An extravaganza of drama, dance, comedy and music will be on offer in Cork this week as the 11th annual Midsummer Festival gets under way today.
Highlights of this year's festival include an elaborate cabaret venue, the Spiegeltent, in the city centre. This hand-made "tent of mirrors" will host acts such as Camille O'Sullivan, John Spillane and the Frank and Walters.
Cork's Polish community will also be represented by the band Poles Apart, a latino, funk and blues band whose repertoire includes a number of the great standards, performed in their own unique style.
The magical and musical world of Prospero's spirit-inhabited island in Shakespeare's The Tempest will be brought to life in the open-air setting of Fitzgerald's Park. The set has been built on the pond to simulate the islands that are a major part of the play.
The Tempest is one of Corcadorca's most ambitious, large-scale outdoor productions to date. Previous notable Corcadorca productions in the Midsummer Festival include A Midsummer Night's Dream in Fitzgerald's Park and Fota Gardens (2001), and Losing Steam in the old Ford's plant (2004).
The festival also has a number of family-oriented events such as the Lord Mayor's Picnic in Fitzgerald's Park next Sunday, performances of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and other child-friendly events at the Firkin Crane centre.
Lord Mayor of Cork Deirdre Clune says the city will be "a riot of entertainment and colour" between today and July 1st next when the festival comes to a close. "The Cork Midsummer Festival is always an exciting prospect, and this year it promises to be truly spectacular."
For information, visit www.corkfestival.com or call 021-4275874.