Play: 'Takin' Over the Asylum'
Author: Donna Franceschild

Synopsis of Play
We're in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Territory but based in a Glasgow Psychiatric hospital - where Eddie McKenna, Soul Survivor and double glazing salesman arrives to re- launch a defunct hospital radio station but turns more than the ramshackle station upside down. As the patient's battle with perception and prejudice as much as illness, Eddie armed only with his soul music record collection realises the main obstacle in his path is not anyone's bipolar disorder, OCD or schizophrenia, but the psychopathic control of the institution. His battle with the system transforms not only their lives but his own as well. More touchingly, the play illustrates the fragility of the human psyche but behind Franceschild's brash, confrontational jokes is a plea for understanding the damage that can be caused by circumstance.

History of Group
Ballyduff Drama Group has been performing on the Three-Act Drama Festival Circuit for over thirty years. In that time, they have won Best Play, Best Producer, Best Presentation and Best Stage Management as well as all the main acting awards at the All Ireland Finals in Athlone. Their repertoire is extensive and has included works across the whole spectrum of dramatic endeavour. Productions like the second-placed Of Mice and Men (2010) and Caught in the Net (2008) and the All-Ireland winning On Raftery's Hill (2004) represent just some in its array of achievements. Ballyduff Drama Group has toured extensively over the last decade - with performances in Wales and Scotland as well as The Playboy of the Western World and The Cripple of Inishmaan in Singapore and Berlin with a group young people promoted the ethos that is Ballyduff Drama Group - one of inclusion, determination, cooperation and pride. Ballyduff participated on the one-act drama circuit in 2013 where they achieved runner's up spot in the All-Ireland Finals with Harold Pinter's One for the Road. Under the direction of Ger Canning, Ballyduff have qualified for the All Ireland Finals in Athlone for the past five consecutive years.