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theatre · Thursday 2 July 2026 · 7:30pm 
James Joyce's Dubliners: Counterparts and A Little Cloud
At Solstice Arts Centre · Railway Street, Navan, Co. Meath
At Solstice Arts Centre · Railway Street, Navan, Co. Meath
Two of the most sharply observed stories in the Irish literary canon come to life on stage at Solstice Arts Centre on 2 July 2026. Volta Theatre Company performs live adaptations of Counterparts and A Little Cloud - back-to-back pieces from James Joyce’s debut collection, Dubliners - in what has become one of the more consistently praised small-scale theatre productions touring Ireland. The show runs about an hour and suits anyone who has ever read Joyce, anyone who has not, and anyone who simply enjoys good storytelling told with live music and real craft.
Jim Roche and Liam Hourican, who co-adapted and direct the pieces as well as performing them, bring two different men’s bad evenings to the stage. In Counterparts, a bullied Dublin law clerk escapes his desk and his humiliations into a long night of drinking, growing angrier as the evening goes on. In A Little Cloud, a dreamy, timid man meets an old friend who got out - moved to London, made something of himself - and the meeting quietly destroys him. Joyce wrote both stories in 1905 and they capture, with dark comedy and real sadness, the paralysis and small pride of Edwardian Dublin.
The production pairs the two actors with live period music: Feilimidh Nunan on keyboard and violin, and Conor Shiels on oboe. The music is woven through rather than performed separately, which keeps the tone intimate throughout. The company describes the show as “funny and tragic, relatable and surprising” - that is an accurate three-word summary. The production sold out at Bewley’s Café Theatre in Dublin and played the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith before its current run of Irish venues.
Solstice Arts Centre sits on Railway Street in the centre of Navan, a short walk from the main bus stops. Bus Éireann runs frequent routes from Dublin (route 100 from Busáras takes around an hour) and from surrounding Meath towns. Navan is also straightforward by car from Dublin on the N3, and there are town-centre pay car parks close to the venue.
Navan is the county town of Meath and worth an extra hour if you are travelling. The Hill of Tara and Newgrange are both within easy reach for a daytime visit before the evening show. There is more to see in Navan and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Solstice Arts Centre in Navan? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Navan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.