A busy week on stage in Cork

It may look very quiet out front on Emmet Place, but behind the scenes at Cork Opera House it’s a hive of frantic activity as performers, set designers, carpenters, costumiers, musicians, special effects buffs, and so many more, are all working their hardest to ensure that Summer Revels, which opens on Wednesday July 24, is as glittering as the management has promised it will be.

The original Summer Revels, masterminded by the late and truly great Michael Twomey, ran for a dazzling 22 summer seasons back in the 70s and 80s, and this year’s big Opera House show looks set to break all the records as it looks both back and forward, to the traditional and the new. Make sure you book in plenty of time, as this will definitely be a sell-out. It runs from July 24 to August 4, various show times. See www.corkoperahouse.ie or 021 427 0022 for all the details.

Chris Kent is at the Everyman tonight and tomorrow with Back at It. After a dose of the real world (having gone back to the day job as an electrician), Chris found himself having two jobs and the ridiculous notion of trying to buy a house. It turns out he did not have enough jobs. Something had to give, “and shur there’s no future in electricity anyway…” Hilarious stuff. 8pm start.

This Saturday and Sunday at Everyman, something delightful for younger theatregoers with Trash Test, Dummies Circus, all the way from Australia. Winners of the Best Children’s Presentation at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2015 and 2016, and runners up for Children’s Choice Award Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016, the Trash Test Dummies are as full of laughs as their bins are full of surprises. This highly entertaining family adventure takes the humble household wheelie bin to new heights, with side-splitting slapstick comedy, daring acrobatics and dexterous juggling. Oh, and ballet and balloons thrown in for good measure! 4pm performance both Saturday and Sunday, July 13 and 14.

That one is for the youngsters, but there is something special coming up the following weekend which is definitely for those who like staying out late – The Everyman After Dark, a series of late-night events featuring Irish folk singers, contemporary singer-songwriters, and comedy. Friday night July 19 brings Jack O’Rourke, Emma Langford and Anna Mitchell; Sat Ye Vagabonds, Iarla Ó Lionáird and Niamh Regan; and Sunday, comedy with Vittorio Angelone, Alison Spittle, Bernard Casey, Andrew Ryan, and more. All Everyman bookings on www.everymancork.com or 021 450 1673.

The Cork Arts Theatre has begun its very popular summer season with Vixen, which opened last night and runs until Saturday. Written by Helen Casey, and starring Rose Henderson, it’s the story of Angie who reflects on her life as “the other woman”, at first delighting the audience with her scandalous tale while gradually drawing them inexorably into a darker terrain filled with suspense and grief. Directed by Caroline FitzGerald, and winner of the Bealtaine Touring Award 2024, Vixen is in at 1pm and 8pm today and tomorrow, 8pm on Saturday.Combined lunch and show tickets available for the day time performances. Next week’s show is From The River of Ghosts, an intimate piece pursuing the dreams and lives of a working class family over several generations, written and performed by award-winning playwright and actor Roger Gregg. Booking for all Cork Arts Theatre shows on 021 450 5624 or www.corkartstheatre.com.

Heading west towards Killarney this weekend? Blood Upon the Rose, from the River Tail Theatre Company, is on at INEC tomorrow and Saturday night, relating the sad and tragic story of Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford set against the Easter Rising in Dublin. Your chance to re-live those heady days of 1916 which set us finally on the road towards freedom from the colonial grip of England. 7pm start. Booking on 064 667 1555 or www.inec.ie