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theatre · Thursday 20 August 2026 · 8:00pm 
Still Life - Noel Coward - Cork Arts Theatre
At Cork Arts Theatre · Carroll's Quay, Cork City, Co. Cork
At Cork Arts Theatre · Carroll's Quay, Cork City, Co. Cork
Lighthouse Theatre, a Welsh touring company with a track record of bringing sharp classic productions to Irish stages, brings Noel Coward’s Still Life to Cork Arts Theatre for four nights in August 2026. This is the one-act play that inspired Brief Encounter, the beloved 1940s black-and-white film - and if you know the film, you will be surprised how much tension and warmth Coward wrings from a single railway station tea room. At just under an hour with no interval, it is perfectly pitched for an evening or a lunch outing mid-week. Anyone who loves mid-century British drama, understated storytelling, or a well-made play in an intimate space will find this worthwhile.
Alec and Laura are two middle-aged strangers, both contentedly married, who keep bumping into each other at a station refreshment room and find themselves falling into something neither of them planned for. Coward keeps the emotion tightly controlled - nothing is overplayed, and the comedy of the supporting characters throws the central dilemma into relief. The Lighthouse production features three actors taking on multiple roles: Sonia Beck (Myrtle and Laura), Adrian Metcalf (Alec and Albert), and Karla Goodman (Beryl and Dolly), with Goodman also directing. Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto runs through the production, the same music that made Brief Encounter so affecting on screen. The running time is approximately 50 minutes with no interval.
Evening performances (8pm) run Wednesday to Saturday, priced at €18. Thursday and Friday also have a 1pm matinee at €15, or €20 if you add a sandwich and drink served from noon - a decent option for a midweek treat. Cork Arts Theatre seats 100, so the space is genuinely intimate; booking ahead is advisable.
Cork Arts Theatre sits on Carroll’s Quay on the south channel of the River Lee, a ten-minute walk from Cork Kent railway station and close to the South Mall. Buses from most parts of the city stop nearby along the quays. If you are driving, there is paid parking at St Patrick’s Quay and along the north quays; the theatre is easily walkable from most city-centre car parks. Cork is well connected by rail from Dublin Heuston (roughly two and a half hours) and by bus from most major towns.
Cork city rewards a few extra hours - the English Market is a five-minute walk, and the Crawford Art Gallery is free to enter. There is more to see in Cork and across Co. Cork.
Heading to Cork Arts Theatre in Cork? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Cork area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.