Theatre Nights: Music, song, and Rocky Horror fun

The Irish Guitar Quartet is performing this Sunday afternoon, August 31, at St Barrahane’s Church in Castletownshend.

Jerry Creedon, David Keating, Aengus Kirakowski, and new recruit, Redmond O’Toole, on the 8-string Brahms guitar, are undoubtedly one of Ireland’s premier instrumental ensembles.

They will be performing Bizet and Boccherini among other beautiful pieces. Glorious music in such a setting! 3pm start. Booking https://barrahanemusic.ie.

St Catherine’s Cultural Centre at Ardbrack in Kinsale hosts Leah Song from American Appalachian folk music group Rising Appalachia on Friday, August 29, while on Saturday, September 6, they have An Evening With Wexford Festival Opera, with baritone Rory Musgrave, accompanied on piano by Adam McDonagh. www.sccc.ie or 086 850 4862 for all the info.

Now for some exciting news from Cork’s own beloved Opera House. Next summer they will stage that absolute classic, The Sound Of Music, with all the sets, costumes, stars, and utterly beautiful sounds you could hope for.

Eibhlín Gleeson, venue CEO, and director Davey Kelleher ( Hansel und Gretel, The Cork Proms), promise an unmissable experience for the whole family, bursting with excitement, colour and breath-taking orchestrations.

“Securing the rights for this nostalgic title in our 170th anniversary year has created such a sense of serendipity for the team here at Cork Opera House,” says Ms Gleeson. “The Sound of Music started a new wave of in-house musical theatre productions for us when we produced it in 2012. It set the scene for what was possible on Irish stages. Since then we have mounted musicals such as Grease, Annie, The Wizard Of Oz and more. We’re delighted that, 12 years later, we are returning to this iconic classic.”

They promise a phenomenal cast and creative team of both Cork and national talent, delivering both a nostalgic treat for long-time fans and a magical introduction for a new generation. Tickets are already on sale, including those special Early Bird ones for preview shows. Get yours now!

In the meantime, The Rocky Horror Show is delighting audiences at the Opera House, but must end Saturday. 8pm Thursday, 5pm and 8.30pm Friday/Saturday.

On Sunday, comedian Al Porter is back with his lively show Algorithm, and special guest Sinead Quinlan. Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie.

Tomorrow at Everyman, Daniel Cremin presents Why Magic?, his fascinating tale of self-discovery blending theatre and storytelling with visual and psychological magic. Friday at Everyman sees the opening of the Prisma – Queer Film Festival, with a gala premiere screening at 7pm of Mathias Broe’s intimate romantic drama Sauna (Denmark 2025), followed by Cork’s drag collective Krystal & The Queers making their theatrical debut with the premiere of Somewhere Under The Rainbow.

On Sunday at 4pm, we have the Young Playwrights Presentation, a rehearsed reading of new short plays from Irish theatre’s next generation, presented by Graffiti Theatre and The Everyman, and performed by an ensemble of professional actors. 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com.

Now, a call from Cork Arts Theatre for submissions to the 2025 10 x 10 Minute Play Event! This is their 15th anniversary of the great annual festival, so get your creative caps on. Remember, plays must be no longer than ten minutes, and have a simple setting. Other than that, they’re inviting everything from comedy to tragedy, farce to fantasy, horror to transcendental.

Send submissions by Sunday, October 5. as a Word document or PDF to: theatre@corkartstheatre. com with subject line 10x10 Submission 2025. They ask that you do not submit plays to any other Cork Arts Theatre email address.