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theatre · Thursday 6 August 2026 · Various 
The Holywood Players Present Last of the Red Hot Lovers
At Ardhowen Theatre · Dublin Road, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
At Ardhowen Theatre · Dublin Road, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
Neil Simon’s comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers comes to Ardhowen Theatre courtesy of the Holywood Players, one of Northern Ireland’s most decorated amateur drama companies. If you enjoy sharp, character-driven comedy with a streak of mid-life pathos, this is a night well worth making the trip for. The play has a universal appeal - three encounters, one hapless man, and a lot of things going wrong in the funniest possible way - and a company with genuine festival-winning form behind it.
Written in 1969 and a Broadway hit in its day, Last of the Red Hot Lovers follows Barney Cashman, a mild-mannered seafood restaurateur who decides, with his fiftieth birthday looming, that life has passed him by without incident. He borrows his mother’s apartment and sets out to arrange three separate romantic encounters. Each one, predictably, goes sideways - not because Barney is wicked, but because he is earnest, awkward, and entirely out of his depth. Simon’s writing is full of precise comic timing and the kind of dialogue that gets funnier the more you recognise yourself in it.
The Holywood Players bring considerable pedigree to the production. Based in County Down, the group has been staging plays for decades and has won at both All-Ireland and British One Act Drama festivals - their trophy cabinet is not for show. They typically produce two or three full-length plays a year, and touring to Ardhowen puts them in a proper house: a 290-seat auditorium that suits this kind of intimate, dialogue-led comedy well.
The production contains adult themes - extramarital relationships and the language of a different era are part of the fabric of the piece. Recommended for ages 12 and over; parents can use their judgement from there.
Ardhowen Theatre sits on the Dublin Road on the southern edge of Enniskillen, with a panoramic outlook over Lower Lough Erne. There is on-site parking. From Dublin, the N3 via Cavan gets you to Enniskillen in roughly two and a half hours; from Belfast, the A4 westbound is the main route, around an hour and three quarters. Bus Eireann serves Enniskillen from Dublin and other southern towns; Translink operates services from Belfast and Derry. The theatre is a short taxi ride from the town centre bus stops if you are arriving by coach.
Enniskillen is a compact town and easy to spend a day in - Enniskillen Castle, the Buttermarket craft quarter, and the Erne waterway all within easy reach of each other. There is more to see in Enniskillen and across Co. Fermanagh.
Heading to Ardhowen Theatre in Enniskillen? Fermanagh has plenty more to see. Read the Enniskillen area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.