A classic play at Everyman, or take in a dance show

THE great old Palace theatre, home of the Everyman, got a wash and brush up before the big summer production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, which opened last night.

Directed by Emma Jordan, this classic, which propelled its playwright to fame, is set in the claustrophobic atmosphere of an apartment in 1930s St Louis, Missouri, where Amanda desperately clings to the romantic past while ardently wishing a better future for her children, fragile Laura and frustrated poet Tom.

Will the longed-for ‘gentleman caller’ arrive, and what will happen to everyone’s dreams if he does? “Glass breaks so easily, no matter how careful you are.”

Natalie Radmall-Quirke plays Amanda, with Darragh Feehely as Tom, Chloe O’Reilly as Laura, and Lórcan Strain as Jim.

It runs to August 28 at 8pm, excluding Sunday and Monday. There is a post-show talk on Tuesday, August 15, an audio-described performance and touch tour on August 24, and an ISL interpreted performance on August 25.

Booking on 021 450 1673, or www.everymancork.com.

Meanwhile, the Everyman is already taking bookings for the Christmas panto, Beauty And The Beast, directed by Catherine Mahon-Buckley, which will open on December 2 with morning, afternoon, and evening shows.

Reduced ticket prices are available on Thursdays, December 8 and 14, as well as January 11.

There will be a special audio-described performance and touch tour on January 5, an ISL interpreted performance on Saturday, January 6, and a relaxed performance on Sunday, January 11.

Ordinary bookings on 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com, but for the special ones, email access@everymancork.com, or call 021 450 1780.

Dance Cork Firkin Crane has just announced its Summer/Autumn 2023 season with an exciting, wide-ranging programme of performances, residencies, classes, and workshops. Running from July to December, the programme presents artists from all over Ireland as well as from France and the U.S.

Luke Murphy’s critically-acclaimed Volcano will be staged at the Granary on September 8/9, while the Pitch’d Circus and Street Arts Festival returns to Firkin Crane on September 15 with French Cie Circographie’s Entre Noeuds, a juggling and dance company led by Asaf Mor of Lille, France.

In October, operatic tenor and choreographer John Scott brings Heroes to Cork for the first time, celebrating the mythological characters of German opera with a slightly flippant side glance at their supposed powers.

Ustine Doswell is here on November 17/18 with Messier 45, exploring the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, as an astronomical phenomenon as well as a relationship function, and the season will conclude on December 1 with Angie Smalis and Colin Gee’s All the Relations, a gestural work about small town conflicts. For details and booking information, see dancecorkfirkincrane.ie.

In the meantime, expressions of interest are being sought from suitable candidates for the role of Cork City Dance Artist in Residence at Dance Cork Firkin Crane. The deadline for submissions is September 13. More on their website as above, or email andrea@firkincrane.ie.

Got your tickets for Lord Of The Dance (August 9-13) and/or Dirty Dancing (August 15-19) on the Opera House stage yet? Both are explosive experiences, both unmissable.

And yes, they’re already planning the Christmas panto too, Jack And The Beanstalk.

By the way, you’re too late for Daniel O’Donnell on August 29/30, both shows are already sold out. But there might still be some for Gerry McAvoy and his Band of Friends on September 16. Gosh, we remember when he joined Rory Gallagher after the original Taste group disbanded.

Gerry’s biography, Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher, came out in 2005. Recapture those dizzy heights with Gerry at the Opera House. Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie.