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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Cork Midsummer Festival set to turn all the city ‘into a stage' in celebration of all things Rebel
Tickets are flying out the door according to the organisers, and they also added that this year's crop of talent has led to one of their busiest box offices in years. Running from June 13 to June 22, Cork city is turned into a stage for a celebration of live arts events that will appeal to each member of the family. Director of the Cork Midsummer Festival Lorraine Maye said the event is 'unique' in so far as it partners with various cultural organisations across the city. 'We work with all the city's cultural organisations, and we work with them to co-present a lot of the work, and a lot of things would not be possible without them. 'We work with a lot of businesses in the city and they become patrons or friends. 'They support us in so many different ways and we literally couldn't do this without them,' Ms Maye said. Whether your Midsummer Festival includes a 4am visit to Cork Opera House, a visit to the dazzling display of the Sun at St Fin Barre's Cathedral or an intimate experience of a musical ensemble at Triskel Arts Centre, there is something for everyone. The opening event will allow spectators to experience the Sun like never before at St Finn Barre's Cathedral. Helios is an invitation to explore the Sun up close through a huge, dazzling new artwork by world-renowned UK artist Luke Jerram. 'The opening event is Helios, a six-metre giant installation of the Sun that's going to be in St Fin Barres for people to see from the 9th of June right until the end of the festival. 'It is a great one for all the family to see and we are thrilled to bring it to Cork. We are co-commissioners of that,' Ms Maye said. Helios can be viewed from June 9. Another major event on the Midsummer Festival calendar is The Second Woman, which is a 24-hour performance and features Eileen Walsh act out the same scene for the duration of the show. 'The extraordinary Eileen Walsh will be the heart of the show and will be on stage for 24 hours performing the same scene over and over again with 100 different participants – all of them men. 'Some of them are actors but most of them are not and haven't been on stage before. 'People can engage with this in a number of different ways like a 24-hour tickets that gives them priority to come and go throughout the 24 hours or they can get a time ticket. 'We really recommend that people see the performance at various times of the day and the night because it's a completely different experience,' Ms Maye added. Throughout the festival, various events showcasing extraordinary Cork talents will be on offer, including the iconic Theatre for One booth. 'We will be using the city as a stage, which is something the festival does every year. 'The iconic Theatre for One booth is custom-made for one audience members and one actor at a time, and this year's theme is Made in Cork,' Ms Maye said. All the writers and actors involved with the Theatre for One are Leesiders, with some of the directors are also Rebels, and Ms Maye said the Theatre for One is a 'brilliant platform to showcase some extraordinary Cork talent.' The closing night will be especially memorable as seven giraffes will make their way down St Patrick's Street – well, kind of. 'For our closing event this year we are partnering with Cork City Council and the Open Streets Initiative for the biggest international spectacle that the city has seen for decades on St Patrick's Street. 'This is a group called Compagnie OFF from France, and their event Les Girafes: An Animal Operetta, will have seven giant giraffes coming down Patrick's Street on the final day of the festival,' Ms Maye concluded. For more information on Cork Midsummer Festival and to buy tickets, see:
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Louise O'Neill among writers pushing the boundaries of theatre at Cork Midsummer Festival
She may have made her name as an author but it turns out that Louise O'Neill's true love is the theatre. When I chat to O'Neill, she is in London, where she has seen two plays in quick succession — Conor McPherson's new play The Brightening Air and the buzzy Broadway transfer Stereophonic by David Adjmi. "I just adore the theatre. Wherever I am, I'm always like 'what play can I go and see?'. There is something about being in a dark room with a few hundred other people and you have all signed this covenant that you are going to suspend disbelief for the next couple of hours.' So, when the opportunity arose to write her own play, O'Neill jumped at the chance. It was an offer with an attractive twist — to contribute a piece to Theatre for One, a very different prospect to the usual theatrical experience. A highlight of the Cork Midsummer Festival, Theatre for One presents a selection of five-minute pieces performed by a lone actor to an audience of one in a confessional-style booth. The unusual format has proved a big hit with audiences in its previous two iterations, and this year, the theme of Made in Cork adds some extra hometown flavour. Clonakilty native O'Neill is one of six Cork writers featuring, along with Cónal Creedon, Katie Holly, John McCarthy, Michael John McCarthy and Gina Moxley. 'It is really pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be and it is just really exciting to be part of that,' says O'Neill. "I had seen previous plays by Marina Carr, Mark O'Rowe, Louise Lowe, and Enda Walsh and it felt so intimate and spellbinding. Theatre is so much about the connection between the actor and the audience. Every night feels different, the energy, the dynamic, because of a new audience and how people respond to the material. There is something so fascinating about boiling that down to two people in one space.' O'Neill may have proven her own talent in a different literary field, but this isn't her first theatrical outing. Her second novel Asking For It, dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault in a small Irish town, became a phenomenon, and was later adapted for the stage, premiering at the Cork Midsummer Festival in 2018. However, long before that, she trod the boards herself, as a member of Kilmeen Drama Group, in their award-winning production of The Playboy of the Western World, which went on to be performed at the Abbey Theatre in 2013. 'Kilmeen was my local drama group and they were just such a wonderful source of inspiration. My mother would take me and my sister to the All-Ireland Drama Festival every year and we would see a different play every night. Lauren Coe as Emma and Paul Mescal as Bryan in Landmark Productions and the Everyman world premiere production of Asking for It by Louise O'Neill. Picture: Hugh O'Conor. "The level of expertise that those people have in writing, acting, staging, sets and lighting, is really quite extraordinary. Being exposed to that from a young age gave me such a love for theatre, and an appreciation and understanding of it that as an adult I feel immensely grateful for.' The surprise factor means O'Neill can't reveal too much about her Theatre for One piece, apart from the fact that it perhaps signals a change in focus inspired by her own stage in life. 'The protagonist of the piece is a woman in her 50s. There is probably an expectation that it would centre on a teenager but I have just turned 40 and I have friends in their 50s and 60s — I do think the interior lives of women of that age are quite fascinating, that shedding of old identities.' There is a pleasing symmetry in O'Neill's involvement in Theatre for One — it is staged by Landmark Productions, founded by Cork woman Anne Clarke, which also brought Asking For It to the Everyman Theatre in 2018. Julie Kelleher, who was artistic director of the venue at that time, is now directing O'Neill's piece and also helped her rein in her novelistic tendencies. 'I'm very used to having a lot of time and space to expand on my ideas. I handed in a first draft which was about 3,000 words. I asked Julie was she sure that my piece couldn't be longer than everyone else's and she was like, 'no',' laughs O'Neill. 'It was a really interesting creative experience, trying to see where I could trim off any excess material and hone it as much as I could.' Another play which O'Neill says she enjoyed recently was A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal as Stanley Kowalski. In another harmonious turn, one of the now world-famous actor's first roles was in Asking For It, playing the brother of the main character. O'Neill uses an apposite comparison when she describes how she felt seeing Mescal acting in Asking For It. 'It was akin to Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire when he comes on screen and there is an incredibly naturalistic, raw energy about him. Paul has a lot of that, you could see there was something special about him. The cast of Asking For It as a whole were absolutely outstanding, as a writer to see your words being brought to life in the mouths of such talent was such a privilege.' O'Neill is busier than ever, and completed her Theatre for One piece while also working on not one, but two books, a novel and an eagerly anticipated memoir, which will be out next year. She won't rule out writing a full-length play at some point. 'With me, it is always about trying to find the time because I always seem to have another project. You never know, I would love to.' Theatre for One, presented by Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals, Jun 14, 15, 17-22, free of charge. See for times. More theatrical treats at Cork Midsummer Festival Escaped Alone , The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14. , The Everyman Theatre, Jun 12 -14. Caryl Churchill's satirical play celebrates the voices of older women, showcasing the talents of a superb cast. Stitch , J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22. , J Nolan Stationary, 21 Shandon St, Jun 13-22. Making ingenious use of a shop premises, this production starring the prodigious Irene Kelleher exemplifies the Midsummer mission to use the city as a stage. The Black Wolfe Tone , Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21 , Cork Arts Theatre, Jun 20-21 Written and performed by Kwaku Fortune, this thought-provoking production is a powerful meditation on identity and what it means to be Irish. The Second Woman , Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times) , Cork Opera House, 24 hours from 4pm, Jun 14- to 4pm, Jun 15 (entry slots available at different times) A bold and ambitious production in which Cork actor Eileen Walsh will perform with an unrehearsed cast of 100 over 24 hours at Cork Opera House. Bottlenose: A Mystery for Modern Ireland , Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22 , Granary Theatre, Jun 19-22 A comic dive into the demise of the beloved Fungie, late of Dingle Bay. Read More Wicked: For Good trailer shows Elphaba in exile and first glimpse of Dorothy
Irish Examiner
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Giraffes, a spectacular sun, and a 24-hour play: Cork Midsummer Fest launches programme
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's a herd of giraffes walking down Patrick's Street. Fota Wildlife Park can rest easy though, as these particular specimens will strut their stuff as part of the eye-catching line-up for this year's Cork Midsummer Festival. In Les Girafes: An Animal Operetta, from French street theatre outfit, Compagnie OFF, seven towering red giraffes will parade down the city's main thoroughfare, accompanied by a troupe of musicians and performers. 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
