The 2023 RTÉ All-Ireland Drama Festival, under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI), is delighted to welcome 9 finalists to the competition this year. Festival Director, Regina Bushell, notes that this is a very special year as the ADCI, founded in Athlone in 1953, is celebrating its 70th Anniversary. Having seen most of the plays on the festival circuit Regina confirms that the standard of the plays is very high and all will no doubt be reviewed under the watchful eye of this year’s adjudicator Paula Dempsey. The plays include a premiere of a new Irish play written by one of the group members, an Irish premiere and several amateur premieres and they will surface many emotions from excitement, delight, to shock.