The Half Coat @ Cavan County Museum

 The production of Tara Maria Lovett’s ‘The Half Coat’ at Cavan County Museum was a highly successful event, with a fantastic audience turnout and with very positive comments and reviews having been received since. The production provided employment to creatives and artists, in the roles of Director, Stage Manager, actors and the technical assistants.  The production also addressed many of the key priorities of the Culture and Creativity Strategy, as highlighted below.

In taking inspiration from the first edition of the county paper, the Anglo Celt, the production supports the priority that Cavan County Museum will develop programmes and events which spark curiosity in the history of Cavan and develop a civic awareness and a sense of place. The county paper and the stories told by it certainly capture the history of Cavan, and by using this as a springboard for this production will hopefully inspire the audience to explore the county’s history further, which is something the museum, its collections and archives can wholeheartedly support. The piece ‘The Half Coat’ took inspiration from the distinct history, heritage, and cultural richness of the county, and used it to provide meaningful opportunities to experience and create cultural memory.  

“Fantastic” 

“Wonderful acting”

”An excellent play and very well performed”

 “Amazing use of the space – you wouldn’t think you were in a museum”

The production, with the involvement of a playwright, director, actors, technicians, was an example of creatives collaborating to excavate the stories of places, memories and shared experiences allows for deep engagement that unlocks the individual and collective voice. It demonstrated collaborative practice with artists and organisations and venues to produce an event, with the museum team working closely with the production company to produce the successful event.   

This project is funded by Creative Ireland and Cavan County Council through Creative Cavan.

This project is funded by Creative Ireland and Cavan County Council through Creative Cavan.