Out To Lunch 2026 Early-bird

Brought to life on stage by Jim Roche & Liam Hourican and stunningly accompanied by live music, we follow a pair of Dublin characters portrayed in immaculately detailed scenes.

In Counterparts, a frustrated law clerk is determined to have a big night’s drinking, while in A Little Cloud, a sensitive soul is thrown by a meeting with an old university friend back from London. At once funny and tragic, the stories are populated with an array of colourful characters who, despite the bowler hats and Edwardian collars, remain entirely contemporary.

These two short stories from Joyce’s debut work are vivid ‘slices of life’ in early 20th century Dublin, revealing a society in paralysis, desperately awaiting change.

‘lighting up the genius of Joyce’s Dubliners’  – Sunday Independent

‘beautifully dramatised and served up as a lunchtime treat… a perfect hour’s entertainment’ –  Irish Independent

‘two superbly articulated performances’ – The Arts Review

 ‘a superb dramatised introduction to one of the greatest short-story collections in world literature’  – Frank McNally, The Irish Times

Duration: 60 minutes
Age Guidance: 12+
Adult themes, reference to domestic abuse.
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Volta Theatre Company is a new company with the remit to bring classical theatre to a wide audience. Its’ founders are Liam Hourican and Jim Roche, who have collaborated for many years in theatre and TV. 

Liam has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe, the Old Vic and Second Age Theatre company and has written and performed sketch shows and comedy drama for Channel 4, RTE and the BBC. Jim has starred in Normal People (directed by Lenny Abramson (BBC), Harry Wild (Acorn TV) Blood 2 (Virgin Media) Vikings (History Channel), Damo and Ivor,Fair City, Killinaskully, The Mario Rosenstock Show, Dead Still (RTE), The Tudors (Showtime) and iCandy (Channel 4). Musicians Feilimidh Nunan and Conor Sheil regularly work with all the principal orchestras in Ireland (National Symphony Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Wexford Festival Orchestra, Irish National Opera Orchestra). Their professional interests have led them to collaborate with many other groups in film and theatre but also in different musical genres ranging from jazz to traditional music.

CAST AND CREW
WRITTEN BY: James Joyce
ADAPTED & DIRECTED BY: Jim Roche & Liam Hourican
PERFORMED BY: Jim Roche & Liam Hourican
MUSICIANS: Feillimidh Nunan and Conor Sheil
LIGHTING DESIGN: Colm Maher​
PHOTOGRAPHY: Malcolm McGettigan
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Gavin Doyle