He reckons the last musical in Buncrana was 'Oklahoma' - and that was forty-five years ago.

Now he's directing his favourite musical of all-time, 'Oliver!' and he hopes it will show local audiences what they've been missing.

"I caught the theatre bug when I was only four years-old, helping my granny backstage during the local pantomime. Ever since then, it's always been a dream of mine to stage a big show here in St Mary's Hall."

Buncrana's staging of Oliver! will be the last in Ireland or the UK before Andrew Lloyd Webber's production opens in London in December. It's a show that Donall knows inside out, having taken on various roles in Belfast versions over the years.

In fact, Donall's come a long way from rehearsing in St Columba's (now called Scoil Iosagain) National School.

In his young days he was involved in Buncrana Pantomimes and was also very active in both Cockhill Drama Group and Clann le Cheile. He has very fond memories of them all.

"I learned so much, shared lots of laughter and forged some really good friendships from my experiences with all these groups – in fact many of the friends I made are involved in this production, which makes it very special for me."

Donall considers himself very fortunate to have taken part in a trip to New York and Boston ten years ago, through his involvement with Clann Le Cheile. Along with good friend Patricia Doherty (Tinney) he was a founding member of the Inishowen based community arts group.

Donall has worked in Belfast for the last nine years. He has been an active member of amateur musical societies and performed in award-winning productions with Fortwilliam Musical Society, as well as attending the annual AIMS awards in Killarney. About two years ago he was involved in a production of Oliver! in the Waterfront Hall which featured the voices of 500 children from numerous primary schools across North Belfast and County Antrim.

"It was amazing to hear so many children bursting with talent in front of a huge audience in the Waterfront's auditorium and I suppose it was the first time I seriously considered bringing Oliver to my home town."

Home town nerves!

Although a little nervous about his debut on home turf, Donall states that he has thoroughly enjoyed putting the show together and hopes that it will provide a great night's entertainment for the audience.

"It's a great cast and crew abounding with talent and energy. The scenery, costumes and music also contribute to what I believe will be a very unique and dramatic interpretation of the story.

"I'm very keen to see a regular staging of musical theatre here. The last musical to be staged in Buncrana was 'Oklahoma' but that was forty-five years ago. I am also a huge fan of pantomime and commend the work done by the Buncrana Pantomime Society.