Cork Arts Theatre

The Cure
2024-10-22 - 2024-10-26 | Cork Arts Theatre, Carroll's Quay, Cork, T23 X72D, Ireland
Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th October @ 8pm
Hiya Fella Productions presents

The Cure

by Cónal Creedon

It’s a sleepy Saturday mornin’ in Cork, a man stands on Half Moon Street and just around the corner Christmas. The hangover fear is starting to dawn. He is waiting for a pub, any pub, to open so he can get “the cure”. As he waits, he thinks, thinks and waits, as he stands there his past walks towards him, a Christian Brother, the Christian brother, Brother Keenan. How will he deal with this encounter, he asks himself? We travel back to his childhood spent in a Cork city, redolent with the smell of slaughter-houses, pubs and sweet-makers.
Starring Ciaran Bermingham (Sexy Laundry, Game of Thrones, The Young Offenders), directed by Al Dalton (At The Moment, Everything Is Missing & Tall Tail) and written by award-winning novelist, playwright and documentary film maker Cónal Creedon, The Cure is not to be missed.
Tickets: €18, €15 (Concession)
*Booking fees apply.

The Invaders’ Fear of Memories
2024-10-15
Tuesday 15th October – One Performance Only @ 7pm

A play about the colonisation of Palestine

The Invaders’ Fear of Memories

Written and performed by Benjamin Rivers
Directed by Linda Wise
The performance will be followed by a post show discussion.

“The Invaders’ Fear of Memories” is a solo theatre piece based on the life and diaries of Yousef Nachmani – a Russian Jew who migrated from Tsarist Russia to Ottoman Palestine in 1907. Nachmani became Director of the Jewish National Fund in the Galilee, playing a central role in the forced displacement of thousands of Palestinians. The play offers a view into the origins of settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing and apartheid in modern day Israel. It explores themes of loyalty, violence, ideology and grief. “The Invaders’ Fear of Memories” is performed by Ben Rivers, the great grandson of Nachmani. The play spans 4 decades with Rivers moving between 12 different characters.
Since August 2023 it has been performed to diverse audiences in France, Australia and South Africa.
“The Invaders’ Fear of Memories,” a one-man play by Ben Rivers, is both an urgently needed piece of history and an extraordinary work of art. Rivers, portraying twelve characters, brings to life his own great-grandfather’s story, first as an oppressed Jew in Tsarist Russia and then his inexorable transformation into an active participant in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland. With gorgeous, stirring songs in Ukrainian, Yiddish, Hebrew and Arabic woven throughout, “The Invaders’ Fear of Memories” confronts us with the tragic cycles of history in which we are still caught. It could not be more relevant in today’s violent world.”
– Jo Salas, Author and co-founder of Playback Theatre, New York.
Run time 75 mins.
Net proceeds will go to Anar for Empowerment and Psychosocial Support , Occupied Palestine
Tickets: €15, €12
*Booking fees apply.

After Luke
2024-10-08 - 2024-10-12
Tuesday 8th – Saturday 12th October @ 8pm
Lost in the Canon Theatre Company presents

After Luke

by Cónal Creedon

‘After Luke’ is a darkly comic exploration of a father and his sons relationship, set against the social, historical and topographical background of Ireland’s second city during the Celtic Tiger economy and the greed-driven frenzy of the property market.
The action unfolds in that contentious space where concrete and asphalt meet pasture and stone, and where urban necessity collides with the rural idyll – with devastatingly tragic consequences.
As the man says “When two elephants go to war, ’tis the grass gets trampled.”
Note: Thursday October 10th will feature a post show discussion between director Leon Danza and writer Cónal Creedon.
Creative Team:
Writer: Conal Creedon
Director: Leon Danza
Performers: Niall Holland, Mike O’Dowd and Simon McKeon
Production and Stage Manager: Hannah Myers
Costume Designer: Hannah Myers
Sound Designer: Cormac O’Connor
Lighting Designer: Christian Sumstad
Set Design: Leon Danza and Niall Holland
Make-up Design: Maeve O’Sullivan
Tickets: €18, €15 (Unwaged)
*Booking fees apply.

Cortisol
2024-10-02 - 2024-10-05
Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th October @ 8pm
Preview on Wednesday October 2nd @ 8pm
Matinee – Saturday 5th @ 2pm

Once Off Productions & Burnt Toast Productions present
CORTISOL
by Megan & Shannon Haly
“Your cards declined.” Cortisol.
“Have you a boyfriend yet?” Cortisol.
“Are you doing a masters?” Cortisol.
They said our twenties would be the best years of our lives…
Cortisol is a queer coming of age rollercoaster ride through growing up in Ireland. From childhood nostalgia to present day chaos, Sam has been through the highs of first love and the heartbreak of grief. She’s flown the nest, and crash landed back into it. Her girlfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving to Australia. Why is it so hard to make new friends in your twenties? Sam doesn’t know who she is or where she is meant to be, but maybe that’s ok…
Once Off Productions and Burnt Toast Productions presents Cortisol, from sisters and co-writers Megan & Shannon Haly. A whirlwind story that starts in childhood innocence and hurtles headlong into the chaos of early adulthood, all underscored by the pulsating beat of that all too familiar stress hormone. Cortisol is also a digital revolution. An online community of people asking themselves the same questions you are. Is everyone else feeling lonely? What am I doing with my life? Where can I get a good hot chicken roll?
Cortisol isn’t just a play—it’s an adrenaline-fueled odyssey through the messy, beautiful, and utterly exhilarating journey of crash landing into adulthood.
Credits:
Writer/Performers – Megan Haly & Shannon Haly
Director – Jeda de Brí
Producer – Sadhbh Barrett Coakley
Sound Designer – Fiona Sheil
Set & Costume Designer – Jenny Whyte
Lighting Designer – Dara Hoban
Production & Stage Manager – Meghan Bartual Smyth
Image – Simão Nogueira
Tickets: €20, €15 – Under 25’s/Student/Unwaged (Preview)
*Booking fees apply.

Icarus and the Man God
2024-09-25 - 2024-09-28
Wednesday 25th – Saturday 28th September @ 8pm

Icarus and the Man God

by Derry Cotter

The Dolans are a typical American family. Jordan’s father thinks his son will be the next big football star, and while the aspiring quarterback spends his time honing his skills, his sister practises her cheerleading drills.
Meanwhile, a charismatic Trump is storming the country, spreading his gospel of fear and awe, and promising to drain the swamp and make America great again. Like Icarus, Jordan is helpless to resist the lure of Trump’s flame, and his family is plunged into a crisis that threatens to destroy them.
A tragicomedy, Icarus and the Man God delves deep into the enigma that is Donald Trump, and the repercussions of Trumpism for friend and foe alike.
Directed by Pat Lehane and starring:
Denise Goggin
Tomás Healy
Denise Marcos
John McCaffrey
Sam Torres
Alex Walsh
Tickets: €18
*Booking fees apply.

I, Banquo
2024-09-18 - 2024-09-21
Wednesday 18th – Saturday 21st September @ 8pm
Matinee – Saturday 21st @ 3pm

Cork Underground Theatre presents

I, Banquo

by Tim Crouch

“Just Imagine, anyway.
Just imagine even if it isn’t true, not really true that we are, and how could it be seeing as we’ve only just met, but just Imagine that we’re FRIENDS”
What would you sacrifice to achieve your dreams? Your friends? Your morals? Your soul? Banquo stood by Macbeth’s side as a friend and equal when he was promised it all. He looked on in awe as the 3 crones foretold Macbeth’s rise. But it could have been him, had things played out differently. No hard feelings.
Join Banquo in “I, Banquo,” a compelling exploration of the events of the infamous Scottish play. Through his eyes, we revisit what might have been, what was, and what could yet be. Featuring original music performed by Banquo’s surviving son, Fleance, this production brings a new dimension to a timeless tale of ambition and consequence.
Directed by Matt Palliser-Kehoe
Starring Pearse O’Donoghue
Featuring Rob Doherty on Guitar
Original Music by Shivaun Alouf
Set Design by Jude O’Neill
Tickets: €18
*Booking fees apply.

Eurydice
2024-09-11 - 2024-09-14
Wednesday 11th – Saturday 14th September @ 8pm
with Relaxed Performance on Thursday 12th*

Eurydice
by Sarah Ruhl

Orpheus was the greatest musician in the world. His wife, Eurydice, died on their wedding day. Determined to bring her back, Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld. His music convinced the devil to allow Eurydice to follow him back to the surface on one condition: he must not look back until they emerged. Just before reaching the surface, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice was lost forever.
Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice revisits this myth from the heroine’s perspective. Blending magical realism with humour, it portrays Eurydice’s journey as she navigates the Underworld and rediscovers her identity.
This playful new staging features original music by local artists as well as a cast comprised entirely of graduates and students from MTU Cork School of Music.
Eurydice – Ellie-Doris Fogarty
Father – Ben Holman
Orpheus – Davide Marrinelli
Nasty Interesting Man – Pierce Joseph
Big Stone – Richie Broad
Little Stone – Ava Manning
Loud Stone – Lotta Vainionpaa
Directors – Mollie Savage and Ben Holman
Sound Designer – Matthew Lucas
Stage Manager – John Clapham
Band – Abe Gittins-Harris, Niamh Hayes, Sam Cullen, Ben Holman and Matthew Lucas.
*A relaxed performance of Eurydice will be held on Thursday, September 12.
This accessible show caters to people with learning disabilities, autism, or anyone who benefits from a relaxed environment.
For more information, contact: eurydicerelaxedperformance@gmail.com
‘Eurydice’ is part of our Catalyst 2024 programme . A collaboration between Cork Arts Theatre and The Everyman, supported by Cork City Council Arts Office, Catalyst aims to provide a platform for the work of early career theatre artists in the city.
Tickets: €16, €12
*Booking fees apply.

The Dream Can't Sleep
2024-09-06 - 2024-09-07
Friday 6th and Saturday 7th September

REHEARSED READING
Friday @ 1pm
Saturday @ 7.30pm

The Dream Can’t Sleep
Written by Amber Deasy

“B: Do you think we could have been happy at home?
A: I don’t know.”
The Dream Can’t Sleep follows two young Irish immigrants living in London in their early twenties chasing a dream. Throughout a sleepless night they wrestle their anxieties, ponder if dolphins like wearing hats and wonder if they ever should have left home at all.
This piece is a dynamic two-hander that explores what life is like for these modern Irish immigrants, the relationship we have with home and how dreams can often imprison us more than they set us free.
Written & Directed by: Amber Deasy
Performed by: Jack O Shaughnessy & Imogen Deasy
The Dream Can’t Sleep is part of our Catalyst 2024 programme. A collaboration between Cork Arts Theatre and The Everyman, supported by Cork City Council Arts Office, Catalyst aims to provide a platform for the work of early career theatre artists in the city.
Tickets: €8
*Booking fees apply.

Making a Show of Myself
2024-08-28 - 2024-08-31
Wednesday 28th – Saturday 31st August 2024
Making a Show of Myself

Mary Kate O’ Flanagan, an Irish raconteur shares the most ridiculous, hilarious and tragic episodes of her life, showing there’s a story in every stumble and a little magic in every story.
Making A Show of Myself is on tour around Ireland following a sell-out first run in November/December 2023 at Dublin’s historic Smock Alley Theatre. This piece of theatre is a moving testimony to the Irish gift for storytelling, by one of our most celebrated storytellers. Recounting her most ridiculous and embarrassing episodes and showing how making them into stories allowed her to find the gift in each of them, Mary Kate entertains while inviting audience to consider how they tell their own stories. This play shows how each of us shapes our own narratives and how they shape us in return.
Mary Kate’s show is a demonstration, and celebration, of the power of stories to sustain us. And this RTE Radio clip is a good example of that (click on image below)…

Here’s what the critics said:
“full of positivity”
“a life-affirming show”
Irish Independent.
“Mary Kate O’Flanagan has perfected the art of storytelling. She is an entertainer of the first rank”
“enchanting”
“life-affirming”
“heart-warming”
nomoreworkhorse.ie
O’Flanagan is a joy”
“endearing and uplifting”
“get there while you can!”
thereviewhub.ie
85 minutes duration.
Making A Show Of Myself is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

The Empty Nest
2024-08-21 - 2024-08-24
Wednesday 21st – Saturday 24th August 2024
The Empty Nest

by Oisín Flores Sweeney
Directed by Geoff Gould
Starring Seamus O’Rourke and Joan Sheehy
Tony and Sheila are watching television… again. Their children are reared and their grandchildren are invading their lives. Sheila wants to travel; Tony is determined to stay put. Tony is on a new diet; Sheila could cut you in two with a sharp comment. All that’s on the television is sex… and they can’t remember when they did it last! Oisín Flores Sweeney’s debut play is an hilarious piece of theatre that looks at how couples negotiate life after the kids leave, their dreams, disappointments, longings and uncompromising opinions on everything – Gogglebox on speed!
‘The Empty Nest’ debuted at Smock Alley as a work-in-progress as part of the Scene + Heard Festival of New Work last year, before embarking on sellout runs at Cork Arts Theatre and The Viking Theatre in Dublin. It now comes back to Cork as part of a national tour in 2024. Directed by Geoff Gould, it stars Irish Times Theatre Award nominee Seamus O’Rourke (Lakelands), alongside established actor and director Joan Sheehy (An Cailín Ciúin).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ THE ARTS REVIEW – ‘hugely funny, uncomfortably accurate, and comedically sharp’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ THE REVIEWS HUB – ‘This wonderful little comedy is a perfect match of humour and heart’
IRISH INDEPENDENT – ‘The humanity of this pair is winning and inviting’
NO MORE WORKHORSE – ‘a gentle exploration of a marriage as it continues into its maturity… makes for an enjoyable evening’
The Empty Nest is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

A Celebration of the Stories of Eamon Kelly
2024-08-14 - 2024-08-17
Wednesday 14th – Saturday 17th August 2024
A Celebration of the Stories of Eamon Kelly
Pakie O’Callaghan’s A Celebration of The Stories of Eamon Kelly developed out of an RTE radio programme that went out in the autumn of 2022 to mark international story telling day. Pakie was invited to tell a couple of stories and as a lifelong admirer of Kelly, he opted to tell two of the master storytellers. He was subsequently invited to do a full length show based on Kelly’s stories and A Celebration of The Stories of Eamon Kelly is the result.
Eamon Kelly has been one of O’Callaghan’s theatrical heroes since his teenage years and he fondly remembers listening with his father to Kelly on Dinjo’s Take the floor which went out for many years on Sunday nights on Radio Eireann, and later on to Kelly’s own show The Rambling House. O’Callaghan remembers being transfixed by Kelly’s performances in his one man shows In my Fathers Time, “Bless me Father and Stonemad which were performed to packed houses at The Everyman Theatre, and which won widespread acclaim both in Ireland and internationally.
A Celebration of The Stories of Eamon Kelly will be a trip down memory lane for many, but O’Callaghan is hoping to also develop a new audience for these stories which he describes as universal and timeless and always very, very funny. In the show O’Callaghan does not seek to mimic Eamon Kelly and while staying true to the wonderful writing, A Celebration of The Stories of Eamon Kelly is O’Callaghan’s own interpretation of the work of Ireland’s greatest storyteller.
The show is directed by Marion Wyatt, who brought Sunbeam Girls, Dockers, Katty Barry, Queen of the Coal Quay and recent sell out The Echo Boys to the Cork Arts Theatre stage.
In a long career, Pakie O’Callaghan has worked on stage, TV and radio. In the mid-nineties he featured in the RTE radio sketch series Shortt Circuit and subsequently played a lead role in the TV series Bull Island in which he is remembered fondly for playing, among others, the then minister for Finance Charlie McCreevey. In 2004, Pakie joined Joe Duffy’s Funny Friday Show as a writer/performer and has been there ever since. With the late and much lamented Frank Twomey, Pakie co-wrote and starred in the hit stage show Santa Ponsa or Bust which spawned two follow up shows, Surviving Santa Ponsa and Life after Santa Ponsa. Pakie has previously written and performed three one man shows, In the National Interest, The Last Brown Envelope and No more Brown Envelopes, all of which toured nationally.
A Celebration Of The Stories Of Eamon Kelly is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

Welcome to Ireland - Meltdown of an Irish Tour Guide
2024-08-07 - 2024-08-10
Wednesday 7th – Saturday 10th August 2024
Welcome to Ireland
Meltdown of an Irish Tour Guide
Written & Performed by Jack Walsh – Killinaskully (Jimmy), Kin, Vikings Valhalla, The Northman.
A 70 minute whirlwind of 40 characters, including landlords, tourists, historical figures and even a moonwalking squirrel, as a tour guide selling Ireland as a wonderful land of ceol, cailíní agus craic struggles to keep a roof over his head as the rent goes up and up, with chaotic and hilarious results. The life of an actor, selling Ireland as a tour guide and a close shave with homelessness. I’ve put it all into this show, full of madcap characters, lots of humour and a lot of truth. Ireland without the plámás.
Everyone in the Dáil should see it.
Directed by: Halina Froudist
Stage Manager: Marella Boschi
Production Manager: Marie Tierney
Poster Design: Kayde Middleton
Voiceovers: Deirdre Molloy
Welcome To Ireland is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

The Comedy Improvised Midsummer Murder Mystery
2024-07-31 - 2024-08-03
Wednesday 31st July – Saturday 3rd August 2024
The Comedy Improvised Midsummer Murder Mystery
Starring Laura O’Mahony, Laura Harte and John McCarthy from The Improv Panto, with Annette Roche and Adrian Scanlan from Snatch Comedy Improv

Your favourite Improv Comedy Murder Mystery Gang are back this Summer with a fast-paced version of their hit show.There’s been a murder and everyone is a suspect! Whodunnit? Who knows? Certainly not the cast because this show is entirely improvised. With no script to fall back on, the actors must create the entire plot, with its many twists and turns, totally off the cuff. As always with this gang, things get out of hand pretty quickly with deadly (and hilarious) consequences.
The audience plays their part too as they secretly decide beforehand who the mysterious murderer is. They also provide hilarious ‘secrets’ that the cast read out at random moments to add mayhem and mirth to the proceedings. All of this is completed before the show starts so you can then sit back, relax and enjoy the ensuing mayhem.
Due to the unpredictable nature of the show and the audience suggestions, this show is only suitable for persons over 16. Definitely not one for the kids.
Directed by: James Horgan
The Comedy Improv Midsummer Murder Mystery is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

A Rare Journey - Nora Joyce's Odyssey
2024-07-24 - 2024-07-27
Wednesday 24th – Saturday 27th July 2024
A Rare Journey – Nora Joyce’s Odyssey
Written and performed by Paula Greevy-Lee

A RARE JOURNEY celebrates the life of a truly remarkable Irish woman, Nora Joyce, (nee Barnacle) in a highly entertaining roller-coaster 75-minutes, filled with music, song and humour that delights in Nora’s quick and razor-sharp wit.
Beginning in 1946 in Zurich, five years after James Joyce’s death, Nora prepares to meet a young American reporter for lunch. Wary of journalists and anxious about what questions she might be asked about life with her famous husband, Nora ‘rehearses’ for the encounter, retracing the exhilarating highs and best-left-unsaid lows of her extraordinary life.
Directed by Gerard Lee, this one-woman show seeks to separate the wise, sharp-witted, complex, and compassionate Nora from the many half-truths that have dogged her since her death in 1951.

“This one woman play really shines bright…a particularly impressive feat for Paula Greevy-Lee…captures the audience with charm and wit…Greevy-Lee also has a beautiful singing voice.” – The Reviews Hub
“Paula Greevy-Lee gives a flawless performance as the often put-upon but always resilient Nora.” – Jack Gilligan, Dublin City FM
Lighting Design – Conleth White
Costume – Shauna Maher
Set Design – Martin Cahill
Poster Image – Rafal Kostrzewa
A Rare Journey – Nora Joyce’s Odyssey is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Post Show Discussion – Wednesday 24th

Age Recommendation: 14+
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

The Art of Voiceover with Roger Gregg
2024-07-20
Saturday 20th July 2024 @ 1pm

The Art of Voiceover with Roger Gregg

Workshop: Introduction to Voice Over

Roger Gregg, an award-winning Voice Over artist and Voice Director, whose many animation, radio, corporate and computer game performances include the Sony Award winning Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to The Galaxy sequels for the BBC, Disney XD’s acclaimed animation series Space Chickens in Space and most recently in Season 5 of The Sandman series for Audible.com. In 2019 he won the New York Festival Silver Award for ‘Best Narration’ for his performance in the RTE radio production of his one-man stage show From the River of Ghosts. Over his professional career spanning 4 decades he has conducted Voice Over workshops and courses for the American National Audio Theatre Festival, various American universities, as well as conducting the annual ‘Acting in Audio’ course for Ireland’s Gaiety School of Acting.
As part of his week at Cork Arts Theatre, he will conduct one of his acclaimed Voice Over workshops for actors. Over the course of 3 hours he will introduce and demonstrate microphone techniques as well as coach the participants using a wide array of actual scripts drawn from his collection of advertising, animations, computer games as well as corporate and television narrations. The workshop is intended to provide the groundwork for any actor considering making a voice over demo.
In order to provide as much individual coaching as possible the number of participants will be limited to 8 participants.
Date: Saturday 20th July
Start time: 1pm
Duration: 3 hours
Capacity: 8 participants
Fee: €40
*Booking fee applies.

From the River of Ghosts
2024-07-17 - 2024-07-20
Wednesday 17th – Saturday 20th July 2024
From The River of Ghosts

Written and performed by Roger Gregg
From The River of Ghosts is an intimate love letter commemorating the lives of a working class family pursuing their dreams over several generations. With his distinctive baritone voice, Gregg narrates these intimate accounts of tragedy and triumph as he performs before a backdrop of old photo slides and home movies, accompanied by an evolving Americana soundscape, consisting of original live and recorded music. Over the course of the show, Gregg traces his family’s arrival in America in the 1860s, through the region’s great steel boom, experiencing the violence of the Ku Klux Klan riots of 1923 and his grandfather canoeing 900 miles down the Ohio river to the Mississippi. In this moving portrait spanning several generations, Gregg blends storytelling, poetry, music and song to create a haunting journey that will stay with you long after the hour is past.
Living in Ireland since 1980, Roger Gregg is an award winning playwright and performer who, for the last 40 years, has built a professional theatre career that has seen his work produced in the United States, Ireland, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Directed by Charlie Ruxton
From The River Of Ghosts is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

VIXEN
2024-07-10 - 2024-07-13
Wednesday 10th – Saturday 13th July 2024
VIXEN

by Helen Casey

Starring Rose Henderson
Directed by Caroline FitzGerald
Set Design by Martin Cahill
Sound Design by Neil Handly
Originally staged at The New Theatre, Dublin
Angie, mischievous and fun loving reflects on her life as “the other woman”, delighting the audience with her scandalous tale!
VIXEN written by Helen Casey and performed by Rose Henderson is a compelling psychological drama of one woman’s resilience, determination and desperation to name the love that was hers, but belonged to another. Both haunting and mesmerizing, it is a visceral exploration of love, unspoken loss and uncomfortable truths. As we are drawn further into Angie’s world, the emotional rollercoaster plunges from the frothy highs to a much darker terrain filled with suspense and a gnawing grief. Tis better to have loved and lost…or is it?
It is the first anniversary of Martin’s death. Angie’s lover. His family has come to visit his grave. Angie watches the mourners from the safety of her car, hidden under the Yew tree. She remains unseen, her own grief buried deep within. She remembers the foxes, appearing in formation like a string of ugly thoughts…..
Winner of the Bealtaine Touring Award 2024
Vixen is part of our Summer Season. Running throughout July and August, each of the eight shows in the season will have 6 performances from Wednesday – Saturday, including a 1pm show on Thursday and Friday.
For the lunchtime performances, patrons can choose a Lunch & Show ticket for €18, which includes soup or sandwich option, served from 12 noon until ten minutes before the performance time. Show Only tickets are also available for the 1pm shows at €15.
Tickets: €18, €15
*Booking fees apply.

Stirrings
2024-07-06
Saturday 6th July – One Performance Only @ 8pm

Penny Dinners / High Hopes Theatre Group presents

Stirrings

…you don’t know me…don’t judge me…
The stage is set to come alive with the powerful play Stirrings, a collaborative effort co-written by individuals aiming to shed light on the complexities of mental health, challenge stigma, and ignite conversations.
Stirrings illuminates the glimmers of hope that persist even in the bleakest moments. Through authentic dialogue, memoir and poignant monologues, the characters reveal their vulnerabilities and resilience.
High Hopes Theatre Group believes in the transformative power of art and through Stirrings, hope to create empathy, understanding, and healing.
When workshop participants shared their life experiences during a series of Stagecraft & Creativity Workshops facilitated by Marion Wyatt, at Croí Na Laoí, Wellness Centre, the newly formed High Hopes Theatre Group discovered, the therapeutic value of storytelling.
Participants saw how their stories resonated with one another. Together, High Hopes Theatre Group and Wyatt Stage Centre intertwine stories which reveal the complexities of love, betrayal, and the possibility of redemption without sugarcoating the pain or the hope.
Stirrings co-writers have poured their hearts into this play. Their authenticity shines through. Prepare to be moved.
Stirrings has mature themes and strong language.
Age: 16+
Writer Croía Power
Director Matt Palliser-Kehoe
Producers Philippe Chabalier & Liam O’Caoimh
Exec. Producer Caitriona Twomey
Lighting by Jamie Feehily
Stirrings is supported through Cork City Council by the Creative Ireland Programme, an all-of-government five-year initiative, from 2023 to 2027, which places creativity at the centre of public policy.
Further information from creativeireland.gov.ie.

Tickets: €18.50, €15 Conc. Groups of 10+
*Booking fees apply.

KING
2024-06-26 - 2024-06-29
Wednesday 26th – Saturday 29th June @ 8pm

KING

Written and performed by Pat Kinevane
KING tells the story of Luther, a man from Cork named in honour of his Granny Bee Baw’s hero, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Luther only leaves his apartment for essential journeys, and to perform as an Elvis impersonator. The play explores prejudice, privilege, and resilience, as Luther struggles to live life to the full.
Fishamble and Pat Kinevane have previously collaborated on FORGOTTEN, SILENT, UNDERNEATH, and BEFORE, which have won major international awards including Olivier, Fringe First, Herald Archangel, Adelaide Fringe, and Helen Hayes awards. They have been called BRILLIANT (Irish Times), EXTRAORDINARY (New York Times), STUNNING (Scotsman), DAZZLING (Guardian), and MESMERISING (Sydney Morning Herald). Now, Fishamble and Pat Kinevane, under the direction of Jim Culleton, and with music by Denis Clohessy, return with this very special fifth solo play.
This production was developed with the support of Nasc Network Commission and Georganne Aldrich Heller.
Runtime: 80 minutes.
Age guide: 14+. Contains themes of parental loss, mental health struggles and agoraphobia; strobe lighting and strong language/swearing.
Tickets: €26, €22 conc.
*Booking fees apply.

The Collector
2024-06-20 - 2024-06-23
Thursday 20th – Sunday 23rd June 2024

Cork Midsummer Festival presents

The Collector

Energetic new circus and theatre exploring the fantastical but isolated life of a man who has closed himself off from the outside and has built his own world from the discarded scraps of society.
Directed by award-winning choreographer Eddie Kay, and blending circus, projections, physical theatre and a unique soundtrack into a beautiful celebration of the unexpected, The Collector explores social isolation, mental health, and finding wonder in the seemingly eccentric.
Writer and performer, Will Flanagan is the artistic director of Alchemy Arts, a contemporary circus and street theatre company inspired by collaborative frameworks for theatre-making that integrate a variety of performative practices from physical theatre, to contemporary dance and circus skills.
Age suitability: 8+
Director and Choreographer: Eddie Kay
Performer and Writer: Will Flanagan
Sound Designer: Arran MacGabhann
Lighting Designer: John Hurley
Projectionist: Christian O’ Shea
Voiceover: George Hannover
Set Design: Elisa Gallo Rosso, Triangle Productions & Will Flanagan
Photography: Marcin Lewandowski
Tickets: €15, €12.50 conc.
*Booking fees apply.

Educating Rita
2024-06-04 - 2024-06-08
Tuesday 4th – Saturday 8th June @ 8pm

Educating Rita

by Willy Russell
Produced by Jim O’Mahony, Karen Ray and Brenda Lynch.
Performed by Karen Ray and Jim O’Mahony.
Under license from Samuel French.
Sometimes students make the best teachers.
Frank is an English lecturer in his fifties whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and bury himself in his books. Enter Rita, a forthright 26 year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. After weeks of cajoling, Rita slowly wins over the very hesitant Frank with her alternative insights and refusal to accept no for an answer. Their relationship as teacher and student blossoms, ultimately giving Frank a new sense of self and Rita the knowledge she so craves. This beloved comedy-drama became a hit film with Michael Caine and Julie Walters.
Tickets: €15
*Booking fees apply.

Views from a Lamp Post
2024-05-28 - 2024-06-01
Tuesday 28th May – Saturday 1st June @ 8pm
Views from a Lamp Post
Ten brand-new, ten minute plays will have their world premieres at the Cork Arts Theatre from Tuesday 28th May to Saturday 1st June 2024 as part of the venue’s ‘Views from a Lamp Post’ event.
Established in 2015, the annual ‘Views from…’ series was conceived in order to encourage new writing for the stage and to bring those characters and stories to life in the intimate setting of the Cork Arts Theatre.
With a different theme each year, the event sees hundreds of entries from authors all over the world. Some of the best acting and directing talent that Cork has to offer then set to work to create a wonderful evening of theatre that has proved immensely popular with audiences over the years.
The setting is a simple one – a lamp post and a park bench. What stories and characters will visit this setting? You’ll just have to come along and find out.
This year, over 300 plays were submitted for the event. They were eventually whittled down to the final 10 wonderful plays and those are:

‘The Beacon’ by Eithne Horgan – Director: Dolores Dermody
‘Panic Attack’ by Loretta Oleck – Director: Michael Manley
‘Nobody Puts Marie Curie in the Corner’ by Julie Melia – Director: Sean Creagh
‘Alfie and Greta’ by David Hopes – Director: Declan Lynch
‘Handcuffed’ by Martin Condon – Director: Eltin Griffin
‘Magical Thinking’ by Bara Swain – Director: Cathal O’Donovan
‘Funeral Sandwiches’ by Sarah O’Connell – Director: James Horgan
‘A Sharp Exchange’ by Darren Hall – Director: Rob O’Sullivan
‘Death Takes a Lunch Break’ by Jim Sampson – Director: Ruby Spilsbury
‘First to Find’ by Jeff Tullin – Director: Karen Lynch

This event is usually very well attended so we advise early booking to avoid disappointment.
Age Recommendation: 14+
Tickets: €15
*Booking fees apply.

A Safe Passage
2024-05-21 - 2024-05-25
Tuesday 21st – Saturday 25th May @ 8pm
A Safe Passage
by Irene Kelleher
“It’s the age-old question, should you take a leap of faith? Will it bring fortune or folly? In Tarot, the Fool stands on the edge of a sea cliff, carefree and smiling. Sound familiar?”
New Year’s Eve 1979. Two strangers are thrown together at Inish Dúbh Lighthouse: Christy the Keeper, shining a ceaseless vigil for all at sea; and the young woman who does not want to be saved. Both have plans for the evening. Both seem to want the same thing. But as the storm rages and the tower door shuts, they must decide – to weather the storm together or take a leap of faith?
Directed by Geoff Gould (Philadelphia here I come, This Ebony Bird), A Safe Passage is a story of lost and found, of isolation, and the ultimate need for human connection.
Award-winning Blood in the Alley Theatre Company present the tour of Irene Kelleher’s new play after its sold-out run at Cork Midsummer 2022. Known for producing new and original work, the company has previously presented work by Irish playwrights Conal Creedon and Michael Lovett. Well-known Leitrim actor, writer and director Seamus O’Rourke (Trad, Indigestion, From Under the Beds) plays Christy the Lighthouse Keeper. This is Irene Kelleher’s latest play to tour after critically acclaimed national and international tours of her one woman shows Gone Full Havisham and Mary & Me. “A writer to watch.” THE STAGE ★★★★
Director Geoff Gould
Cast Irene Kelleher, Seamus O’Rourke
Sound and Video Designer Cormac O’Connor
Set Designer Hannah Lane
Lighting Designer Tim Feehily
Tickets: €18
*Booking fees apply.

Cork International Poetry Festival 2024
2024-05-15 - 2024-05-18
Wednesday 15th – Saturday 18th May 2024
Cork International Poetry Festival

The Cork International Poetry Festival is Ireland’s biggest annual poetry festival. It celebrates Cork as a vibrant poetry scene with international connections. Every year major Irish and international poets gather for four days of readings, discussions, workshops and film.
The programme of readings taking place this year at the Cork Arts Theatre is as follows:

Wednesday 15th May @ 7pm
Majella Kelly and David McLoghlin
Details and Booking

Wednesday 15th May @ 8.30pm
Patrick Deeley and John Ennis
Details and Booking

Wednesday 15th May @ 10pm
Katie Donovan and Kerry Hardie
Details and Booking

Thursday 16th May @ 7pm
Jenny Mitchell and Gustav Parker Hibbett
Details and Booking

Thursday 16th May @ 8.30pm
John F. Deane and Aidan Mathews
Details and Booking

Thursday 16th May @ 10pm
Victoria Kennefick and Heather Treseler
Details and Booking

Friday 17th May @ 7pm
André Naffis-Sahely & Tom Sleigh
Details and Booking

Friday 17th May @ 8.30pm
Donika Kelly and Dante Micheaux
Details and Booking

Friday 17th May @ 10pm
David Harsent and Sarah Holland-Batt
Details and Booking

Saturday 18th May @ 3pm
Fool for Poetry & Gregory O’Donoghue Prize Readings
Details and Booking

Saturday 18th May @ 4.30pm
Simon Ó Faoláin and Gabriel Rosenstock
Details and Booking

Saturday 18th May @ 7pm
Fatimah Asghar and Sally Wen Mao
Details and Booking

Saturday 18th May @ 8.30pm
Paul Muldoon
Details and Booking

Saturday 18th May @ 10pm
Simon Armitage
Details and Booking

A Grand Night for Singing
2024-05-07 - 2024-05-08
Tuesday 7th May @ 7.30pm, and Wednesday 8th May @ 5.30pm & 8pm

Montfort College of Performing Arts presents
A Grand Night for Singing
Join us for a glorious evening of songs from Broadway to the West End! The singing students from the Montfort College under the tutelage of Emma Nash, Naomi Ryan, Muireann Slattery and Luke Condon will perform a wide and varied repertoire with songs from the golden age of Broadway right up to contemporary modern musicals. A glorious night of musical theatre awaits!
Accompanist – Ronan Holohan
Tickets: €10
*Booking fees apply.

Drama Showcase
2024-05-06
Monday 6th May @ 7pm

Montfort College of Performing Arts presents
Drama Showcase

Join us for a show full of poetry, improvisation, solo, duologue and group acting pieces presented by the drama students from our Fermoy studio. Under the expert guidance of teacher and director Valerie O’ Leary, our students will entertain you with drama pieces of the highest quality. A wonderful evening of theatre guaranteed.
Tickets: €10
*Booking fees apply.

Romeo and Juliet
2024-04-30 - 2024-05-04
Tuesday 30th April – Saturday 4th May @ 8pm
Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

As part of their ongoing centenary celebrations, The Cork Shakespearean Company prepares to present the most famous and tragic love story of them all.
The story of the “star-crossed” young lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, is one of the great tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. Addressing the issues of the consequences of immature blind passion, but also the current climate of hatred and prejudice that we are seeing all too often, not just in other countries but here at home too. Romeo and Juliet are young teenagers who fall deeply in love but their families are bitter enemies. Regardless of the feud between their families they marry in secret. Despite every effort to conceal their actions, the story ultimately ends in tragedy.
Tickets: €18, €16 conc., Group rate (min. 8 pers.): €15 each
*Booking fees apply.

The Echo Boys
2024-04-17 - 2024-04-27
Preview: Wednesday 17th April @ 8pm
Thursday 18th – Saturday 27th April @ 8pm
Matinees: Saturday 20th and 27th @ 2.30pm
DMD Associates present

The Echo Boys

…bringing back a piece of Cork’s history…

by Val Dennehy and Marion Wyatt

Marion Wyatt (Director/Playwright) brings her latest creation The Echo Boys to Cork Arts Theatre from April 17th. With an all-star Cork cast and original music from Jimmy Brockie the production promises to be as popular as Katty Barry, Queen of The Coal Quay, Shawlies, Dockers and The Sunbeam Girls.
The Echo Boys is a jaunt down memory lane, packed with chances to laugh out loud at the ‘goings on’ of the newspaper sellers who were described as legends and part of the fabric of Cork. The script is a fictionalised account of the personal histories of former Echo Boys celebrating their resilience, hopes and dreams.
The Echo Boys shows what life was like when Echo Boys were heard on almost every corner of Cork city, shouting, “Echo, Echo, get your Evening Echo!”
Now, unfortunately, no longer part of Cork’s soundscape. However, for a brief time, we will hear their roars once more. The Echo Boys will bring back a piece of Cork’s history.
The Echo Boys will put a smile on your face, a spring in your step and a song in your heart. Sure ‘tis only medaza!
Composer: Jimmy Brockie
Director: Marion Wyatt
Tickets:
Preview and Matinees €17.50, Limited Early Bird Tickets €15,
Standard €25, Concession €20
*Booking fees apply.

Old Times
2024-04-12 - 2024-04-13
Friday 12th – Saturday 13th April @ 7.30pm

Montfort College of Performing Arts presents
Old Times
by Molly Taylor

In September 2022 the Montfort College of Performing Arts established a company drama class under the direction of Sinéad Crowley. The work of the students culminates in a fully staged play which allows them to put to use all the skills developed over the course of the year. Following on from their hugely successful inaugural production in 2023 of ‘The Boy Preference’, the students are delighted to present ‘Old Times’ in 2024.
In ‘Old Times’ twins Stefi and Zafer are about to turn 18. However, life is throwing up complications: Zafer is ill and Stefi is scared their past is about to catch up with them. Five years ago, Stefi, Zafer and their friends were involved in a crime that still hangs over their town, but only one of them was accused and convicted: well-known trouble-maker and ‘bad kid’ Tom Joy.
When Stefi finds out Tom Joy has been released from prison, she fears he will be out for revenge and decides it’s time to get the gang back together. Stefi has a plan to protect them all, but will they ever be able to move on?
Director: Sinéad Crowley
Tickets: €15, €12 conc.
*Booking fees apply.

Broadway Kidz
2024-04-08 - 2024-04-10
Monday 8th – Wednesday 10th April @ 7.30pm

Montfort College of Performing Arts presents
Broadway Kidz
The Montfort College of Performing Arts is proud to present ‘Broadway Kidz‘ – a musical revue celebrating its 62nd year of showcasing the best of Cork talent. The students of the Montfort Youth Choir whose ages range from 9 – 18 years will transport you to the stages of Broadway and the West End as they beguile you with familiar standards from the world’s greatest musicals such as Mary Poppins, Oliver, Matilda and The Wizard of Oz and also a sprinkle of some new contemporary classics such as Come From Away, Wonka, Ragtime and Waitress. A foot-tapping, sing-along extravaganza for all the family is guaranteed.
Musical Director: Michelle Cooke
Choreographers: Laurie O’ Driscoll & Karen Walsh
Tickets: €15
*Booking fees apply.
