What's On

One of the great actors of our time, Isabelle Huppert brings her unmistakable voice to a rare live reading of a selection of work from a defining figure of French literature: Guy de Maupassant.

Set to the iconic 1975 album by Irish traditional group The Bothy Band, 1975 / Naoi Déag Seachtó Cúig is a must-see dance and theatre performance ritual where music and movement merge as one.

An award-winning circus spectacle arrives at Cork’s City Hall for one unforgettable run. 

Celebrate the Solstice with sounds and dances inspired by our ancestors, from the neolithic to the neoliberals - in one giant crazy artistic céilí!

Step into a world where the lines between audience and
participant blur.

A tender, disarming and unexpected new drama by Deirdre Kinahan (The Saviour, Tempesta).

“I suppose it was one of the happiest nights of my life.” A group of artists, a trip abroad, an event that distorts everything. 

This is a true story. It’s a few summers ago and a Maltese producer invites Sh!t Theatre out to her island paradise for Valletta European Capital of Culture...

Is seanchleachtas feirmeoireachta é cúinne páirce a fhágáint fiáin ionas go mairfeadh plandaí agus ainmhithe éagsúla slán ann.

Cork Theatre Collective, in collaboration with Cork Midsummer Festival, throws open the doors to the next wave of theatre-makers.

A multi-sensory performance that transports audiences to the Irish bog landscape through scent.

Nightlife gatecrash, raucous cabaret and musical extravaganza; 0800 CUPID is a genre-defying queer countercultural opus from THISISPOPBABY that fizzes between performance and reality.

In this visceral reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Emily Terndrup fuses explosive choreography and razor-sharp storytelling into a fierce, funny and fearless meditation on creation and consequence.

A listening party for a forgotten musician.

“One drink. And if you never want to see me again you never have to see me again.”

Readings of bold new plays on The Everyman forestage.

A love letter to House and the women who shaped it.

A live reading and music performance on the site at the heart of Ní Ghríofa’s new book, Said the Dead.

Building on last year’s sellout show Howl On, Pat McCabe again joins forces with Michael Lightborne and David Murphy to present a new hallucinatory literary soundscape.

A new durational live performance from Cork artists Danny Denton and Elaine Howley.

The award-winning author of Minor Detail, Adania Shibli delivers an unmissable keynote lecture on repetition and the absence of words.

Join two of Ireland’s leading literary presses for a unique call-and-response exploration of the imaginative boundaries between writing and music, and the act of creativity itself. 

Performing to packed houses across the UK and Europe, Idrîsî Ensemble make their hugely anticipated Ireland debut at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, presenting a special programme for Cork Midsummer Festival.

A new piece of music for chamber orchestra by celebrated Cork composer, John O’Brien, commissioned by Cork Midsummer Festival.

A music theatre performance based on a live recording of actors warming up before the opening night of a show.

A fully improvised live performance experience, where music, drawing and movement interact in real time - creating a truly unique experience where nothing is fixed in advance.

Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar leads her acclaimed ensemble at Triskel Arts Centre, presented by Music Network.

Commissioned by The Glucksman in partnership with Cork Midsummer, an casadh (the turn) is a bio-sculptural installation and live performance exploring ideas of kinship, ritual and nourishment.

A multi-sensory installation, Ireland’s representation at the 19th Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia 2025.

A site-responsive temporary installation created by Cork-based visual artist Ciara Rodgers. 

Join the marvellous makers and performers as they create Midsummer madness, chaos and mirth in Cork’s city centre.

A city-wide trail of child-only play pods and cosy dens scattered across Cork City. 

This brilliant collaboration returns to present their fascination with the work of deaf writer Teresa Deevy, adapting one of her most enduring radio plays in this centennial year of Radio Éireann.

How does it feel to be us? More importantly, how does it sound? How do we hear Joy? Fear? Pride? Grief? There is music in all of us, and melodies come from surprising places.

This feast for the senses sees three colourful beings moving through the space with their wonderful sensory sculpture, while finding unique ways for audiences to enjoy art.

Get ready for a fun-filled day at Soundburst – a vibrant, youth-led takeover of Fitzgerald’s Park bursting with feel-good summer energy. With young people at the heart, creativity, culture and celebration take centre stage.

A vibrant celebration of community collaboration through seed stories, forgotten foods, and garden mapping within a haven of nature in the city.

Crucial Moves Collective present a series of events in collaboration with local artists, collectives and spaces.

Transforming a gallery into an interactive play space for early years children (0-6). 

An immersive and interactive sound installation for our youngest ears. Inviting children into a world filled with living recorded sounds of nature.

Singing Garden is an immersive, multi-sensory experience created especially for babies (0–18 months) and their important adults.

The Young Critics are coming to Cork! One of Youth Theatre Ireland’s most popular and innovative programmes, the Young Critics recruits 14 young people from youth theatres across the country.

Produced by Goldiefish Events, the festival food and craft market will be a vibrant celebration of local creativity and flavour.