Busy programme for Culture Night across Cork city and county

Tomorrow, Friday, September 20, is Culture Night here in Cork, packed with events throughout the city and county.

A delightful Potato Festival takes place down in Gould Street at the Lough, from 4pm to 8pm, showcasing both Irish and Polish cuisine; there will be musical performances at the Bus Station from 7pm to 9pm; both the Butter Museum and the Butter Exchange Band are opening their doors; CADA will be giving a superb concert showcasing the performing arts from 5pm to 6pm; the Circus Factory will be in full swing from 8pm to 10pm; and the Everyman hosts Drag Haus and Cork legends Mockie Ah!

UCC is presenting a cohesive series of events on the main campus, at the Granary Theatre, and in the Confucius Centre.

Meanwhile, Cork City Library will have choral performances, readings from Cork stories, Irene Kelleher, Jimmy Crowley and Eve Telford, as part of the Culture Night line-up.

There will also be a range of events at City Hall, from an exhibition about 6-a-side football to chamber music in the concert hall. And that’s just for starters. Given the seismic energy of this city, there will be things going on everywhere!

Check them all out on https://culturenight.ie/location/cork-city/.

And, of course, there will be special events from one end of the county to the other; check those out on https://culturenightcorkcounty.ie.

You can also catch the opening performance of Hyperphysical, a dance double bill at the Firkin Crane tomorrow, starting at 7.30pm. The Future Is On The Way (a new piece by US choreographer Abby Abikowski), and a revised version of John Scott’s duet: Actions (NOW). 021 450 7487, or https://dancecorkfirkincrane.ie/

Whatever you do, don’t miss House Ablaze at The Glen Theatre in Banteer this Friday and Sunday and again next weekend on Friday and Saturday, September 27/28.

Written by Sean O Deadaigh, and directed by Tadhg O’Keeffe, it’s a stirring and moving drama of our past troubled times, when beneath the flag of freedom a terrible beauty lay bleeding. Booking essential for this one. In between, on this Saturday, September 20, Michael Patric (yes, he of An Cailín Ciúin!) presents Sugar, a moving and extremely local piece about the last days of the sugar factory in Mallow, where (in real life) he served an apprenticeship as a fitter before training to be an actor. You are just going to have to spend the entire weekend in Banteer!

All shows 8pm start. 029 56239.

Next week, that witty gem from Noel Coward, Present Laughter, is coming up at the Everyman. Directed by Mary Curtin, it has an all-Cork cast, including Ian McGuirk, Shirley McCarthy, Ann Dorgan, Rebecca Allman, Marie O’Donovan, Oskar Smyth, Jim O’Mahony, Kenneth Speight and Vanessa Leary Hyde.

“Coward’s characters are written with such precision and clarity that it is very easy for actors to immerse and embody themselves in their roles,” says Ian McGuirk.

“Indeed, Coward himself stated that his principal intention in writing ‘ Present Laughter’ was to create a part for himself that encompassed ‘bravo’ status and the play is certainly extensively autobiographical.”

Runs from September 24 to 28 at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee too at 2.30pm. 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com

Finally, don’t forget that Crosstown Drift returns this weekend to Garinish Island in Bantry Bay.

Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, poets, musicians, writers, will all be there, with walks, talks, concerts, and more. Free to attend walking tours as well as seated events with writers, poets, musicians and cultural creatives.

Irish Examiner Food Writer Joe McNamee will be ringmaster for Grub Circus featuring top chefs and culinary experts. Poet Victoria Kennefick will be there, as will bilingual poet, writer and singer Julie Goo. Cormac Lally, one of Ireland’s top spoken-word artists, will be talking at the Martello Tower, Cormac Begley will be in concert on Saturday, and Lisa Hannigan on Sunday. And lots more on the programme: check it all out on eventbrite.ie