Participants in an employment scheme have been making costumes for the Letterkenny pantomime.
The National Manpower Service is funding six young people and a supervisor to make costumes for the Letterkenny Pantomime Society in Donegal. Previously the six women were unemployed, although some had experience working in local textile firms. As a result of the employment scheme, Letterkenny's pantomime 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ could have,
The best-dressed cast in the country.
The team working out of the community centre has spent six weeks working on the costumes. Supervisor Marian McMenamin has a good rapport with the group and is surprised at how much work they achieved from the get-go. One of the trainees believes,
It's great experience.
The National Manpower Service is not the only state agency providing grant aid to the venture. The Youth Employment Service has provided funding for materials. The industrial sewing machines have been borrowed from local factories. Suppliers have provided the material at a fraction of the normal retail price.
Placement Officer with the National Manpower Service and chairperson of the Letterkenny Pantomime Society Una Willis calculates they are saving about £700 this year and the costumes can be re-used in the future bringing additional savings. She thinks other drama groups can avail of similar funding,
I think we will have started the ball rolling for other groups that might be able to scheme like this effectively.
For pantomime director Aussie Brysen the new costumes are a cut above those used by the company to date,
They’re a completely professional job.
He adds,
We'll be the envy of every pantomime society and musical society in the country.
The Letterkenny pantomime runs from 8 – 16 December. After that, theatrical groups in nearby towns Ramelton and Buncrana may borrow the costumes.
Una Wills sees the positive impact the scheme is having on job prospects for its participants. In Letterkenny, theatrical costumes are usually sourced from Dublin or Derry. She is encouraging the National Manpower Service to consider setting up a costume hire enterprise in Letterkenny. She sees a market for hiring costumes across Donegal Sligo, Leitrim and Galway.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 December 1984. The reporter is Tommie Gorman.
