Giraffes, a spectacular sun, and a 24-hour play: Cork Midsummer Fest launches programme
According to festival director Lorraine Maye, the scale of this spectacle hasn't been seen in Cork for decades. 'It is enormously exciting to see the festival using the streets for this very big moment,' says Maye in advance of the event's official programme launch on Thursday evening.
Also in the realm of the truly spectacular is Helios, a giant dazzling sun from artist Luke Jerram which will be suspended in the iconic location of St Fin Barre's Cathedral; each centimetre of the huge sculpture represents 2,300km of the real Sun's surface.
The church will open from sunrise to sunset (4.30am–10.30pm) on the summer solstice, June 21, giving audiences a unique opportunity to bask in the intensity of the sun at one of the most sacred and symbolic points in the calendar.
'Luke's work is magical and the sun feels like a very fitting installation to have for a midsummer festival,' says Maye.
While such large-scale events make this year's festival programme the most ambitious yet, there is a diverse menu of musical, dance, visual art and literary performances from local, national and international artists, as well as the community participation for which the festival is renowned. This includes a new Midsummer Youth Assembly, which will programme, curate and lead an event in Fitzgerald's Park.
The booth that hosts the Theatre for One.
'The festival showcases so many different ways to encounter live art. The city really embraces it, so many people put so much into it and it is something that Cork can be really proud of,' said Maye.
The festival is leaning into its midsummer theme more than ever, making the most of the long bright nights with performances around the clock, including a solstice céili in the atmospheric surroundings of Elizabeth Fort, and The Second Woman, in which Cork actor Eileen Walsh will perform with an unrehearsed cast of 100 over 24 hours at Cork Opera House. Maye, who saw the show in Amsterdam, says it was 'unforgettable'.
Eileen Walsh will perform a 24-hour play with 100 different actors.
'I've never had an experience like it. There are so many ways to encounter it, and whether you do half an hour or 24 hours, it is worth it. The people that you meet and the conversations you have, there is that sense of belonging to a cohort of people who are having this once-in-a-lifetime experience.' The festival will also draw down the curtain, for now at least, on one of its most popular events of recent years, Theatre for One, in which an actor performs a five-minute piece for a single person in a confessional-style booth. This year's theme is 'Made in Cork' and it will feature work from writers including Cónal Creedon, Louise O'Neill and Gina Moxley.
'The focus on Cork voices and stories feels like such a lovely way to round out a third year and pause on this moment,' says Maye.
Returning after a hiatus is the literature strand, Western Frequencies, which will be curated by Danny Denton. It marks a new partnership between the festival and UCC, and the events will take part at various venues on campus.
Maye lists many highlights across the programme, and is particularly looking forward to seeing in the sunrise at St Fin Barre's with all the other early birds.
'I will be there. There are these moments that will never happen again. When will you get to be in St Fin Barre's at dawn looking at an enormous sun?'
Cork Midsummer Festival takes place June 13-22; for further information and tickets, see corkmidsummer.com
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The Irish Sun
13 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Key points ‘missing' from Netflix doc could prove what really happened to Amy Bradley when she vanished from cruise ship
IMPORTANT details left out of the Netflix documentary about missing American Amy Lynn Bradley could prove how she vanished on a cruise ship almost 30 years ago, an expert has claimed. Amy was 23 when she disappeared from the Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas on March 21, 1998, during a family trip. 5 Netflix series Amy Bradley is Missing has been a huge hit with true crime fans Credit: Netflix 5 The 23-year-old was last seen on the balcony of the cabin she shared with her family Credit: Netflix 5 Author James Renner has been researching the case for his new book Credit: James Renner The case has left the true crime community scratching their heads for years, and the three-part series is one of the most-watched on the streaming service. Wannabe lawyer and true crime fan Kim Kardashian is even said to have been courted to help try and crack the case, according to TMZ, amid conspiracy theories that Amy was sex-trafficked. But author and YouTuber James Renner, who has done extensive research on the case and is set to release a new book next year, believes there could be a simpler answer. In an exclusive chat with The U.S. Sun, he said, "I think it's very interesting when you look at the facts of the case, such a small detail that doesn't seem to mean anything, but it might mean everything. "They make a big point of saying that the balcony door was ajar in the morning, but they also suggest that Amy then left the room without telling anybody. "But if you've ever been on a cruise ship, you know that there are warning plaques in your room that say, 'Do not open the cabin door when the balcony doors open.' Because the hallway is pressurized. "So, if you open that cabin door, it creates a wind tunnel. And it often causes the cabin door to slam shut. "In fact, some people have lost fingers because it slammed shut so hard. "You cannot quietly leave a cabin room with the balcony door open. It would've woken everybody up." During his research for the book, Renner says he spoke to cruise staff who were briefed about what the FBI found in the cabin when they dusted it for prints. The FBI appeal for information on the Amy Lynn Bradley case - a Virginia woman who disappeared 20 years ago He alleged, "On the railing, they found Amy's palm prints, and on the glass door, they found her footprints. "So it appears that she was sitting on the balcony with her feet against the glass. "So it's possible that she kicked off. And when she kicked off, the door opened a little bit. "I think it's possible she sat on the railing. I think what we might be looking at here is what the French call 'l'appel du vide' which we call 'call of the void.' "I think it's possible. She had a really rough night. She'd been drinking. She had a very big decision to make when she got home from that cruise ship. "And that was, does she live her life out in the open as a gay woman? Which is how she identified to everybody. "She didn't identify as bi, she identified as gay and lesbian. "So does she live that life and risk disappointing her parents and not having that close relationship? Or does she live a lie and turn her back on who she really is? So all that's going on in her mind. I think she's sitting on that balcony thinking, 'What if?' and by pushing off she causes action." Author James Renner "I think she's sitting there out on that balcony. When you're in places like that, just like when you're standing on the edge of a cliff, there is that voice inside you sometimes. that comes up and says, 'What if?' "I think she's sitting on that balcony thinking, 'What if?' and by pushing off she causes action." Renner explained that once you're overboard on a cruise ship, there is only about a 20 per cent chance you're going to survive being in the rough waters long enough to be pulled out. "So, I think that's what happened. I think it's likely she went overboard earlier when they were further from the port." He said he will discuss his theory in full in his book, A Cruise to Nowhere, which will be released next summer. He said, "I talk about some stories where eyewitness testimony was faulty, and it's because memory doesn't work like it does on TV and film, where you see this flashback in technicolor. "Every time we access a memory, we rewrite it a little bit. "These people have the best intentions. They want to help this family. But you know, they're coming at it backwards, they've been shown the picture of Amy, and then it matches up with this memory in their mind.' On the theory that Amy was kidnapped and sex-trafficked, Renner claims there is no verified account of a caucasian woman being abducted and trafficked in the Caribbean. I do think that if Amy had lived, she'd probably be with her partner Molly." Author James Renner "This would be a first, which is very unlikely," he said. "It's just not worth the trouble. A white woman is gonna stand out in Grenada, and it's not worth the risk for the people that do this. "They have plenty of women from the Dominican Republic, from Columbia, from these poor countries, that can go there and make more money than their family could in a year working a couple of weeks for these brothels." Renner met with the Bradley family while researching his book several months ago, but he alleges they cut contact with him after an initial meeting. "I came to care for the Bradley family quite a bit. Iva [Amy's mom] is the type of person that loves hard," he said. "I met with them about a year ago and was invited to their house, and had lunch with them." He claims that before he arrived, Iva told him anyone who is invited into their home was considered family, a comment he did not take lightly and he was hoping to build a relationship with them. "Unfortunately, once they learned that I knew that Amy was gay and that I had spoken to her partners, that was the last contact I had with them," he claims. The U.S. Sun has reached out to Amy's family for comment, but did not hear back. Top theories relating to Amy Bradley's disappearance From suicide to sex-trafficking, there have been many theories about what happened to the 23-year-old. Sex-trafficking/Abduction - this is the most prominent theory, as alleged witnesses have come forward to claim they have seen her with suspicious men in the Caribbean. A photograph of a woman with strikingly similar features was also posted on a sex worker website and featured in the Netflix doc. - this is the most prominent theory, as alleged witnesses have come forward to claim they have seen her with suspicious men in the Caribbean. A photograph of a woman with strikingly similar features was also posted on a sex worker website and featured in the Netflix doc. Suicide - Amy was allegedly struggling with stress after coming out as a gay woman to her family, and they found it difficult to accept. She was reportedly drinking and chain-smoking in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. She was also last seen in her family's cabin smoking on the balcony, and there is no proof she ever left. - Amy was allegedly struggling with stress after coming out as a gay woman to her family, and they found it difficult to accept. She was reportedly drinking and chain-smoking in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. She was also last seen in her family's cabin smoking on the balcony, and there is no proof she ever left. Accidental Overboard - Amy was under the influence of alcohol when she was on the balcony after a night of partying in the ship's nightclub. She may have climbed up while intoxicated and fallen overboard. However, this is considered the least likely theory due to the height of the balcony and Amy's reported fear of heights. - Amy was under the influence of alcohol when she was on the balcony after a night of partying in the ship's nightclub. She may have climbed up while intoxicated and fallen overboard. However, this is considered the least likely theory due to the height of the balcony and Amy's reported fear of heights. Voluntary Departure - It has also been suggested that Amy may have intentionally left the ship to start a new life after revealing her sexuality to her family. The documentary explores this theory as a mystery internet user with an IP address linked to Barbados would often spend minutes on pages of the website created by her family every year on Christmas and Thanksgiving. "It's very sad. I do think that if Amy had lived, she'd probably be with her partner Molly, and I hope she would've had the support of her family." Asked what drew him to the case, Renner said he likes unsolved mysteries that are "giant puzzle boxes." "It could be that they walked away to start a new life. It could be they committed suicide. It could be they were abducted. It could be they were murdered. So everything's on the table. "And those cases intrigue me because they're very rare. And, you know, one of the reasons they're still like that is because they haven't been properly investigated. "So what I like to do is just chip away at some of those other theories and see what's left. "And for me, I've narrowed [it] down, what happened to Amy Bradley ... to the point where I don't believe she ever came off that balcony. "I think it's highly likely that she is responsible for whatever took place there." Renner also previously spoke to The U.S. Sun about the now-debunked theory that Amy was taken from the ship and sex-trafficked by a bass player called Alister Douglas, known then by his nickname "Yellow". He took the same journey as Amy on the Rhapsody of the Seas and tracked Douglas down in Grenada, where the now-reverend granted him a brief interview. Douglas claimed the case had turned his life upside down, and he was still receiving hate from trolls online despite being ruled out by the FBI on more than one occasion. Tearing up, he admitted, "I've lost so many opportunities because of this," explaining that people Google his name and believe he had something to do with Amy going missing. "My inbox, my Facebook, people have been writing me horrible stuff for years." 5 Amy Bradley disappeared 27 years ago while on vacation with her parents and brother Credit: Netflix
Irish Examiner
a day ago
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Michelle Darmody: How to make the classic Baked Alaska — and mistakes to avoid
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If you do not have access to these, you can stew frozen or fresh cherries to make a compote, add little sugar as you are stewing. Coffee Soak the sponge in a combination of coffee liqueur and strong espresso. This dessert is not for the faint-hearted. It is a caffeine and alcohol kick. You can use coffee ice cream as well for more intensity. Raspberry and chocolate In place of the sponge, cut a slab of chocolate brownie then top it with a layer of raspberry jam and then a block of raspberry ice cream. Swirl the meringue on top and continue to bake as per the recipe.
The Irish Sun
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- The Irish Sun
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