THE first theatre production at the Ardhowen Theatre since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in early 2020 will take place next week. 'Curtains', a musical murder-mystery 'whodunnit', will be performed by Fermanagh Musical Theatre (FMT).

In a sign of the times we live in, there will be a live-streaming booking link to be announced on Facebook and Instagram pages closer to the time of the show.

The show is set in 1959, where Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of a new musical.

However, when the leading lady mysteriously dies on stage, the entire cast and crew are suspects.

Enter a local detective, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan ...

Curtains is packed with glorious tunes and a witty, charming script filled with delightful characters, making it set to be a hilarious show for the performers and audience alike.

Nadia Stenson, Chair of FMT, spoke of the impact of the pandemic on theatres. She said: "Like all groups in the Performing Arts sector, we have been massively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and have had devastating losses, due to the lack of support and tough restrictions in place by the Government.

"Theatres have been the last thing to open, and even sporting events have been functioning for months.

"Yet we have been denied the right to sit quietly in a theatre, with no interval, no bar service, and spaced one metre apart whilst wearing a face covering.”

Preparing to stage the show has been challenging for FMT due to the many precautions that have to be taken.

Nadia said: “It has not been easy. We have hit a curveball at every corner, and we are still facing hurdles in the final few weeks before the show goes on.

"We will be the first live indoor show with an audience in the Ardhowen Theatre since the pandemic began, and we feel extremely privileged to be the first group to pioneer this new way of performance."

Staging this show will be difficult for the cast and crew, as Nadia explained.

“We have the challenge of no interval, but we will work with this new way of performing until things can get back to normal.

“We had to consider the effect this had on our audience, but the audience can still get up and use the toilet facilities during the performance, and the cast have been made aware of this, so they won’t be distracted or put off mid-performance.”

However, a break will still take place, Nadia said. “The cast will, however, still need the 15-minute rest between the first and second half of the show, in order to change set costumes and hydrate, as this is a very energetic piece of theatre.”

Despite the return to life for the theatre, there will still be issues regarding capacity at the Ardhowen Theatre.

“An obstacle we have faced is, we are only allowed a maximum capacity of 97 seats in the auditorium, which is 200 seats less a night than we can usually sell, and unfortunately there is no [financial] relief in this area, or reduced hire charges in order to reflect the number of ticket sales, making it more likely to make a loss than a profit.

“But we have decided to push forward with this anyway, as it is more important to get the arts in the community up and running again and to keep spirits high,” added Nadia.

Summing up the feelings of the entire group as their return to the stage approaches, Nadia said: “FMT are so excited to be providing the people of Fermanagh with the first night at the theatre for a long time.

"We feel extremely privileged and very proud of our team for making this happen. Our cast features outstanding local talent, and this is just the perfect show to kick-start the arts again

"Please join us for a fun, laughter-filled, heart-warming night at the Ardhowen Theatre!”

Curtains will run from August 18 to 21 at 8pm each evening, with an extra, matinee performance on Saturday, August 21 at 3pm.