Theatre Nights: Laughs galore, and last days of panto

Ireland’s premier folk music conference returns for its third annual edition from January 15 to 19, at the INEC Gleneagle, in Killarney.

It promises to be a good ’un, with more than 60 speakers and lists, over 40 workshops, masterclasses, and discussions, and at least 90 artists each evening across no fewer than four stages!

And they are coming not just from all over Ireland, but from the US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and beyond as well. Howzat for beating the January blues?

Full access tickets, student es, and day tickets all available. The full schedule is online now at: www.showingroots.com. Go check it out.

Red Riding Hood hangs up her cloak this Sunday at the Everyman, so you’d better be quick if you haven’t seen that lively panto yet. The amount of energy and effort that has gone into it over the entire run is incredible, both on stage and behind the scenes. They all deserve a rest!

Next Thursday, January 16, City ’til I Die… Laughing! is a gathering of some of Ireland’s funniest comedians in a special fundraising event for Cork City FC’s Women’s and Academy teams. Ross Browne will be ed by Al Porter, Bernard Casey, Enya Martin and Willa White. 8pm start.

Call 021 450 1673 or see www.everymancork.com.

Cinderella will still be seeking her Prince (and that missing slipper) at the Opera House a little longer, until January 19, but seats are much in demand.

The Dubliners Encore tribute on Jan 23 is already fully sold out, as is Mary Black on the 24th, but there are still a few seats remaining at time of going to press for Reeling In The Showband Years on Saturday/Sunday, January 25/26.

Call 021 427 0022 or see www.corkoperahouse.ie.

The Cork Arts Theatre is host to Little Gem by Elaine Murphy next week, a play that is both hilarious and poignant, showing how just one year can wreak extraordinary change in three generations of women. Directed by Philip O’Byrne for Hunters Moon, it features Emma Ní Bhroin, Aoife O Keeffe, Margaret Moore, Angela Lehane and Shirley Madden. This is the piece that won the Fishamble New Writing Award at the Dublin Fringe, then the Best of Edinburgh, that festival’s top award, before premiering in the US at the Flea Theatre. Wednesday to Saturday, January 15-18 at 8pm.

Hunters Moon Theatre has been performing classic Irish plays throughout Munster since 2018 and is going from strength to strength. Booking on 021 450 5624 or www.corkartstheatre.com.

And now let’s look ahead to some of the big shows coming up in 2025. Top of the list for operetta fans must surely be Die Fledermaus, presented by Irish National Opera at the Opera House on Tuesday, February 4. A delicious musical piece, full of fun and arias that will stay with you long after the curtain has closed. 7.30pm start for that one, and only a single performance, so be quick – it’s likely to sell out.

The Cork Proms are coming up in April, another must-be-there, but would you believe that Miriam Margoyles next October, live in person, is already sold out!

Likely to be another sell-out is I Love You Because – The Jim Reeves Story, presented by the Sunday Songbook team on February 9 at Everyman, but little ones will be clamouring to be taken to The Little Mermaid from February 14-16.

If you haven’t ever experienced the Faulty Towers Dining Experience, you can do so from February 15-20, but be warned, it’s an occasion like no other!

The Banff Mountain Film Festival makes its welcome return in May, while the showstopper of the summer has to be Imelda May in Mother Of All The Behans, running August 12-16.

There is so much coming up, so let’s look forward to some great theatrical experiences ahead. Get checking, get booking!