Music and drama set for Cork stages this week... and catch Blindboy too

ST Patrick’s Day today (Thursday March 17) will be a big celebration, as we had to do without it for the past two years! Get out to your local parade, and cheer on the bands, dancers and floats that have been waiting for this day as long as you have. Then round off the day with a trip to the theatre.

The Opera House, for example, where at 8pm global music icon Tori Amos makes a much anticipated return to Cork in support of her highly anticipated new album later this year.

Since the release of her first, career-defining solo album, Little Earthquakes, and her No.1 album, Under The Pink, Tori has been one of the music industry’s most enduring and ingenious artists, with three top 10 albums and the global smash hit single Professional Widow.

Next Thursday, March 24, it’s the renowned Blindboy Podcast Live. With a No.1 book under his belt, this influential chap has spent the past two years becoming Ireland’s foremost podcaster, single-handedly changing people’s mindset on mental health and the stigma surrounding it.

At the same time, he also dishes out poignant, fiendishly listenable ‘hot takes’ on everything from the origins of disco to an Indonesian volcano’s impact on the gothic period. Outspoken, informed and empathetic, Blindboy engages his audience with equal touches of realism and surrealism.

There is a very authentic feeling of ‘freedom’ with no topic off limits. Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie for more.

Or try Cork Arts Theatre tonight, where you can see Stacy, the Irish premiere of Olivier and Tony Award-winner Jack Thorne’s controversial and darkly confessional monologue play. A razor-sharp portrait of toxic masculinity from Minnow Productions, performed by Ethan Dillon and directed by Mags Keohane, this performance shows up vividly the brutal consequences of male entitlement. Until Mar 26, at 8pm. See www.corkartstheatre.com or call 021 450 5624.

Prefer an evening in? From this Saturday, you can enjoy To The Lighthouse from the comfort of your armchair courtesy of the on-demand video stream from Everyman. Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece of modernism, dramatised by Marina Carr and directed by Annabelle Comyn, was filmed live on the Everyman stage and you can book it from March 19-26.

Further info on https://everymancork.com/

Dermot Whelan is at the Everyman on Sunday night, with Mind Full, his unique stress-busting show. And couldn’t we all do with a bit of that? A certified meditation teacher, he will give you the tools you need to de-stress through meditation, all delivered in his much-loved comedic style.

Soap star Una Crawford O’Brien, who plays Renee Phelan in RTÉ show Fair City, is coming on tour with Halcyon Days, which will be at the Everyman from Monday to Wednesday next week. O’Brien stars alongside actor Barry McGovern, known for his award-winning one-man Beckett shows.

Written by Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan, Halcyon Days is a poignant yet hilarious story, set in a nursing home, that dramatises the emerging friendship between Patricia (O’Brien) and Sean (McGovern). As the pair negotiate their failing health, a combative and charming friendship begins to blossom. “It’s a play about hope,” says Joe Devlin, who directs for Directions Out Theatre Company.

That runs March 21-23, 8pm. See www.everymancork.com or call 021 450 1673.

In Rossmore, the 59th West Cork Drama Festival is nearing its close. Tonight it’s the turn of Ballyduff Drama Group with The Rabbit Hole by David Lindsey-Abaire; tomorrow sees the Brideview group from Tallow with the Martin McDonagh classic, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. And then the judging!

See www.rossmoretheatre.com or call 023 88385 for bookings and info. Rossmore, founded way back in 1948, is still going strong.