Carrick-on-Suir festival celebrating Shakespeare opens this Friday
The three -day festival is part of the Cultúr 2026 EU presidency culture programme for Tipperary
The Bard in the Quarter Festival opens in Carrick-on-Suir this Friday with over 60 local creatives coming together to stage an unforgettable weekend of theatre, music, storytelling, visual art and folklore.
The celebration of Shakespeare's works in Carrick-on-Suir’s Cultural Quarter is being organised by the Tudor Artisan Hub Artist Collective, in partnership with Ormond Castle, Brewery Lane Theatre, The Strand Theatre, Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society and Tipperary County Council.
The three-day celebration brings together local performers, musicians, writers, artists, historians, theatre makers, photographers, crafters, makers and volunteers to create a very different kind of Shakespeare festival.
There are no grand touring productions arriving from elsewhere. The people on stage, behind the scenes and helping to make it happen are people who live, work and create in Carrick-on-Suir and its hinterland.
“We wanted to create an Arts weekend that celebrated and showcased the talent in the Cultural Quarter, something creative, collaborative, a little bit unexpected and, most importantly, something that everyone could feel a part of,” said Linda Fahy of the Tudor Artisan Hub.
“Shakespeare belongs to everyone. We’re simply taking his work, putting our own local stamp on it and having a bit of fun along the way.”
The festival opens on Friday evening with The Citizen’s Comedy, a fast-paced 60-minute performance bringing together extracts from Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors.
Saturday moves from the playful world of Shakespeare’s comedies into darker territory with The Human Condition, exploring extracts from Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet and Othello.
Alongside the performances, audiences can discover the stories, voices and creative work behind the festival, including Shakespeare Surprises, A Time Traveller’s Guide, and The Empty Tunic: Echoes Across Waters, a major installation in Ormond Castle inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the story of Hamnet and the Irish legend of the Children of Lir.
The festival culminates on Sunday evening with an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the courtyard of Ormond Castle, a folklore-inspired adaptation bringing Shakespeare’s magical world into one of Carrick-on-Suir’s most beautiful historic settings.
Many of the festival's events have already sold out, but tickets remain for selected performances.
The festival is part of the Cultúr 2026 EU presidency culture programme for Tipperary. It is supported by Tipperary Arts Office and funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Culture Ireland.
To book events: https://www.ticketsource.com/tudor-artisan-hub; https://www.ticketsource.com/brewery-lane-theatre or call Linda at the Tudor Artisan Hub (086) 2560609