PALACE PLAYERS RETURN WITH CONOR MCPHERSON’S ‘THE WEIR’

This weekend sees The Palace Players back at The Village Arts Centre for three more nights of Conor McPherson’s highly acclaimed play, ‘The Weir’ (Friday to Sunday, February 20 to 22).

Following its local run, ’The Weir’ will take the group, now in its 21st year, to seven festivals around the country in a bid to accumulate enough points to make it to the national finals in Athlone in May.

‘The Weir’ invites you in to a country pub in a remote part of Sligo/Leitrim on a wild and windy night in late spring/early summer. Two of the regulars, Jack (Sean Ahern) and Jim (John Murphy) along with the proprietor, Brendan (Dermot Rohan) are introduced to Valerie (Noelle Clarke) by local entrepreneur, Finbar Mack (James Lenane). Valerie is new to the area, having rented Maura Nealon’s old cottage from Finbar who is showing her the area and helping her to settle in.

Throughout the course of the evening, a number of ghost stories are swopped and a few intimacies revealed, mainly for Valerie’s benefit. Valerie turns the tables however as her own story is revealed.

‘The Weir’ makes for a compelling evening’s theatre. Don’t miss it! Please note, the play contains strong language which some may find offensive.

Booking now open at The Avondhu office, Fermoy (025-32227); Cotter’s Kilworth (27109); Hyland’s, Mitchelstown (24528) and on 087-6492514.

BRIDEVIEW DRAMA TO PRESENT ‘BEAUTY IN A BROKEN PLACE’

Brideview Drama are ploughing away nicely in the rich field that is ‘Beauty in a Broken Place’, their next production which will also be their festival contender for 2009.

Written by Colm Toibin and directed by Jack Aherne, it stars over 12 actors from around Waterford and Cork, and is a warm and wonderful mix of history, drama, laughter, turmoil, fancy costumes and famous people.

But first, apologies from your correspondent, as last week’s notice had errors: The play is about the Abbey riots over Sean O’Casey’s first showing of his masterpiece, ‘The Plough and the Stars’ (we had it written ‘by JM Synge’ last week).

Thus, local acting stalwart Sean Tobin is playing O’Casey, not Synge - as you see in a million Irish pubs displaying that poster of famous Irish writers’ faces, Sean O’Casey has a large craggy phizog; so Sean is having great fun being even more gifted, wise and craggy than he normally is!

The play is full of action and debate, and when it first ran in the Abbey Theatre, it was described by audiences and critics as ‘a vividly imaginative and very funny evening’, ‘a great demonstration that no matter what happens, the show must go on’, and ‘full of entertaining performances, with the cast doubling and tripling up roles to deliver everything from uncanny impersonations of historical characters, to heartfelt passages of O’Casey’s original play’.

Finally, the dates of the performance are as follows: 26 to 28 February (Thursday to Saturday) and March 5 and 6 (Thursday and Friday).

As always, doors open at 8pm at Tallow Community Centre and all are welcome. We would note that the play may not be so entertaining for kids under 12, but all others will see much to enjoy!

BECKETT AND MORE AT EVERYMAN

Samuel Beckett’s ‘Endgame’ runs at The Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork until this Saturday night. Presented by John Calder and The Godot Company, it has been described as ‘a play fraught with contradictions, grim and bleak, yet monstrously funny’.

On Tuesday, February 24, Opera Theatre Company presents ‘Xerxes’, directed by Michael Moxham. Love - requited, unrequited, star-crossed and fulfilled. A tangled web of lovers get caught in the romantic crossfire as they plot, connive and scheme in Handel’s glorious opera.

Best known for its exquisite opening aria sung to a tree, this witty comedy bristles with thwarted passions. On Friday, February 27 and Saturday 28, Cork Arts Studio presents ‘Seussical The Musical’, a magical journey of song and dance based on the books of Dr Seuss. Two shows daily, 11am and 8pm.

The Truman Capote Talk Show which features Bob Kingdom as Truman Capote. No one looked or sounded like Truman Capote. A five foot four terror with a high-pitched Southern drawl, he wrote as he spoke - like a surgeon with a scalpel.

Made by words, destroyed by words, drugs and alcohol, the Truman Capote Talk Show lays bare both sides of this classic American tragedy. Winner of the Fringe First Award The Truman Capote Talk Show has enjoyed sell-out seasons at the Lyric Hammersmith London and Off-Broadway.

The production now plays its final UK tour ahead of a New York farewell season. ‘A terrific script, tight, funny, poignant and bursting with celebrated one-liners. Go straight to this show’ - The Guardian. Booking: 021-4501673 or Online at www.everymanpalace.com