THINGS take on a sinister dimension this week at Ardhowen when Holywood Players present their fast-paced, entertaining and deadly production of ‘A Party To Murder’.

A PARTY TO MURDER The Holywood Players drama group presents a ‘Christie’ style murder mystery, ‘A Party To Murder’ written by Marcia Cash and Douglas E Hughes tomorrow night (Friday) and Saturday at 8pm. Although Agatha Christie was not directly responsible for ‘A Party to Murder’, her shadow looms large over this play. The twisting, turning, shocking plot is truly worthy of the mistress of murder.

It is Halloween and six people have been invited to a Murder Mystery Party weekend at a rustic island cottage. Everything seems set for a weekend of fun until ghosts from the past begin to haunt the proceedings and it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. This thrilling murder mystery is full of crafty mayhem in classic Christie fashion.

HAPPY DAYS – 3RD ENNISKILLEN INTERNATIONAL BECKETT FESTIVAL The much anticipated ‘Happy Days – 3rd Enniskillen International Beckett Festival’ opens at Ardhowen Theatre on Thursday, July 31, at 7pm with ‘En Attendant Godot’ performed by Theatre NoNo with further performances on Friday, August 1 at 7pm and Saturday, August 2, at 1pm. This production will be performed in French, the language in which ‘Waiting For Godot’ was originally written, and will have English surtitles. Samuel Beckett’s ‘Words and Music’ on Monday, August 4, at 10.30am is a radio music-drama of interchanges between two art forms: Words (‘Joe’) and Music (‘Bob’). Creative tensions between the two characters and the arts are mediated by an old man, Croak. Beckett was quoted as saying “music always wins”. This production is directed by Netia Jones described by the Observer as ‘the most imaginative director of opera working in Britain today’ ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ on Wednesday, August 6, and Thursday, August 7, at 8pm is considered by many as Beckett’s most ‘perfect’ play. The one act play originally titled the ‘Magee Monologue’, was inspired by the Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee whose voice and ‘banana walk’ Beckett admired. The 69-year-old Krapp listens and interjects with his taped 39-year-old self, tenderly and scoffing. The play recalls Krapp’s early love, some think modelled on Beckett’s early love of his cousin Peggy Sinclair whom he spent time with in Kassel, Germany in 1933. This production stars Klaus Maria Brandauer, one of our legendary stage actors as well as a film director and actor with many highly acclaimed credits including his award winning lead role in Istvan Szabo’s film Mephisto (1981) earning him a BAFTA nomination; his popularly acclaimed performance as Maximillian Largo, the villain opposite Sean Connery’s James Bond in Never Say Never Again (1983) and an Oscar nominated performance opposite Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa winning him a Golden Globe Award. This will be his first appearance in Ireland.

‘I Went To The House But Did Not Enter’ on Saturday, August 9, at 3pm and 8pm, premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival. Happy Days presents the third and last section of this work which is inspired by Samuel Beckett’s late prose text ‘Worstward Ho’ and its most famous line “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” This will be the first presentation in Ireland of Heiner Goebbels’ music-theatre, and the last ever presentation of this production. Gavin Bryars, Tacita Dean, Adrian Dunbar and Steve McQueen are amongst the artists featured in the many and varied events in the Beckett programme. See the full programme of events at www.happy-days-enniskillen.com. FUTURE EVENTS The latter part of August has performances from Clubsound, Red Hurley, Amanda Rheaume, followed by The Man In Black, a tribute to Johnny Cash, and Tall Tales and Musical Stories from Jack Lynch and Len Graham. For more information on any of the Ardhowen events visit the theatre website at www.ardhowentheatre.com.