On Easter Monday, 19 April 1897, Dan Lowrey opened the Cork Palace of Varieties, a sister theatre to Dublin’s
Empire Palace (later the Olympia). Variety shows dominated its early years, followed by pantomimes, operas and dramas, with weekly visits from touring companies. Artists such as
Charlie Chaplin,
Stan Laurel,
Oliver Hardy and
George Formby performed at the venue. Ticket prices ranged from £1 for box seats to 6d for the gallery. However, the disruptions of the
First World War, the
Spanish Flu and the
Irish Civil War led to a decline in touring productions, impacting the theatre’s viability. In the 1930s, the venue was converted into the Palace Cinema, becoming a key part of Cork’s film scene for nearly five decades. Branded as “The House with the Perfect Sound”, it operated until 4 June 1988, when it closed with a screening of
Trains, Planes and Automobiles. In 1990, the Everyman Theatre Company restored the historic building to its theatrical roots, renaming it the Everyman Palace Theatre. Its inaugural production in the revitalised space was
Eamon Morrissey’s
the Brother, based on the writings of
Myles na gCopaleen. From 1990 onwards, the theatre thrived with backing from the Arts Council, Cork Corporation and volunteers. In 2012, the venue rebranded as simply The Everyman and launched a new phase focused on opera and original productions, beginning with an Irish Times award-winning staging of
Pagliacci. The theatre sharpened its focus on serving Cork’s artists and audiences while gaining national recognition. In 2018, The Everyman co-produced several major works including
The Nightingale and the Rose by John O’Brien and
Oscar Wilde, and
Asking For It by Louise O’Neill, which won the Irish Times Theatre Awards Audience Choice Prize. In 2019,
Evening Train, a new musical, premiered to critical acclaim, and
Asking For It returned before touring to Dublin and Birmingham. ==Function==