Theatre Nights: Everyman to host premiere of opera..plus some lunchtime theatre in Cork

The five-star production of The Sound Of Music currently running at the Opera House has earned many plaudits – for the characters, the music, the direction, and more – but it is worth adding another word of praise, this time for the amazingly effective scenery and its rapid, smooth changes.

Everything seems to run on silent wheels, slipping into place, gardens and staircases giving way to convent chapels, romantic fountains to the grim formality of a Third Reich-controlled concert without a gap, a hesitation, or a break in the gripping story.

Best of all, the smoothly-rolling set pieces are operated by members of the cast, or at least by skilled operatives dressed like members of the cast – maids and manservants in the von Trapp household, nuns in the convent, SS officers in the concert venue. This adds very much to the overall experience, since the scenery is in fact part of the action. A wonderful show.

It’s hardly surprising that performances are selling out rapidly. The Sound Of Music runs at Cork Opera House until August 23. 021 427 0022 or www.corkoperahouse.ie.

Don’t forget Cú Chulainn, by Éadaoin O’Donoghue and John O’Brien, the exciting new opera being given a premiere concert performance next Thursday night, August 13, at the Everyman. If you remember their smash hit opera Morrigan, back in 2022, you won’t want to miss the chance of being first to hear this new magnum opus. 7.30pm start. 021 450 1673 or www.everymancork.com.

4.48 Psychosis opens tonight at Cork Arts Theatre and runs to Saturday. Staged by Once Off Productions, it is written by Sarah Kane, directed by Tom Creed, and performed by Marty Rea. And you are getting the chance to see this extraordinary new production ahead of its Dublin Theatre Festival premiere!

First staged at The Royal Court in London in 2000, it’s famous for having no explicit characters or stage directions, and hence every production is uniquely the vision of the director. The theme is one of clinical depression, and how best to deal with it. Until Saturday at 8pm nightly, with a matinee also on Saturday at 2.30pm.

Next week, lunchtime & supper theatre returns with Word Against The Word, written & performed by Keith Dunphy as a moving account of his own driving ambition – to perform Shakespeare in his own Irish working-class voice.

Directed by Aoife Monks, this is both a funny and a thought-provoking play. Wednesday-Saturday, August 12-15 at 8pm, with a lunchtime show on Friday, August 14 at 1pm.

Don’t forget that one of the greatest poems in the English language, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, is coming to the stage of the Briery Gap in Macroom tomorrow night, presented by The Hungry Grass Theatre Company.

Expect a Gothic atmosphere, supernatural encounters and timeless themes in the hands of master storyteller John O’Mahony. Suitable for audiences aged 11 and over. See a trailer on:  https://youtu.be/3iX3JuDUT3E?si=DeHefF9VPvCL0GJu.

And there is another big night coming up at the Briery Gap on Saturday of next week, August 15, when the legendary White Raven Trio with Gerry O’Connor present a concert of traditional songs and stories. For this special performance, Kathleen Dineen (soprano), Matthias Deger (tenor), and Mathias Spoerry (baritone) are joined by legendary Dundalk fiddler Gerry O’Connor, one of Ireland’s most celebrated traditional musicians. All Briery Gap bookings on 083 143 6884 or www.brierygap.ie.

Finally, summer comedy is back at the theatre in Rossmore, by Clonakilty. Kilmeen Drama Group will present The Pension Plan, directed by Gerard Finn, every Thursday and Friday right through until the end of August. Booking on www.rossmoretheatre.com or 086 448 1086.