Abba and Ronan on song in Cork!

At the Opera House and at the Everyman, they are hard at work, polishing and refining their big festive productions which are both opening at the end of this month.

There’s less than two weeks to go before Cinderella opens at the Opera House, and just over a fortnight until Red Riding Hood starts at the Everyman. Got your tickets yet? The matinees are going fast, as usual, but certain nights are proving very popular too. Don’t wait to book!

In between panto performances at the Opera House, they are also slotting in other attractions.

Abba Forever on the two Mondays, December 2 and 9, is selling fast, as is Villagers on December 3; while the great Opera House Christmas Concert is being held this year on Monday and Tuesday, December 16 and 17. Traditional carols, contemporary holiday hits, and timeless orchestral pieces always make for a wonderful evening.

And don’t forget the late-night Improvised Panto opens on December 6.

Call 021 427 0022 or www.corkoperahouse.ie for all bookings.

Meanwhile, the Everyman is also managing to fit in some other delightful events to carry you through to panto opening night on November 30.

Ronan Collins is here on November 22 with Showband Hits And Stories, and Lisa Hannigan on November 23. Then it’s all go for Red Riding Hood and that wicked wolf! Call 021 450 1673 or see www.everymancork.com.

The One-Act Theatre Festival opens in Rossmore tomorrow, November 15, and runs until Sunday when the all-important adjudication will take place. See https://rossmoretheatre.com/events or 086 4481086.

There is still time to catch Portal-Ooh at Cork Arts Theatre, as it continues to Saturday. Step into the world of Olly, the mad inventor, and her extraordinary creation: a fantastical machine exploring the human experience.

And next week, a show dealing with a particularly Corkonian bit of history; Michael Patric (yes, he of An Cailín Ciúin) is bringing his new show, Sugar, on tour.

This is a comedy set in the final days of Ireland’s last sugar factory, in Mallow, when employees had to face the end of the world they had always known, and an uncertain future. But, being Michael Patric, it’s all done in lively style: “If you can keep smiling at all, you have hope.”

Call 021 450 5624 or see www.corkartstheatre.com.

And look it, next Thursday is the start of the Quiet Lights Festival, taking place in venues all across the city from November 21 to 24.

This aims to highlight the new wave of Irish and international folk, traditional, and experimental talent, that are quietly forging new paths, recollecting old tales, and creating new stories.

Highlights this year include a large-scale double-header from Elaine Howley and Rachael Lavelle, presented with festival partners Live at St Luke’s. Also on the programme are Joshua Burnside & Memorial, Aoife Ní Bhríain (fiddle) and Cork’s own Cormac McCarthy (piano) in Triskel Arts Centre. The Kurdish/Syrian phenomenon Mohammad Syfkhan opens the festival in Coughlan’s on the Thursday night, and the legendary concertina player Cormac Begley headlines St Lukes on the Sunday of the festival.

“The festival’s backbone is in the brilliance of our local venues, and we’d like to thank them for their ongoing partnership in hosting these brilliant artists,” says festival director Jonathan Pearson. “We think there’s something for everyone this year.”

See more at https://www.quietlights.net/.

The Glen Theatre in Banteer has a busy programme coming up. This Sunday, November 17, that great country music artist Gerry Guthrie will be filling the auditorium with song, and on Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24, a laughter-filled drama, Grandad Don’t Like The British. All 8pm. Booking on 029 56239.