First Ramor Theatre shows pencilled in for April

Padraic McIntyre is braced for a busy, yet exciting year ahead. Not only will he have responsibility for the Townhall Theatre, but the venue manager will also once more resume his place at the helm of the Ramor Theatre.

The Bailieborough man welcomed the Celt to the Townhall Theatre last Wednesday, and had a site visit to the Ramor Theatre the day before.

“To be honest, it’s amazing,” Padraic happily reports of the renovations.

With construction nearing completion he’s scheduled shows at the revamped Virginia venue from April. What precise date, and for what precise show remains under wraps, but he assures that there’s shows booked for that month.

Between the builders leaving and the curtains going up on the first night, there’s a sight of work and cleaning to be done. And all the while, Padraic and his team still have the full programme of events in the Townhall Cavan bubbling away on the hob.

While Padraic volunteers there’s an outside chance he “might” stage shows in March in the Ramor, he makes no apology for taking a conservative approach to his scheduling.

“The last thing I want to do is have to cancel the first show in a new theatre,” he said.

The Ramor Theatre auditorium will remain as it was, save for a few additional spaces at the rear of the theatre for wheelchair users to compliment those at the front.

“The auditorium stays at 200 seats, which is optimum for a town of that size - if a show is a big hit, you can always add an extra night, or bring it back.”

However, the creation of a new box office with street presence at the front of the building, will free up space for dressing rooms for the actors and crew downstairs. This in turn creates more room upstairs for an expanded bar and foyer, which “wraps around the whole building”. As such the audience will have much more room to enjoy an interval drink in a more relaxed setting. A new lift ensures these improved facilities are readily accessible.

The Ramor Theatre project is not happening in isolation, as the new Virginia Library is currently under construction next door, which Padraic likewise reports is “fabulous”. The Ramor will have a studio in the library’s cellar, which will be used as a rehearsal space, and also a more intimate performance space. Padraic can visualise it as the ideal space for a literary event or a poetry night.

There is also a public realm space outside, which could lend itself as a performance space when weather permits.

While the Ramor will inevitably, and justly claim the limelight when it reopens, Padraic assures that both venues will have equal status - there’s no headquarters as such. He explains that a key aspect of having one manager over the two venues was to ensure that the theatres would be operated to compliment each other’s offerings rather than being in competition.

“For the first six months realistically, if we have a show in Ramor, we won’t have anything here; and, if we have one here, we won’t have anything at Ramor. Then we can judge: maybe drama can run at Ramor while music runs in Townhall or vice versa - where the two venues are open on the same night.”

He’s mindful to avoid the venues clashing in terms of say country music in both venues on the same night.

He anticipates there may be a different flavour to the venues in terms of artist support and programmes. With a designated rehearsal studio available in the Ramor complex, he can see drama taking a lead role, whereas in the Townhall Theatre, which has artist studios upstairs, a gallery space and the expertise of curator Joe Keenan on which to draw, visual arts will enjoy a greater emphasis. Likewise he notes that live music by local bands would have traditionally struggled to draw a crowd in the Ramor. However, he was impressed how Marcus Magee sold out in Cavan before Christmas and is confident the Highstool Prophets will go down a storm later this month (January 21), and likewise Lisa O’Neill’s album launch gig (February 10-11) and Ciaran O’Neill and Co (March 25).

In terms of booking acts Padraic sees having two venues as a strength.

“Someone like Tommy Tiernan, if you could get him, could do Ramor easily on a Tuesday night and here on a Wednesday night, but other shows that might grow legs on a tour - maybe a theatre show might do an early show in a tour at the Ramor and then let word of mouth spread and be here a month or six weeks later.”

Having seen arts centres in other counties where teams were not put in place to run it and resulted in them becoming ‘white elephants’, Padraic therefore puts the emphasis on the motivation of the team employed at the Cavan theatres to ensuring patrons buy tickets.

“You have to have a team of people to run it, and keep the energy to go again this year, and to go in 2024. People get excited saying, ‘Oh Mam in Mullahoran was a terrific success’. That’s gone - the One Acts (Drama Festival) is on the next week. That’s the treadmill. And you’ll win some, you’ll lose some,” he says recalling a brilliant stage drama, which performed in front of just 30 people - “You have amazing actors, an amazing play and you’re gutted.”

“Once it’s done the next Monday morning, it’s about the next thing, and that’s what takes the energy - you never get going, ‘Wahey we’re a success!’ No we’re not, what’s the numbers like for Friday? And you’re on the treadmill again.”

While there was some frustration in the delays imposed by Covid on the Ramor project, in retrospect Padraic’s grateful to have had the opportunity to focus on generating momentum at the Townhall before “throwing a second ball up in the air”. He’s been delighted and heartened by how shows have been received, consistently drawing crowds week in week out.

“There’s definitely an appetite in Cavan Town for a venue like this,” he says with a great deal of satisfaction.