Events

Ardal O'Hanlon & Guests
The Showing Off Must Go On
Ardal is conflicted. Where he comes from there is nothing worse than showing off. It’s right up there with arson or murder. Yet he shows off as a way of life. Three questions. Why? Why? Why?
But just when he thought he’d made sense of the world, when he’d finally found wisdom and peace, the world went mad again, fell off its axis. And you can’t just stand idly by.
In an age of raging populism, angry identity politics, the end of truth, the collapsing middle ground, and peak avocado, Ardal, an otherwise gentle voice of reason is forced to rejoin the fray. Terrified of being on the wrong side of history and keen to prove his age, race, gender and class don’t necessarily define him as a person, he turns to comedy, comedy as ever being the best, most therapeutic emergency response to extreme events there is.
Ardal O’Hanlon, star of such shows as Fr Ted and Death in Paradise, and recently seen in Taskmaster and Would I Lie to You, continues to tour his acclaimed (and very silly) live show worldwide.
LIVE AT THE APOLLO
DIONA DOHERTY
In September 2023, Diona announced her debut tour, Got MILF, and after only being on sale for 5 days, is adding extra dates and releasing more tickets.
As a comedian, Diona has joined the long running BBC panel show The Blame Game on BBC One N.I as a series regular and the only female permanent panelist. She has now appeared on four seasons. Diona was also shortlisted to the N.I final of The BBC New Comedy Awards 2021 and has guested on Radio 4’s The News Quiz and BBC Radio Scotland’s Breaking The News.
Diona’s debut play Bridesmaids Of Northern Ireland sold out 21 dates in theatres around N.I including a a week at the Grand Opera House Belfast. It is the first debut play to open on the main stage of the GOH. Diona’s second play, The Hen Do, will be touring in autumn 2023, including a week at the GOH.
Special Guest MC: PADDY RAFF
Belfast-born Paddy went from open-mic in 2018 to beginning a record breaking 5-night sell-out arena run in 2020. From 2020 to 2022 he won 2 awards for his BBC1 NI comedy sketch TV series ‘The Paddy Raff Show’.
Paddy’s stand-up tours have seen him become one of the biggest selling acts on the island of Ireland, with sold out venues across the UK and Ireland including six sold-out nights at Belfast’s SSE arena. He hosted the Belfast leg of BBC Three’s ‘Stand-up for Live Comedy’ in 2020, performed on ‘Live at the Waterfront’ on Sky Arts 2022 and also appeared on ITV’s ‘Secrets of the Comedy Circuit’ in 2022. He is currently working on a Northern Ireland Screen sitcom pilot script commission with Nice One Productions, based on his previous job as a wedding band musician.
Time: 8.00pm
Price: £27.50

THE FERRYMAN by Jez Butterworth
"The Ferryman"
A Gripping Tale of Betrayal, Redemption, and Secrets Unearthed!
“Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Play”.
“The fastest selling play in the history of the Royal Court Theatre”

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
By Oscar Wilde
“I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.”
"The Perfect Play" ~ Stephen Fry
"Sheer Joy" ~ Frank McGuinness
We’re excited to announce Oscar Wilde will take to the Bardic stage for the first time with our winter production of "The Importance of Being Earnest".
Featuring a stellar local cast and an award-winning design team, this wickedly funny chocolate-box of a comedy is full of thrills, frills and frivolity. It is sure to make the perfect early festive night out.
"Mean Girls" meets "Succession" meets "Downton Abbey" in arguably the greatest satire written for the stage. Follow the doomed doubled lives of the eternal hedonist Algernon, his neurotic pal Jack; and their absurd efforts to woo the glamorous & obsessive frenemies Gwendolen Fairfax & Cecily Cardew.
Featuring the iconic & formidable matriarch Lady Bracknell, this play is replete with instantly recognisable one-liners that could as easily apply to the social media age as they do to the fin de siècle self-indulgence of Victorian high society.
We can't wait to welcome you to the Bardic Theatre this November to see for yourselves, so make sure to book your seats
SATURDAY 20 JANUARY 2024 - THE MARKET PLACE THEATRE, ARMAGH - BOOK HERE
SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2024 - THE BURNAVON, COOKSTOWN - BOOK HERE

WEST SIDE STORY
TWO GANGS • ONE LOVE
Inspired by the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story takes Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, and places them in the vibrant battleground of New York City’s West Side in the 1950s.
In the midst of the deep-seated rivalry between the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, and the white gang, the Jets, Maria and Tony discover that ancient grudges are no match for true love. Their warring factions, however, refuse to back down, and the “rumbles”, romance, and resentment lead the bloody path to the lovers’ ultimate, tragic conclusion. With soaring, sophisticated, and diverse melodies, energetic and athletic dance battles, and its remarkably salient social message, West Side Story remains one of musical theatre’s most revolutionary and most loved treasures.
West Side Story features some of Broadway composer Leonard Bernstein's most famous scores and writer Stephen Sondheim's greatest lyrics including 'Maria', 'America', 'Somewhere' and 'I Feel Pretty'.
THE MUSICAL PHENOMENON YOU CAN'T MISS
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £20.00
GENERAL ON SALE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 10AM!