Encore with Claire O' Brien

Tonight on Encore, it's parrots, dogs, cats and horses! Chapatti is a play about a man with a dog, and a woman with nineteen cats, who find unexpected friendship after loss. Billy Nott is directing it at Athlone Little Theatre and will be chatting about it tonight on the show. Zero is an African grey parrot and one of the characters (a puppet) in Ger Clancy and Paul Curley's play for younger audiences. It's called Grey Matter and Paul plays Cooper, from the time he receives Zero as a small boy, to an adult scientist. And horses, still life, rolling water in the Sliabh Blooms - just some of the themes in the artwork of Genevieve Murphy, whose first solo exhibition opens at Tullamore library next week. She talks to Claire O'Brien tonight about finding her artistic path properly after rearing her family. All this and more tonight on Encore. encore@midlands103.com

Don Wycherley is no stranger to a good story and his performance in Paddy, a play about the Guildford Four’s Paddy Armstrong has been described as remarkable, compelling and incandescent. He joins Claire O’Brien ahead of his one-man performance at Dunamaise this weekend. Also on stage are Oisin Players, from Killeshin, and Jason Monaghan has the update on their performance of Betwixt and Between, which comes to the Glenside Inn over the next few weekends. And finally, he’s the first artistic director of Birr Festival of Music and he’s got lots to say about their superb programme for this May bank holiday weekend. He’s Niall Kinsella, and he’s a fount of enthusiasm and energy. All this on Encore, with Claire O’Brien – encore@midlands103.com to get in touch.

On Encore tonight we catch up with Aoise O’Dwyer, who is on a one woman discovery trail of work to celebrate female composers. Little John Nee brings songs and stories to Birr Theatre. This and more on Encore tonight!

Mountmellick Drama Festival returns on March 7th, featuring top amateur drama groups. Festival Director Patricia Conroy shares the details. Local cinematographer Carol Tormey is nominated for a Discovery Award at the Dublin Film Festival for The Wilde Sisters, a film about Oscar Wilde’s forgotten half-sisters. Joan Larkin from Athlone Musical Society discusses Cry Baby The Musical ahead of its opening night. Award-winning Japanese pianist Yukine Kuroki will perform at Esker Arts Centre and Tullynally Castle in the coming weeks.

Encore with Sinead Hubble

Sinead sits in for Claire O'Brien this week as she discusses everything from poetry to Ireland's hopefuls for Eurovision and do you want to make a short film? Encore Every Thursday from 7-8pm on Midlands 103,

Encore with Claire O'Brien

Encore with Claire O'Brien

Encore with Claire O'Brien

Encore with Claire O'Brien

Tonight’s Encore follows Portlaoise Community Choir, on location at Tower Hill, Portlaoise as they prepare for their upcoming sing along show on Sunday. Find out what a community choir is, why it brings joy and hear some heartfelt harmonies.

This week's Encore features the wonderful bass baritone, Birr's John Molloy ahead of Birr Stage Guild's upcoming Christmas concert. We hear from David Vesey about his debut album, featuring a traditional take on the music of Turlough O'Carolan and the inimitable Lorna Sixsmith introduces us to the heroine of her first work of fiction, home from London after a break-up and ready to roll up her sleeves on the farm. encore@midlands103.com is the email - drop a line to presenter Claire O'Brien.

Encore with Claire O'Brien

Encore with Claire O'Brien

On this week’s Encore, Offaly’s Aoise O’Dwyer on her passionate journey to discover the solo works for viola composed by women, Barbara Scully chats about the magic of middle age ahead of her conversation with writer Eleanor Mills - all part of the Laois Leaves Festival of Music and Writing and, on the other side of the lectern for a change, Nuala Kelly introduces the Suono Choir, also performing a free concert this weekend. Encore@midlands103 if you’d like to get in touch.

On this week’s Encore: a salubrious musical alternative to the horrors of Halloween with an All Hallows concert in Tullamore, new writing from Lorraine Murphy, storytelling in Rathdowney Library this weekend with Mick Creagh and his crew and Tadhg Devery ahead of his sold-out Day in the Country comedy show in The Bridge House this weekend. Encore@midlands103.com will get you straight to presenter, Claire O’Brien.

Tonight on Encore, we hear about Tullamore Musical Society’s 70th anniversary fundraising concern this Sunday, a Westmeath writer’s foray into short story writing, The Valley of the Squinting Windows on stage - and in Mullingar this week, and ATHLONE Little Theatre’s run of A Skull in Connemara, which begins on Friday. Encore@midlands103.com - drop us a line!

Encore with Claire O'Brien

This week's Encore hears from Sightless Cinema, which brings its new show 'Home' to Dunamaise Theatre on Thursday night. It features a blind and visually impaired cast bringing an audio experience to a blindfolded audience - director Ciaran Taylor has the lowdown. Staying in Portlaoise, for a show also on in the Dunamaise theatre is a Emily Kilkenny Roddy, a dancer from Portlaoise and rehearsal director with Catherine Young Dance. Their dance performance is called 'Floating on a Dead Sea' and features a number of Palestinian dancers and a documentary filmed in Palestine in 2019. It brings to life everyday life in Palestine in a more peaceful time than it knows now. Also, writer Margaret Kiernan from Mullingar has just published her debut collection of poetry with Alba Press. It's called A Mirage of Lost Things and she tells Claire O'Brien all about the inspiration for it. If you'd like to get in contact with the show, encore@midlands103.com is the email address you need.

Where is my mind? Not just a great song by The Pixies but the title of Niall ‘Bressie’ Breslin’s immersive podcast show coming to Portlaoise on Tuesday. We head to Banagher to hear about a fascinating miscellany of words and music to remember Charlotte Brontë and her husband, Arthur Bell Nichols and th woman who kept the Brontë memorabilia intact for decades. And the Snapper is in Tullamore - Colin Hughes chats about his sellout stage play running at Esker Arts Centre. All this and more on Encore this evening - and every Thursday. Encore@midlands103.com if you’d like to get in touch!