recently, A Christmas Carol. A committee member and treasurer of past, she is looking forward to her role as Pearl in The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

Our Director

Ann Kelly
 

Ann is one of the founding members of An Nuadha Players, helping to launch the group in 1999. Since then, as well as being part of the group’s committee at different times over the years, she has been involved in nearly every single show An Nuadha Players have performed; she has either been in them, directed them (sometimes both at the same time), built sets, been part of the stage crew or helped on front of house. Ann was also a member of Thurles Drama Group for many years, she performed with the Irish Theatre Workshop in Munich, and has been involved in several productions with our neighbouring theatre group, Insight Theatre Celbridge. 

Ann is delighted to be involved with such a talented and enthusiastic cast in Prisoner of Second Avenue.

This amateur production of "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

www.concordtheatricals.co.uk

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