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theatre · Wednesday 2 September 2026 · See website for times 
Bach. Bows & Arrows: An Audience with Julian & Jiaxin Lloyd Webber
At Lime Tree Theatre · Mary Immaculate College, Courtbrack Avenue, Limerick
At Lime Tree Theatre · Mary Immaculate College, Courtbrack Avenue, Limerick
On a late summer Wednesday evening, two of the most celebrated cellists in the world pull up chairs at the Lime Tree Theatre and simply talk - and play. Bach, Bows & Arrows is the touring show built around Julian Lloyd Webber’s candid autobiography, and it is as much a conversation as a concert. If you have ever wanted to sit close enough to ask a living legend a question, this is a rare chance to do exactly that.
Julian Lloyd Webber spent decades at the top of classical music - recording more than 60 albums, winning a Brit Award for his Elgar recording, and collaborating with Sir Elton John, Philip Glass, and his brother Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. A spinal condition forced him off the stage in 2014, but his return here is as narrator, guide, and interlocutor. His wife Jiaxin, an accomplished cellist in her own right, is the one with the bow in hand.
The evening centres on Bach’s Cello Suites - how they shaped the Lloyd Webbers’ careers, how these masterpieces lay undiscovered for nearly two hundred years, and what it feels like to play them. Jiaxin performs live while Julian draws on video clips from his personal archive, spanning a career that touched nearly every corner of the classical world. There is also a Q&A segment where the audience can put questions directly to both performers - about the music, the marriage, the autobiography, any of it. The format is intimate and relaxed rather than formal and reverential. You do not need to be a classical music devotee to find it absorbing; Julian Lloyd Webber is plainly good company.
Lime Tree Theatre sits on the Mary Immaculate College campus on Courtbrack Avenue, just off Dock Road, on the south side of Limerick city. From the city centre, head down towards the Dock Road and follow signs for the college - the theatre is in the TARA building once you enter the campus gate. Campus parking is free for theatre-goers, though the car parks can fill 15 to 20 minutes before curtain on busy nights, so arriving early is sensible. Limerick is well served by Bus Eireann from across Munster and the midlands, and the city is roughly two hours from Dublin by road on the M7. The station at Colbert is about a 15-minute walk or a short taxi from the venue.
Limerick is a city that rewards a longer look - the Treaty Stone, King John’s Castle, and the Hunt Museum are all within easy reach of the city centre, and the food scene around the Milk Market and Thomas Street is genuinely good. There is more to see in Limerick and across Co. Limerick.
Heading to Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick? Limerick has plenty more to see. Read the Limerick area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.