There’s something for all ages on Cork stages this week

THAT great musical event for schools is back! Evelyn Grant and the Cork Pops Orchestra are retuning to Cork City Hall from Tuesday February 28 to Thursday March 2 with a wonderfully varied programme at 10am and 12 noon. Four of these school shows are already sold out, we hear, but there is still some availability on Wednesday March 1 at both shows. Keith Hanley ‘Voice of Ireland’ will be there in person, plus DJ Dashka and six year old singer Emma Sophia, who, you will recall, joined Evelyn and the Cork Pops Orchestra for the Lord Mayor’s Tea Dance. Need to know more? Check out www.corkpops.ie which also has additional pieces for learning during the year. Booking on the same site, but teachers, better hurry – those spare seats will soon be gone!

Take Off, an exciting contemporary dance festival for Cork city, celebrating and showcasing thrilling dance artists from Ireland and Europe, opens today and runs until Saturday at Dance Cork Firkin Crane. The work of three international choreographers will be featured, alongside the work of three Irish choreographers. Siobhán ní Dhuinnín is one of the Irish choreographers featured with her new piece, Can I Have Your Best Move? Each performance will be followed by a Q&A and a reception with the artists to deepen audiences’ engagement with the work.

“The Take Off Festival will introduce the artists to each other and to our audiences, not just in the studio and onstage, but also in informal social gatherings,” says Andrea Stapleton, Dance Administrator.

Full details and booking on https://dancecorkfirkincrane.ie/news/take-off-festival-2023/.

Conor Moore, that lively impressionist from Mullingar is onstage tonight at the Opera House with Conor Sketches. That’s followed by Ross Browne with Broken Brain tomorrow night, so plenty of comedy to choose from. Jazz artist in residence, Laoise Leahy, is in the Green Room on Friday night too, for one of those popular sessions (over 18s only). The stunning voice of Finbar Wright on Saturday, and the evergreen Drifters on Sunday. Something special for dance enthusiasts on Wednesday of next week, February 22, when Company Philip Connaughton, in association with Once Off Productions, Project Arts Centre, and Cork Opera House, returns with a provocative and seductive new work exploring the infinite possibilities of love. You do get great variety at the Opera House, don’t you? 021 427 0022 or www.corkoperahouse.ie.

Something delightful for all the family at The Everyman this coming Saturday and Sunday when Lords of Strut presents Dream Factory. Explosive circus, dizzying dance, and acrobatic mayhem all combine to create an exhilarating, heart-warming and comically cautionary fable. The sleazy CEO of a greedy corporation and his mysteriously fluffy but deranged boss have brainwashed the consumers of Ballyplastic. One girl sets out on an accidental adventure that will bring her head-to-head with those who threaten the world…

Another fun event next week when MTU Cork School of Music presents that hilarious show The Addams Family. This is the first full-scale musical production from the BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre at CSM. See all those unforgettable characters, sing along to all those great lyrics. Wed-Sat, Feb 22-25, and because it’s a school show, tickets are likely to be snapped up in no time! 021 450 1573 or www.everymancork.com for bookings.