Shakespeare's great works to be celebrated at Carrick-on-Suir festival
The Bard in the Quarter Festival will re-imagine William Shakespeare’s work through theatre, spoken word, music, visual art, storytelling and folklore
A new festival celebrating the works of William Shakespeare will take place in Carrick-on-Suir on the weekend of August 14-16.
The Bard in the Quarter Festival is being hosted by Carrick’s Tudor Artisan Hub collective of artists in partnership with Ormond Castle, Brewery Lane Theatre, the Strand Theatre and Carrick Musical Society.
Selected for the prestigious Tipperary EU Ireland Presidency Culture Programme, this new festival reimagines the works of William Shakespeare through theatre, spoken word, music, visual art, storytelling and Irish folklore, delivering an interactive, citizen-facing experience across the Ormond Castle cultural quarter.
The arts festival is co-produced by Linda Fahy and Enda O'Driscoll and brings together more than 50 local performers, writers, directors, makers, musicians, artists and photographers.
It strips away elaborate sets and costumes to focus on bold, and multi-generational accessible storytelling.
Programme Highlights.
Christy's Bar (upstairs at the Strand Theatre) on Friday, August 14 at 6pm and 8.15pm -The Citizen's Comedy – The Bard's Trilogy of Merriments – Directed by Suzanne Shine.
A light-hearted, humorous, accessible 60-minute comedy featuring extracts from three of Shakespeare’s well-known comedies - Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors. Tickets: €15 (includes booking fee).
Ormond Castle on Saturday, August 15 at 11.30am -Shakespeare Surprises with Margaret O’Brien. You are invited to enter a world of trickery, venal self-serving rulers, jealousy, war, complicated family dynamics and more.
Sound familiar? Join the stunning surroundings of Ormond Castle to discover why The Bard's works still speak to us centuries later. Expect surprises. Free (pre-booking required).
Brewery Lane Theatre, Saturday, August 15, 6pm and 8pmThe Human Condition – The Bard's Trilogy of Dark Cameos – Directed by Barry Comerford and Maria Clancy. An atmospheric black-box theatre style experience featuring dramatic extracts from three of Shakespeare’s powerful tragedies, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet and Othello. Tickets: €15 (includes booking fee).
Ormond Castle Long Gallery, Sunday, August 16 at 12 noon -The Empty Tunic: Echoes Across Waters – From Moyle to Avon to the Suir.
Guided by a druid narrator, this intimate, immersive, and multidisciplinary ritual, set inside the historic Long Gallery, weaves together visual art, live music, and spoken word. The performance links William Shakespeare’s grief for his young son to the legendary Irish tragedy of the Children of Lir, anchoring these universal experiences in the local words of the late Michael Coady. Travelling across waters, the journey ultimately holds a mirror to the River Suir. Free (Strictly limited to 25 places; pre-booking required).
Ormond Castle Courtyard, Sunday, August 16 at 4pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Reimagined Folklore Cut.
Directed by Enda O’Driscoll. An energetic, dynamic outdoor finale, blending Shakespeare's beloved comedy with ancient Celtic myth in a joyful, inclusive celebration of storytelling. Free (pre-booking required).
Throughout the Weekend | Cultural QuarterThe Idiom Trail - Imaginative visual installations by local creatives, using found objects and upcycled materials, to illustrate phrases that first appeared in Shakespearean plays and have become very familiar to us as part of our everyday speech. Free.
This is completely new ground for all of us and deeply experimental," says Linda Fahy of Tudor Artisan Hub. "I want to sincerely thank our multi-generational ensemble of local artists and partners in the cultural quarter for being brave enough to embark on this bold creative journey with us, and to sincerely thank the Arts Office – Tipperary County Council for supporting this multidisciplinary Arts Project.”
Official bookings open on Thursday, July 23. Performance tickets for Brewery Lane Theatre can be booked via ticketsource.com/brewery-lane-theatre, All other performances and events can be secured via www.ticketsource.com/tudor-artisan-hub
The Cultúr 2026 programme is funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Culture Ireland. For further information contact Tudor Artisan Hub on (086) 2560609 and follow us on Facebook.