Actually, it’s not everywhere, it’s at the Cork Arts Theatre for the Cork Midsummer Festival. I went last night. Highly recommended, I don’t know what to tell you really except I laughed a lot. The Threat of Humour consists of comedy sketches presided over by John F. McCarthy of Hammergrin Productions. They range from the wonderful comic songs of Katie Holly who has an incredible voice to the unveiling of ‘Own’: the Boy Who Never Laughs.

There is the wonderful interpretive dance piece which tells the story of Gaire the ancient Irish princess who falls in love with a suitor too jovial to be a future king, two short films and an appearance by Cork actor Cormac Costello.

I knew a lot of the people involved, but the whole audience seemed to be hysterically laughing, not just me so I can safely assume that it wasn’t just my familiarity with the personalities involved that was amusing.

John F. McCarthy informed me “I was very pleased when i heard you laughing. It means we’re hitting that minority sense of humour.”

Anyone else there last night? Any comments?

The Threat of Humour
HAMMERGRIN PRESENTS: The Threat of Humour
Date: Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th June @ 9pm
Tickets: €15 / €10
Venue: Cork Arts Theatre

Book now: Midsummer Festival Box Office (021) 4274077 or online at festivalbooking.net

Marcus Bale provides an invaluable service to the theatre community in Cork, sending email bulletins with news of events, auditions and workshops to anyone who wishes to receive it.

You might recognise Marcus from Snatch Comedy, or from the many plays he has been involved in - he is himself a wonderful actor.

Anyway, I’m very excited to let you know that Marcus has joined BifSniff.com and will be posting his Theatre bulletins on a regular basis here as well as sending out his usual email.

Don’t forget you can see just the posts Marcus publishes if you like, by going to http://bifsniff.com/author/marcus/ or you can subscribe to the feed for just his posts by going here: http://bifsniff.com/author/marcus/feed/.

So welcome marcus, and thank you for taking the time to let us all know what’s going on in theatre in Cork!

Dear Fellow Actors & Actresses,

Here are a couple of interesting pieces of information came up in the last couple of days, so here is a bulletin for you. If you think
there’s people who’d like to get this information, please let them know about this page.

Best of luck,

Marcus

(more…)

Dear Friends,

These two weeks have been so full of events and interesting activities!! Here you have a Bulletin with lots of events which you might find interesting. As usual, if you think there’s people who’d like to read this information, please let them know about this webpage.

(more…)

A chilling tale of love death and despair in rural Ireland over a forty year period.

Opening TODAY (Monday the 25th), and running until Saturday: ‘They never Froze Walt Disney’ by Jody O’Neill.

I think, and hope, that this might prove to be a show everyone will be talking about at the Cork Midsummer Festival. I think that because I read the script a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was fucking brilliant.

Funny and poignant, dark and yet light hearted, the writing is really tight and the story unfolds beautifully. Also the two performers (Jody O’Neill and John McCarthy) are excellent actors, and though I personally haven’t seen Jack Healy direct before he is extremely well known in the Cork theatre scene, and I have a lot of respect for him from acting with him and attending his workshops.

And I hope it will be a show everyone talks about because I know Jack, Jody and John very well and I know they deserve for this play to be a huge success. And it’s stage managed by our very own Eoin!

According to the Theatermaker’s website this is “A compelling, witty and often moving piece, ‘They Never Froze Walt Disney’ flashes between the early stages of Marie and Paudie’s relationship and the unusual circumstances under which they encounter one another again, many years later”.

I highly recommend going to see this show - I have already booked for two performances! Oh, and I designed the poster
(above) and programme.

Lunchtime Theatre

They never Froze Walt Disney. by Jody O’Neill.
Unitarian Church. (Beside English Market) Princes St. at 1pm. (Running Time 45 mins approx)
June 25th - 30th.

Book now: Midsummer Festival Box Office (021) 4274077 or online at festivalbooking.net