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The ongoing foot-and-mouth threat has led to a spate of cancellations or postponements of arts events over the next few weeks. These include the celebratory opening of the Verbal Arts Centre's new building in Derry - which hasn't yet been rescheduled, and the formal opening of the redesigned Niland Model Arts Centre in Sligo, where a major Camille Souter exhibition has been deferred until April 24th. The centre's director, Una McCarthy, says "we haven't yet decided what to do about the official opening of the building, but we're thinking of waiting until early summer and having a garden party."

Next week's Feis Ceoil has been cancelled, as has the official opening of Limerick's annual exhibition, EV+A, although the show does go ahead, at Limerick City Art Gallery, from tomorrow. The remainder of pianist Joanna MacGregor's Music Network tour is cancelled; plus Michael Collins and the RTE Vanburgh Quartet's tour, due to begin on Thursday March 22nd; and all concerts in the forthcoming NSO/Irish Times tour, apart from the NCH concert on Friday March 23rd.

For arts organisations seeking advice on the costly, difficult and disappointing business of rescheduling events, the Arts Council's website (www.artscouncil.ie) provides a few broad guidelines and advises, where possible, to cancel planned events. "We are discussing everything on a case-by-case basis," says the Arts Council's public affairs director, Nessa O'Mahoney.

"We can't issue directives and tell the organisations what to do - it's up to them to take an informed decision based on the risks and to let us know in writing. We can only present the Government's guidelines."

In response to a question about the revenue implications of the crisis and whether organisations that have rescheduled events would, for example, be allowed to spend this year's funding allocation next year, she refused to generalise. "This is a national crisis and we want to be as sensitive as we can. We are not attempting to penalise anybody."

To walk into the lobby of The Ark (Children's Cultural Centre) crowded with kids and to hear near-silence is rare enough writes Harry Browne. This quiet heralded something equally unique: a theatrical performance for deaf children with a sign-language interpreter - not one gesturing in the wings, but in the midst of the action, bringing the rich expressiveness of sign language centre-stage.

The Ark's Playing from the Heart tells the story of Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who herself became deaf as a child, en route, nonetheless, to a career as a professional musician. For Tuesday's special performance, Janet Moran, as Evelyn, had a doppelganger in the black-clad Amanda Coogan. Coogan had the additional challenge of communicating the verbal ideas of four other actors, and even of expressing the musical sounds that are so important to this gloriously noisy production. Let's hope that this innovative approach will be seen again at The Ark, even after the imminent departure of its director, Martin Drury. Tuesday's performance was "a huge learning experience" he says, "and it would be unlikely that it wouldn't happen again".

The Anna Livia International Opera Festival, founded last year by Bernadette Greevy, will be held again this year at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, writes Michael Dervan, from June 17th - 24th. Gounod's Faust and two of the three operas from Puccini's Trittico (Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi) will all be conducted by FranzPaul Decker and directed by Roberto Oswald with designs by Anibal Lapis.

Anna Livia's commitment to providing "significant opportunities for young Irish artistes" again scores greater success in female roles. The Faust cast is headed by Shalva Mukeria as Faust, Nicola Sharkey as Marguerite and Keel Watson as Mephistopheles with Emilio Roman, Johanna Byrne, Anne Marie Gibbons, and Roland Davitt.

The cast of six for Il tabarro is Simon Neal, Elizabeth Woods, Antoni Garfield-Henry, Colin Lee, Nyle Wolfe, and Edel O'Brien. Simon Neal takes the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Patricia Finnegan-Newell, Edel O'Brien, Colin Lee, Antoni Garfield-Henry, Bernadette Woods, Roland Davitt, Nyle Wolfe, Owen Lynch, Anne Marie Gibbons and Peter McBrien. Further information from 01-661 7544.

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