Clonakilty Shakespeare festival marks bard's 450th birthday

Sonnets at breakfast, coffee with Hamlet, and a selection of soliloquies from the jukebox — it’s Clon Upon Avon as one West Cork town celebrates the 450th birthday of the Bard.

The first-ever Shakespearean festival to take place in Clonakilty features everything from a sort of human jukebox –—The Shakebox — offering a selection of 38 excerpts from famous plays on demand, to open-air theatre with a performance of scenes from As You Like It in the spectacular surrounds of the Inchydoney amphitheatre.

The five-day event, which runs from April 23 to 27, also offers a renaissance concert, movies, recitals, impromptu readings of famous plays in the library, children’s games, a ‘Bard Hunt’ and a generous sprinkling of child-friendly events — junior versions of Shakespearean stories, children’s theatre and puppet-making.