‘Disco Pigs’ back in Cork to mark play's 30th anniversary

One of Cork’s most famous plays is to be revived to mark its 30th anniversary.

Disco Pigs, the 1996 tale from Corcadorca theatre company that spawned the career of actor Cillian Murphy, has been announced as part of the Everyman’s new season.

While Murphy and co-star Eileen Walsh will not be reprising their roles, playwright Enda Walsh is returning to Cork to direct the work that set him on the path to international renown.

The 59-year-old, who went on to collaborate with David Bowie on the play Lazarus, has recently penned the script for a new version of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film, and was tempted back to his old Leeside stomping ground by Des Kennedy, artistic director of the Everyman.

“I like to programme Cork-related material, and I knew it was the 30th anniversary of Disco Pigs, so I approached Enda. I was delighted when he said he’d love to direct it himself,” says Kennedy, who’d previously worked with Walsh on the stage musical version of Once.

“I remember seeing the original Disco Pigs, as a teenager, with Cillian and Eileen at the Old Museum Arts Centre in Belfast. I was a young lad from the Twinbrook estate in West Belfast and I loved the two defiant, angry teenagers that the world didn’t give a s**t about. It was just intoxicating.”

After debuting at the Triskel in Cork, Disco Pigs went on to win numerous awards, and toured in Ireland and the UK, eventually being adapted into a film.

Auditions

Auditions for the city-set play’s roles of Pig and Runt have already been held in Cork, Dublin, and Kilburn, with final casting details for the November run expected to be announced in the coming weeks. 

The original director of Disco Pigs, Pat Kiernan, isn’t involved, but he does helm one of a series of readings of new plays that are also on the Everyman’s upcoming roster. Also involved in the series is Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, venturing south to direct Something Borrowed, a female-led comedy set during a wedding.

Other highlights of the Everyman’s new season include The House Must Win — adapted from Blarney musician Mick Flannery’s debut album — and a site-specific piece directed by Kennedy that will be staged at the empty swimming pool of the nearby Metropole Hotel’s former health centre.

Offerings as part of Cork Midsummer Festival include 0800 CUPID, by Cork-born Emer Dineen, which received widespread praise during its original run at Dublin Theatre Festival in 2024.