In a shocking announcement made by UCD Dramsoc concerning their production timetable, an adaptation of The Communist Manifesto will be staged in Week 11 of semester two this year. Auditor of the society, Sean Butler told The Harpy that he and the rest of the committee were very excited to see the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels brought to the stage.
"We really believe that this will resonate with students in UCD, and we hope to fill in an area of political theatre that *other* performing arts societies seem to be leaving out of their production timetable." When asked if the "other" society he was so obviously referring to was the Musical Society, Butler asked "was I being too subtle? Sorry man, that's the actor in me."
Tensions have been high between the Musical Society and Dramsoc for the past decade, ever since a group of Dramsoc members decided to create their own society over disagreements regarding whether it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Believing that it is better to never have loved at all, "because that way you don't lose anything" one society member told The Harpy, the Musical Society have produced such right-wing themed shows as Parade and Legally Blonde; the latter known for glorifying the elitist culture of higher education in the United States.
Dramsoc, on the other hand, have prided themselves on producing works which appeal to all groups of people, including Phaedra's Love, which focused on the love between all family members, and Radiant Vermin, a show which criticised the 1%'s brutal treatment of their fellow man.
Although Butler did not directly address the reasoning behind the play's selection, the timing of the announcement was mere hours after the Musical Society faced backlash over the inclusion of a swastika for their upcoming production of Cabaret, a show set in 1930s Germany during the rise of the Nazi power. The Chair of the Societies Council, James Alkayed, who wished to remain anonymous for political reasons, secretly told The Harpy that he raised his concerns over the posters to Estate Services early last week, "but couldn't be seen to publicly attack a society, especially the Musical Society, as I feared for the worst with their diehard members."
Dramsoc have also seen their fair share of controversy, when recently an original piece by Ad Astra student, and overall sweetheart, Ryan O'Donnell was slated in reviews as "cultural appropriation." The one-man show, Addikt, which was selected to represent Dramsoc at the Irish Student Drama Association (ISDA), follows the daily routine of heroin-addict, Darren.
The Harpy approached the Musical Society's auditor, Rachel Murphy for comment on the events. She told The Harpy that although "all publicity is good publicity, if the sales for the show are negatively impacted, the society will be staging a round the clock musical sit-in outside [Alkayed's] office." However, she reiterated her optimism for the show's run, stating that they have received a substantial number of online bookings from the likes of David Quinn, Breda O'Brien, Peter Casey and Maria Steen.
UCD DanceSoc refused to comment.