Dear friends,

Here is another bulletin full of more news of all kinds, interesting
plays, workshops, auditions, and other information about what’s going
on in Cork (and one workshop in Dublin!). I hope you find it
interesting!!

Best wishes,

Marcus

February 18th – 23rd

Richard Jordan Productions LTD Presents

DYLAN THOMAS: RETURN JOURNEY

DIRECTED BY SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS

Starring Bob Kingdom

Dylan Thomas: Return Journey is an interpretation of Thomas’ renowned
appearances in a range of libraries, public halls, clubs and colleges
reading his work. Blending the stories and the poetry with incisive
comments on the nature of performing, of audiences, and of the
American touring circuit, Thomas (through Bob Kingdom) takes his
audience through Wales, past and present, through the natural world,
to the one that lies after. Anthony Hopkins’ direction brings the
performer and audience together in the appreciation of the beauty, the
humor and the wit of Dylan Thomas’ words.

I could have listened to his spell binding word wizardry for hours The Times.

A thrilling lyrical journey The Guardian

Tickets €25 / €20 / €7 (students: Mon / Tue / Wed) 8pm

Bookings www.everymanpalace.com / 021 4501673

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Cork Opera House and Cyclone Theatre Company presents:

Romeo & Juliet & The Merchant of Venice

Inspired by glowing notices from critics and audiences, Cork Opera
House and Cyclone Repertory Company are sending their fast-paced and
funny repertory productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of
Venice on a tour of southern Ireland.

The tour begins on 21 January with a revival in the Half Moon Theatre,
and then continues to the Belltable, Limerick; Siamsa Tire, Tralee;
Garter Lane, Waterford; and Glor, Ennis. More venues will be
announced.

Shakespeare’s coming to southern Ireland with guns blazing! Romeo and
Juliet is set in the wild, wild west of 1846, where the feud between
the Capulets and Montagues is cowboy-style, complete with chaps, spurs
and ten gallon hats.

The same ensemble of five actors will perform a commedia dell’arte
version of The Merchant of Venice set in 16th century Venice. This
Merchant of Venice
is Shakespeare as you’ve never seen him, complete with pie fights, and
a slapstick, bawdy style brimming with zany comedic energy.

Peadar Donohoe directs both productions, which aim to provide an
imaginative introduction to Shakespeare for young audiences. They have
a comedic spin that grabs and keeps their attention, while remaining
true to the spirit of the plays. “We have fun with the text but we
don’t make a farce of the plays’ conclusions and themes,” says
Director Peadar Donohoe, who is Artistic Director of the Cork based
Cyclone Theatre Company. “We intend for them to be enjoyable,
understandable and fun.”

STARRING:

Marcus Bale; Shane Casey; Paula McGlinchey; Sean McNally; Damian Punch

Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford
Romeo and Juliet – Wed 27 Feb at 10:30am and 1:30pm
Merchant of Venice – Thu 28 Feb at 10:30am and 1:30pm
Book on 051-855038
www.garterlane.ie

Glór Irish Music Centre, Ennis, Co. Clare
Romeo and Juliet – Wed 12 March at 10:30am and 1:30pm
Merchant of Venice – Thu 13 March at 10:30am and 1:30pm
Book on 065-6843103
www.glor.ie

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From the producers of The Sunbeam Girls
Cork Opera House and Stage Centre present the Irish premiere of

The Good Sisters (”Les Belles-soeurs”)
by Michel Tremblay
Directed by Marion Wyatt @ the Half Moon Theatre

The Good Sisters is a hilarious comedy that offers something for
everyone: for lovers of history, lovers of Cork, lovers of in-laws,
lovers of inexpensive evenings of entertainment…

It’s the north side of Cork in 1965, and Geraldine Lawlor has won a
million Green Shield stamps – the 60s equivalent of striking it rich
in the Lotto. She invites the neighbours round for a stamp-licking
party.
While Geraldine dreams of things she’s always wanted and can now buy
for herself, her sisters and friends become jealous.

Geraldine has big plans for it all, even as she doesn’t see the
resentment and bitterness that’s swirling around her.

Thrown into this wacky group is Geraldine’s daughter, Linda, who,
going through the dramatic changes of a misunderstood teenager, needs
help dealing with her mother, and invites her friend Lucy to the
house. But Lucy, being newly pregnant, needs advice too. The Good
Sisters is a family drama with wild and raucous action and an homage
to that greatest of working class passions: bingo!

As the evening unfolds the women share stories – most funny, some
outrageous and others simply sad - and the night comes to an explosive
end. A night of hilarious and moving theatre chock full of Cork
humour and characters.

This late-’60s Canadian play has been transported to a Cork city
setting, by the play’s director, Marion Wyatt. Stage Centre has
assembled a terrifically talented cast of fourteen, to portray the
really desperate housewives in this moving and funny story about a
woman.

From Thurs 14th Feb
Shows at 8.30pm
Come and spend an entertaining evening with the ‘good’ sisters…
Tickets: €25 plus €2.50 booking fee (school groups exempt)

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Granary Rehearsed Playreadings presents

LOVE AND MONEY by Dennis Kelly | directed by Ger Fitzgibbon
Granary Studio | Wed 20th February | 6pm | €Free

Premiered at the Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in the
autumn of 2006 in a co-production by Young Vic and Royal Exchange.
“Funny but heart-wrenching, this ingenious drama dares us to enter a
dislocated world of bad debts and even worse desires.”
“a corker of a … play by Dennis Kelly, a rising star in the
playwrights’ firmament. … a jigsaw puzzle of modern urban life, with
a mystery fatality at its centre” (from The First Post, Jan 2008)

Author note: Dennis Kelly is an English playwright who has made a
significant impact as a writer in the last few years: Osama the Hero
(Hampstead Theatre London 2005) After the End (BAC 2004 and Paines
Plough and the Bush Theatre at the Traverse, 2005) Debris (Latchmere
Theatre, London, 2003) Best European Radio Drama at the Prix Europa,
2004 for The Colony. The Fourth Gate, Cottesloe, RNT, London, 2004
Taking Care of the Baby, Birmingham Rep Theatre, 2007 DeoxyriboNucleic
Acid, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2007.

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KINSALE CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS

For anyone interested in writing of any kind - autobigraphy, fiction,
poetry - these workshops provide a stimulating forum to learn new
techniques,
stretch the range of your writing skills, and most importantly,
discover what it is you want to write about!

The next course begins on Thursday 21st February, from 10 - 12 noon.
There is also an advanced fiction writing workshop on Thursday
evenings, from 7.30 - 9.30pm.

Afric Hamilton - freelance journalist, published poet and teacher -
has been facilitating creative writing courses all over West Cork for
the last seven years.

For more details on the workshops, contact Afric on 086 3633567.

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Auditions for Chattyboo’s Production of “THE CHILDREN OF LIR”

When: THURSDAY THE 6TH OF MARCH
Where: Thomson House, MacCurtain Street
What time: Between 20:30 and 22:00

We are looking for:

1 male - 35 - 45
1 male - 20 - 35
3 males - 18 - 25 (dancing experience essential)
1 female - 18 - 25 (dancing experiece essential)

Please contact Angela to arrange an audition time at
angela@chattybooproductions.com or 0876419355.

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Last Beauty Spot
For the first time in a long time, Corcadorca is moving into a theatre
space. This March, after the sell-out success of Woyzeck at Ireland’s
Naval Base, Corcadorca are staging a new Irish play. Multi-award
winning playwright Ger Bourke’s Last Beauty Spot is a dark comedy set
within a changing modern Ireland. The show sees Corcadorca working
again with Aedín Cosgrove, designer of their hit show Disco Pigs.
Last Beauty Spot appears at the Cork Arts Theatre, Cork Arts Theatre,
Carroll’s Quay
from March 10-22. Previews March 7 & 8.
Directed by Pat Kiernan.
Tickets €20. €15 conc.
Bookings: 021 4505624
www.corkartstheatre.com
Seating limited - early booking advised!

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CLOWN WORKSHOP by YOYO the Clown

Where: In Dublin (venue to be confirmed)
When: 8th and 9th of March. (10 am to 6 pm each day.)
How Much: € 125 Place is to be confirmed.
How to Book: via email to clownyoyo@gmail.com

What will we do:

The workshop lasts 2 days or more and is open to all, with or without
previous experiences in performance art, desiring to discover or work
their clown.

With the help of games, exercises and improvisations, we will attempt
to access and understand the state of the clown, the world in which he
or she operates.

I believe each one of us has a clown inside, an alter ego, a person of
our dreams, another personality waiting to be recognised so they can
come out and play. The work that I propose leads us to reveal each of
those unique clowns.

This workshop is only an introduction to clowning, the work is
sometimes slow but always intense since the investigation of ourselves
is the only way to access our clowns.
The process however must be taken in a spirit of playfulness,
innocence and surrendering.

The methodology and format of the course in inspired by my own work as
a clown, and from the teachings of Angela De Castro in London
(www.thewhynotinstitute.com), Avner The Eccentric
(www.avnertheeccentric.com) and the Royal Clown company in Paris
(www.royalclown.com).

For more info about me and The Serious Road Trip visit: www.tsrt-chf.org
To contact me: clownyoyo@gmail.com

Please wear comfortable clothes with no bright colors.
Looking forward to meet you all.

BIOGRAPHY
Yoram Allon aka YoYo
1971 - ?

YoYo the clown, from Paris, has been involved with the performing arts
for the past fifteen years.
As a member of the organisation the Serious Road Trip (TSRT), he has
taken part in circus tours in countries affected by wars, including
Bosnia, Kosovo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon….

TSRT is a french circus organisation based in France created in a
spirit of international solidarity to help people in difficult
situations through circus arts.
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The Irish Theatre Artists online database (ITA) is scheduled to be
launched mid-February 2008, when all the profiles that have been made
by theatre artists to date will be made live and searchable.

We have had an overwhelmingly positive response from practitioners in
all areas of theatre. If you have informed people who work with your
company about the project, we would like to express our gratitude for
your assistance, and hope that you continue to spread the word.

We are keen to get as many people signed up before the launch date as
possible. Of course, theatre artists can continue to make profiles for
the database after that date, and will be able to keep their
information updated on an ongoing basis.

If you or anyone involved with your company are interested in signing
up, please follow the link below where more information as well as a
sample entry can be found:

http://www.irishtheatreonline.com/ita.aspx
Irish Theatre Artists is a database project which aims to present and
promote the work of Irish theatre and dance professionals in Ireland
and worldwide. When complete, this Irish Theatre Institute online
resource will be a comprehensive, illustrated, up-to-date, searchable
database of over 2000 Irish theatre practitioners: Actors, Dancers,
Directors, Designers, Choreographers, Lighting Designers, Composers,
Production Managers, Stage Managers and more – effectively a webpage
per theatre artist, and created by that artist.

This web resource will be freely available online and marketed toward
Irish and International performing arts practitioners seeking to work
with Irish theatre and dance professionals. Please note there is no
charge for inclusion in this Irish Theatre Institute database or to
search the database online.

Passing on this information will greatly help us get the word out
about the project. If would like further information on ITA or on
Irish Theatre Institute, we’d be delighted to talk to you. Our number
is listed below.

Kind regards,

Tel: +353 (0)1 670 4906
Fax: +353 (0)1 670 4908
Email: artists@irishtheatreinstitute.ie
Web: www.irishtheatreinstitute.ie

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Snatch Comedy & Triskel Arts Centre

Bring you back last year succesful drop-in Improv workshops!

Dates: Saturday 08th of March
Saturday 15th of March
Saturday 29th of March….and more dates to be confirmed.

Place: TRISKEL ARTS CENTRE (Tobin St., Cork)
Time: from 12.30pm - 2pm
Cost: The cost of the workshops is 10 euro. (6 euro concession).

- All workshops suitable for teenagers and adults - All levels welcome -

“Come along to learn Improvisation techniques, tought to you by Snatch
Comedy! The troupe has been winning over audiences throughout Ireland
for 5 years. During this time they have created and performed in
Ireland and abroad numerous residencies with their famous improv show,
radio show, improv in schools, street improv, ImprovMatches, comedy
quiz, corporate events and even original sketch shows and theatre
plays.

Come and experience up close and personal, the hilarious rollercoaster
that is Snatch. Through exercises and games, you will learn about team
work, build your skills and self-confidence and develop your own
thrilling exploration of spontaneity and physical imagination.”

Teachers: Adrian Scanlan, Damian Punch, Cathal Carroll and Marcus Bale
(All above teachers are members of Snatch Comedy Improv)

For further information:

Contact: info@snatchcomedy.com or marcusbale@gmail.com - You can also
check our website:

www.snatchcomedy.com
WORKSHOP AT THE TRISKEL ARTS CENTRE (Tobin St., Cork).
To secure a place at any of these workshops:

By Email: contact info@snatchcomedy.com - marcusbale@gmail.com
By TXT: txt to 0863173543 with your name in the text
Personally: Just show up on the day at The Triskel Arts Centre!

Come and enjoy!!