Hard hitting talk on Ireland's narcotic dealers and international drug barons takes to Cork stage

INVESTIGATIVE journalist Nicola Tallant will chill your heart at the Everyman tonight with her hard-hitting talk, Cocaine Cowboys.

This doesn’t pull any punches as it brings to life the story of Ireland’s very own narcotic dealers, and how they mesh with the big time drug barons on the international stage.

Tallant’s show follows the deals, the successes and the catastrophic mishaps on the trail of white lines from the jungle labs of South America to our own Wild West drug frontier. Because of these themes of an adult nature, plus the frank discussion of drugs and organised crime, this talk is recommended for over 18s only. 8pm start.

Tomorrow night, February 16, sees Patrick Feeney in concert at the Everyman with a wonderful evening of country and gospel music.

This was from the beginning a lad who felt born to sing, and from the age of four wanted to be on stage with his father who played in a local band. Patrick’s first album, released when he was a teenager back in 2003, was Thanks To You, and while he has recorded many songs since, won many awards, and is a regular guest on both TV and radio, he still lives by that motto - that it’s thanks to his fans he has got where he is today.

Next week, from Tuesday to Saturday, future stars are looking to launch their careers when students on the MTU BA course in musical theatre will be staging Our House. Written by Tim Firth, and directed by Christine Scarry, with music and lyrics by Madness, it’s the story of Joe who, on the night of his 16th birthday - in the process of trying to impress his girlfriend, Sarah - makes a decision between right and wrong that will impact the rest of his life.

From that sliding-doors moment, the show follow two versions of Joe - one good, one bad. In these parallel worlds, our hero heads towards an explosive finale. 7.30pm nightly, additional matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm.

Booking for all Everyman shows on 021 450 1673 or at www.everymancork.com.

Mike Denver makes a welcome return to the Opera House tomorrow night, February 16. One of Galway’s favourite sons, he is really riding the crest of a wave at the moment.

His audience is vast throughout Ireland, both north and south, and he is now making inroads in the UK with sell-out concerts in England and Scotland over the past couple of years.

We are promised a high-energy concert featuring all Denver’s top hits, plus some from the ’60s and ’70s too. Special guests on this occasion are Brendan Shine and Dominic Kirwan. 8pm start.

Laoise Leahy in the Green Room Sessions (also tomorrow night), and Kyla Cobbler with Gone Rogue on Saturday night are both fully sold out already, but there are still a few tickets left for George Murphy and the Rising Sons on Sunday night.

And what do you know, Lyra on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 20/21, and The High Kings on Friday night next, February 23, are also sold out. They certainly know how to plan their programmes for maximum popularity at the Opera House!

Bookings on www.corkoperahouse.ie or 021 427 0022.

Still time to enjoy Sexy Laundry at Cork Arts Theatre, but it really must finish this Saturday.

Directed by Trevor Ryan, it stars Fionula Linehan and Ciarán Bermingham as the middle-aged couple trying to recapture some of the more intimate delights of younger years. At least she is - he isn’t so sure it’s a good idea! Really an over-16s one, this.

And next weekend, Leeside Voices present Say It With Music, a lovely programme of solos, duets and quartets from Broadway shows. More on that next week, but tickets are likely to be in high demand, so we’re telling you in advance! Booking for all Arts Theatre shows on 021 450 5624 or www.corkartstheatre.com.