An exquisite, intimate study of Joyce’s Dublin and its lives of quiet desperation.
With live period music from two acclaimed musicians!
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‘heart-rendingly perfect… Don’t miss it. Please’ Sunday Independent
With an extra performance on Bloomsday, June 16th at 3pm
ABOUT
BEWLEY’S CAFÉ THEATRE is proud to present...
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As part of the Bloomsday Festival 2025
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COUNTERPARTS & A LITTLE CLOUD
From James Joyce’s DUBLINERS​​​
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These two short stories from Joyce’s debut work are vivid ‘slices of life’ in early 20th century Dublin, revealing a society in paralysis, desperately awaiting change.
Stunningly accompanied by live music, we follow a pair of Dublin characters portrayed in immaculately detailed scenes: In Counterparts, a frustrated law clerk is determined to have a big night’s drinking, while in A Little Cloud, a sensitive soul is thrown by a meeting with an old university friend back from London. At once funny and tragic, the stories are populated with an array of colourful characters who, despite the bowler hats and Edwardian collars, remain entirely contemporary.
‘lighting up the genius of Joyce’s Dubliners’ Sunday Independent
‘beautifully dramatised and served up as a lunchtime treat… a perfect hour’s entertainment’ Irish Independent
‘two superbly articulated performances’ The Arts Review
'a superb dramatised introduction to one of the greatest short-story collections in world literature’ Frank McNally, The Irish Times
Volta Theatre Company is a new company with the remit to bring classical theatre to a wide audience. Its’ founders are Liam Hourican and Jim Roche, who have collaborated for many years in theatre and TV. Liam has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe, the Old Vic and Second Age Theatre company and has written and performed sketch shows and comedy drama for Channel 4, RTE and the BBC. Jim has starred in Normal People (directed by Lenny Abramson (BBC), Harry Wild (Acorn TV) Blood 2 (Virgin Media) Vikings (History Channel), Damo and Ivor,Fair City, Killinaskully, The Mario Rosenstock Show, Dead Still (RTE), The Tudors (Showtime) and iCandy (Channel 4). Musicians Feilimidh Nunan and Conor Sheil regularly work with all the principal orchestras in Ireland (National Symphony Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Wexford Festival Orchestra, Irish National Opera Orchestra). Their professional interests have led them to collaborate with many other groups in film and theatre but also in different musical genres ranging from jazz to traditional music.
Duration: 60 minutes
Age Guidance: 12+
Adult themes, reference to domestic abuse.
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BOOKING INFORMATION
June 2nd – 16th , 2025
Extra 3pm show on Bloomsday, Monday, June 16th (Tickets €15)
(No show on Monday, June 9th or Sunday, June 15th)
Mon-Sat at 1pm (doors open at 12.50pm)
Tickets: Low-price Mon/Tues €10, Wed/Thurs €12, Fri/Sat €15.
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Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible via the main Grafton Street entrance with a lift to the second floor.
CAST AND CREW
WRITTEN BY: James Joyce
ADAPTED & DIRECTED BY: Jim Roche & Liam Hourican
PERFORMED BY: Jim Roche & Liam Hourican
LIGHTING DESIGN: Colm Maher​
PHOTOGRAPHY: Malcolm McGettigan
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Gavin Doyle
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