The Corcadorca Theatre Company was an independent theatre company based in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland. It was founded in 1991, and closed in 2022. The company specialises in

site-specific theatre Site-specific theatre is a theatrical production that is performed at a unique, specially adapted location other than a standard theatre. This unique site may have been built without any intention of serving theatrical purposes (for example, a hote ...

and produced its first show of this kind, ''A Christmas Carol'', in Cork City Gaol in 1994. One of the best-known new works produced by Corcadorca was ''

Disco Pigs ''Disco Pigs'' is a 2001 Irish film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Enda Walsh, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy star as two young people from Cork who have a lifelong, but unhealt ...

'' (written for the company by

Enda Walsh Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright. Biography Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on February 7, 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Wal ...

). It was first staged in Triskel Arts Centre starring

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short and ...

and

Eileen Walsh Eileen Walsh (born 16 April 1977) is an Irish actress. Biography Born and raised in Cork, Ireland, Walsh was raised in a Catholic household, and had no intention of becoming an actress, until she followed in the footsteps of her elder sister ...

and toured worldwide in 1996 and 1997. Among the company's site specific productions were: ''The Trial of Jesus'' on Patrick's Hill, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' in Fitzgerald's Park, the multi-stage ''The Merchant of Venice'' and ''Woyzeck'' at the Naval Base in Haulbowline. In 2005, when Cork was European Capital of Culture, Corcadorca's Relocation programme saw off-site theatre companies from Poland, France and the UK stage a series of productions in city centre sites such as Elizabeth Fort, the Grand Parade and the city morgue. Corcadorca also develops new Irish writing. Apart from Enda Walsh it has also produced new plays by Conal Creedon, Raymond Scannell Eamonn Sweeney, and Pat McCabe. Corcadorca has been nominated for a number of Irish Times Theatre Awards, and has won four, including Best Play and Best Actress (Eileen and Catherine Walsh) for ''The Same'', and Best Lighting and Best Soundscape for

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

's Far Away. In 2011, Corcadorca set up the Theatre Development Centre (TDC), a studio space based in Triskel Arts Centre, as a way of resourcing the theatre sector in the region. The TDC supports around thirty projects each year as well as running SHOW, an annual platform for work in development, every November. The name of the company is from the Irish ''Corca Dhorcha'', or "dark Corca". This is a play on ''Corca Dhuibhne'', the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point o ...

, portrayed (jokingly) as a backward area of country bumpkins in Myles na gCopaleen's ''

An Béal Bocht (The Poor Mouth) is a 1941 novel in Irish by Brian O'Nolan ( Flann O'Brien), published under the pseudonym "Myles na gCopaleen". It is widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century. An English translation by ...

''. The company announced its closure in October 2022.

References

External links

* Theatre companies in the Republic of Ireland County Cork Site-specific theatre 1991 establishments in Ireland 2022 disestablishments in Ireland {{theat-stub