Theatre, music, dance and more: 10 things to see at Cork Midsummer Festival 2024
Everything you need to know about the upcoming Cork Midsummer Festival.
The Catalan theatre company had people raving about their 2018 debut at the Cork festival, and return this year for two pieces. The city centre will again provide the setting for their June 16 performance as the seven characters create a bit of chaos as they wander about with their suitcases. In their other piece, Alter (June 14-16), the audience will be brought to a secret location for a late-night experience that’s part-theatre, part-adventure, and all-fun.
Tino Sehgal can be a bit difficult to pin down. He doesn’t like the term ‘performance art’ and isn’t keen on recording his work for PR purposes. We can say the German-British artist is hugely respected internationally, and his Cork piece will evolve from work first performed in Santander last year. Expect a small cast of parents and children participating in a piece that will take shape as the audience reacts.
Ping pong meets art installation at the Crawford as attendees are invited to play on these rather unconventional tables. Wonky shapes and built-in traps will test those who are accustomed to batting across rectangular tables. Davey Moor, curator, will also launch impromptu tournaments for those who want to test their skills.
Another one for younger attendees. Some of them may even have read comedian David O’Doherty’s book about a 12-year-old getting up to all sorts of adventures on Achill Island. The story has been adapted for the stage by the author’s brother, Mark Doherty, as a commission by the Everyman and the Ark in Dublin, specialists in children’s theatre.
The city’s best venue has split its Proms programme into three offerings:
Heyday — A Mixtape of Irish Rock (12 & 13 June): Jack O’Rourke, May Kay, and others perform classics of the canon from the likes of Sinead O’Connor, Rory Gallagher and Thin Lizzy.
New World Symphony and Rhapsody in Blue (16 June): Cork pianist Gary Beecher leads an orchestra for a night that have those magical pieces by Dvořák and Gershwin at its heart.
There's No Place Like Home (19 & 20 June): Molly Lynch and Majella Cullagh are among the performers in a nights of musical theatre classics, from works such as Wicked, The Sound of Music, and The Phantom of the Opera.
Theatre-lovers will come for the tale of two Dubliners caught up in the momentous events in Europe in the 1930s; music fans will attend for the live score performed by Steve Wickham of The Waterboys. Deirdre Kinahan has based her story on real events, with settings including a jazz club in Dublin, and battlefields of the Spanish Civil War.
Cork Community Art Link have been busy for months preparing for this parade down the city’s famous pedestrianised thoroughfare. They’ve also roped in men’s sheds, dance troupes, and other community groups for an event that provides an ideal opportunity to bring the smallies into the city.
A success on its debut in 2019, the peep show-like booth is back outside Cork Opera House for another series of five-minute plays performed for one audience-member at a time. Established figures such as Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh have collaborated with novice writers to create the pieces. No booking — just join the queue.
An event subtitled ‘Fresh sounds from Cork’ provides an ideal opportunity to sample the city’s underground music scene. Four venues at the northside crossroads will host a series of gigs featuring such emerging acts as Ezra Williams, the Love Buzz, and The Cliffords. Another one for music-lovers is 9.57 (Sunset) at Triskel, where festival artist in residence Ellll has put together two weekends (15-16 & 21-22 June) of live performance and electronic music.
A céilí with a difference will see trad band Damhsa Liomsa and Fear an Spraoi Martin O’Donoghue guiding punters through dances created especially for this solstice event. Along the way they’ll delve into the different eras of dancing in Ireland, from prehistoric times, through the emergence of the independent state, right up to the present age.
Five-star reviews and other gushing praise followed the UK performances of this piece by dance/theatre company Lost Dog. Ben Duke puts a very original spin on Milton’s epic poem on Satan and the fall of humanity.
