Everything's in full swing

Things have really moved up a gear this week. On Monday I went up to Dublin for the first day of rehearsal for The Magic Tree. It's a great new play written and directed by Ursula Rani Sarma. Ursula is a really exciting playwright who went to UCC and whose plays are now performed all over the world. The Magic Tree is dark, intelligent and very original. When she gave it to me to read earlier in the year I just knew I had to produce it. The production is a co-production between Cork Midsummer Festival and the Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick and the cast include some of the best young actors in Ireland. They'll be moving down to Cork to continue rehearsals once the festival begins.

All over the city rehearsals are in progress for the different Cork Midsummer Festival shows. Corcadorca are already in their huge warehouse space rehearsing The Hairy Ape - I can't wait to see this. The Hairy Ape is one of my all time favourite plays and it's such a perfect choice for Corcadorca. In the office all is a kind of organised chaos with the Midsummer Festival staff furiously multi-tasking. Dyane Hanrahan, the festival's general manager has a phone to both ears. Deidre Finn, the festival's administrator (about to leave us to have a baby) is booking flights and accommodation for the dozens of artists coming into Cork for the festival.