Theatre Nights: Fun shows to beat the January blues

Your Roots Are Showing, Ireland’s premier folk music conference, is in full swing now at the INEC Gleneagle in Killarney, continuing to Sunday.

A wonderful celebration of Irish and global folk traditions, it brings together artists from Ireland and abroad, offering performances, workshops, masterclasses, and more. Check out just how much is going on at www.showingroots.com. Don’t forget the music trail wending through Killarney as a final flourish on Sunday!

It’s the very last week of that sparkling pantomime, Cinderella, at the Opera House, it must end next Sunday. There are a few seats left for some performances, so get moving if you still haven’t seen it.

Following on from that, three shows coming up at the venue - The Dubliners Encore, Mary Black, and Dermot Whelan, are all sold out on their respective dates, but you might find one or two left for Reeling In The Showband Years on January 25 and 26.

Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie to book.

Over at the Everyman, City ’Til I Die… Laughing! is on tonight, as some of Ireland’s wittiest comedians join forces in a special fund-raising event for Cork City FC’s Women’s and Academy teams.

Ross Browne, Al Porter, Bernard Casey, Enya Martin and Willa White will all be on stage for an evening of fun. 8pm start.

Tomorrow, Friday, David Nihill brings his Shelf Help Tour to Everyman. A lifetime traveller (and reader), this Dubliner has lived and worked in 12 countries and visited over 70. His shows draw on his wide travels, cultural observations, attempts at language study, international drinking session(s) and more.

On Saturday evening, Gearóid Farrelly returns to The Everyman with a new show Gearóid Rage, touching on the many things that make his blood boil.

Call 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com for all bookings.

There is sill a chance to catch Little Gem at Cork Arts Theatre, but it ends this Saturday. Written by Elaine Murphy, and directed by Philip O’Byrne, it features Emma Ní Bhroin, Aoife O Keeffe, Margaret Moore, Angela Lehane, and Shirley Madden in a heart-warming story of three generations of women and the changes just one year can bring in their lives.

Presented by Hunter’s Moon Theatre Company, it’s on at 8pm.

Wednesday to Saturday next week brings Zeitgeist Jukebox. An immersive theatre experience framed by Little John Nee, it’s a testament to the healing power of music. Fascinating stuff.

Call 021 450 5624 or see www.corkartstheatre.com.

Now, in case you had forgotten, late January brings something delightful to Cork. Yes, it’s nearly time for The Lord Mayor’s Tea Dance, on Sunday, January 26!

This will take to the floor of the City Hall, to the music of Evelyn Grant and the Cork Pops Orchestra, from 3pm to 5pm, and it’s going to be enormous fun.

This not-for-profit initiative is organised by a local committee of people from the public, private and voluntary sectors and in conjunction with the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle. The committee is chaired by Dr Andrew Crosbie.

The orchestra will be joined by soloists Keith Hanley and eight-year-old Emma Sophia, while The MTU Carnival Samba Band, directed by Stephen Kelly, will celebrate 20 years since their first performance at a Tea Dance in 2005.

Waltzes, tangos, two-steps, swing dancing and a bit of rock ‘n’ roll will all be on the programme; Rona Coulter from Viva Dance studio will lead the floor for a legendary ‘Slosh’ involving everyone in the hall, and Cork Swing dancers will do a demonstration.

Plus, there will be a raffle in aid of Cork University Hospital Charity. How can you miss it? See a previous Tea Dance on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xR8uLhRR1Q. Tickets are now on sale from Pro Musica on Oliver Plunkett St. Cork.