With the recent spell of good weather it feels like summer is well and truly here. Lets hope it continues for the next few months so that we can all get out and enjoy the many events happening in and around the city. The Cork Midsummer Festival opened its' office on Patrick's Street today. Their programme is packed full of events starting on June 19th and running until June 30th. Events of interest to the GLBT community include: Taylor Mac...in The Half Moon Theatre, Wed.27th-Sat.30th. A New York drag artist who sings of love, loss, fear, anger and redemption, all while looking fabulous. Meat...in The Granary Theatre, Tues.19th-Sat 30th(No show Sunday). A comedy.Sort of.... A tale that contains scenes of murder, betrayal, adultery, bisexuality, castration, fellatio, pornography, sodomy, necrophilia and group sex!!! Kitty & Fabula...in The Spiegeltent, Mon.25th. (One Night Only!) Corks very own delicious dames enjoy a heaving, quivering, sluicing evening of thrills, chills and shattered dreams. Sing-A-Long-A Sound Of Music....in The Spiegeltent, Thurs.21st. A night for wanna-be Maria's, and lovers of the classic movie. Habits not essential! These are just a small number of the events on offer that I thought some of ye would be interested in. The full programme is packed with Art, Comedy, Theatre, Music, Dance, Circus and Family events, some of which are free of charge! The festival office is now open at 56 St. Patrick's Street where tickets and free programmes are available. Their website is http://www.corkfestival.com
I've been busy browsing the full programme of the Midsummer Festival, and I've found that there is an increadible amount of interesting events scheduled. For now I'm concentrating on the events at the wonderful Spiegeltent which is returning to Emmet Place. Local troubadour,John Spillane, returns to the venue this year as does cabaret diva Camille O'Sullivan. The tremendous calibre of local artistes is on display throughout the Festival with performances from The Frank & Walters, Sultans of Ping, Wiggle and Mick Flannery. Kickback presents BANGCORK, a night of fun, dancing and all things exotic with DJ Mike D'arcy, the Sunbeams and the return of Jim Comet. DA BEATS sees Stevie G hosting Corks brightest young DJ's, MC's, singers, producers, rappers, break dancers and graffiti artists. The varied music programme is enhanced by Cork Chamber Choir, Polish rock band RAZ, DWA, TRY and Latin American group APU. The Shellac Sisters go 'retro' with Tea, Cakes& 78'S, an afternoon of classic songs from the roaring 20's. KILA will bring their unique, high energy, trad sounds to the venue and Irish women are well represented with Karen Casey, Julie Feeney and Karen Egan. Barb Junger brings some blues and gospel sounds, Snatch Comedy provide the laughs, Tom Sykes brings literature, Mr Punch brings drama and with performances from both Fidget Feet Circus Show and The Fire Tusk Pain Proof Circus there is something for everyone! And this is all happening in the Spiegeltent!!!!! Full details can be found at http://www.corkfestival.com/spiegeltent.html
Taylor Mac Taylor Mac PAUL LUCAS PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: Taylor Mac Date: Wednesday 27th - Saturday 30th June @ 9pm Tickets: €15 / €10 Venue: Half Moon Theatre New York sensation Taylor Mac took the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm, garnering rave reviews across the board and scooping up a coveted Herald Angel Award. A political drag artist with loads of pathos and a little ukulele, Taylor sings songs of love, loss, fear, anger, and redemption, all while looking fabulous. “It’s not just that his delivery is flawless. It’s not just that he’s beautiful and charming. It’s that his smart, funny, tragic songs are lifeaffirming in their universality, yet delivered in such an understated way he’s on to the next before you realise the profundity of what he’s said. If we’re used to drag that stereotypes gender and reduces possibilities with its bitchy schtick, Taylor Mac is something entirely different, expansive and full of potential.” The Scotsman.
Well the Marqee is up and the Spiegeltent is back . The Cork Midsummer Festival kicks off tomorrow and the Live at the Marquee gigs start on Wednesday. Tuesday gives drama lovers plenty of choice, with productios running in The Everyman, The Half Moon and the Granary Theatres, the Quad Bar and at the Naval Base in Haulbowline. Fidget Feet circus will perform at the Spiegeltent and Norweigen Jazz duo 'Merriwikle' perform in The Triskel. There is an exhibition of photographs in the English Market and a multimedia installation at the Bonded Warehouses on Custom House Quay. I'll be kicking off my week with a trip to the Spiegeltent tomorrow night to see Irish trad group 'Kila'. Anyone else going to check out the events? .
I'm going to Camille O Sullivan on Sunday and of course Kitty and Fabula on Monday. I'm so excited!!! I feel like a Pointer Sister!!
Definitely some good stuff going on this year. Sadly I'm going to miss them all cause I'm on a work trip 'til Sept. I handed over my ticket for Antony & the Johnsons to a friend before I left
Going to Podge and Rodge on Sunday and Kitty & Fabula on Monday. That circus of gore looks interesting, but I'll only go if I have someone to hide behind
Well despite the weather the Midsummer festival is in full swing! I made it to the Spiegeltent on Tuesday night where Kila had the crowd 'ag damhsa' through-out the night. I really like the venue and I'm lookin forward to seeing Kitty & Fabula there! The gigs in the Marquee kicked off last night and the packed house gave an enthusiastic welcome to Faithless, who responded with a great gig. Antony & the Johnsons play the Marquee tonight with Martha Wainwright, sister of Rufus, in support. Snatch Comedy and Sing-a-long-a-Sound of Music are the gigs in the Spiegeltent tonite(@ 7pm & 9.15pm respectively). South Korean born, classical pianist, Young-Choon Park will give a performance in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral at 8pm Friday night. 'Cataplasia' starts a 3 night run in the Firkin Crane tonight. The Shandon Street Festival starts tomorrow as does 'Wired and Free' an aerial multi-media spectacle outside R&H Hall in the docklands. This is a free event but tickets need to be got from the Festival Box Office. The drama continues at the theatres and other venues and the full programme can be seen at the festival website: http://www.corkfestival.com/index.html
We are heading into the last few days of the Midsummer Festival so there is still a chance to catch some of the many great events. At the Spiegeltent the Fire Tusk Pain Proof Circus start a 3 night run tonight. Other acts there over the next few days include the Sultans Of Ping, Julie Feeny and The Shellac Sisters. Tickets for events in the 'tent' need to be booked at least 24 hrs in advance! Pandora 88 continues in the Firkin Crane over the next few days; 2 men, a perspex box measuring 5feet x 10feet and 70 mins of stunning physical dance theatre! New York drag artists Taylor Mac sings songs of love, loss, fear, anger, and redemption, all while looking fabulous at the Half Moon Theatre until Sunday night. Drama continues across the city at The Granary, Everyman, CAT club Theatres, The Quad bar and Haulbowline Naval Base. While 'Eyes of the Docks', a multimedia installation continues every night from 10 to midnight at the Bonded Warehouses at Custom House Quay. The Live at the Marquee gigs continue with Cascada tonight, Duran Duran tomorrow night, The Who on Saturday, BellX1 on Sunday. Why not do something different this weekend and catch one of these events? [=D(][=D(][=D(] .
