There's a busy few weeks ahead on Cork's stages
Paddy Cullivan as Michael Collins at the Cork Arts Theatre.
TWO good shows are coming up at Cork Arts Theatre this Sunday, August 27, as part of the Cork Podcast Festival.
The Critter Shed, with Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella, at 1pm, is fun for both adults and children, an intriguing journey into the creepy-crawly world around us. It’s a nature podcast about the less-loved creatures of the world: spiders, scorpions, newts and more, and how we can help them. If you think you would like to learn more about spider sex, venom-packing frogs, or mind-controlling parasites, this is the podcast for you.
In complete contrast is The Murder of Michael Collins that evening at the same venue, when Paddy Cullivan relives the death of Ireland’s first Commander-in-Chief. An audio-visual spectacular featuring hundreds of images, disturbing new research, and memorable songs, Paddy unravels the secrets around what happened that fateful day in Béal na mBlath - August 22, 1922. A must for anyone interested in the shaping of our nation. 8pm start.
Bookings on www.corkartstheatre.com, or 021 450 5614.
The Podcast Festival is on at the Opera House, too, with Left on Read tomorrow night (Friday) and The Blindboy Podcast on Saturday. And Another Thing, with Emma Doran and Muireann O’Connell on Sunday afternoon, is sold out, but there are still a few tickets for Off the Ball that night. For further details on all events in The Cork Podcast Festival, visit https://corkpodcastfestival.ie/.
Now, we need to tell you about a wonderful event coming up at the Opera House on Tuesday, September 12. This is the great Opera Gala, in association with Irish National Opera, introducing the second cohort of the Cara O’ Sullivan Associate Artists.
That programme was initiated by the Opera House in 2021, to honour the life and work of Cork’s gifted and much-lamented coloratura soprano, with the hope of contributing significantly to the future of opera in Cork city, so that generations to come can benefit from her enduring legacy. And - wait for it - this gala evening is absolutely free of charge to the public - a gift to the city in Cara O’Sullivan’s name.
The Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra will be conducted on the evening by founding artistic director of Irish National Opera, Fergus Sheil, who will have under his baton Cork mezzo-soprano Niamh O’ Sullivan, Dublin bass-baritone Rory Dunne, Wexford soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson, and that tenor from Clare, Dean Power.
The programme will feature many beloved arias and opera favourites such as the famous trio Soave sia il vento from Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Nemorino’s wonderfully pensive aria Una furtiva lagrima from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore, Dvorak’s Song to the Moon, and Saint-Saëns exquisite Mon Coeur s’ouvre à ta voix.
Note that online booking is limited to two tickets per booking ( www.corkoperahouse.ie). For additional tickets please contact the box office on 021 427 0022.
A wonderful way for the Opera House and all these gifted singers to celebrate Cara with everyone who loved her incredible voice.
Last chances to see the mesmerising production of The Glass Menagerie at the Everyman this week, as it ends on Saturday (August 26).
On Thursday and Friday next week, Cortisol is a rehearsed reading, written and performed by Megan Haly and Shannon Haly, and directed by Bailey Bass.
This is a new piece of writing by the Cork sisters, and addresses the commonly-held misconceptions about your twenties being the best years of your life. From being honest about our sexualities, living up to our parents’ expectations of us, leaving our home towns and the evolution of friendships as we get older, this play is an exploration of love, self-discovery, and the journey of becoming ourselves. That’s at 8pm Thursday, 1pm Friday. Booking for Everyman on 022 450 1673 or
