Axis of Ballymun

A couple of interesting free gigs out at Axis in Ballymun. On Thur 4 Feb the Oska Bright Film Festival – the first such festival worldwide to be run by and for people with learning disabilities – sets up shop with screenings between 1 & 4pm of a range of short films including animations, documentaries, a soap-opera and a western, all made by film-makers with learning disabilities. On Tue 9 the American Embassy teams up with Axis to present African American dance theatre company Soul Steps. Telling stories of culture and community, the 5-strong company use their entire bodies as percussive instruments, as they trace the history of ‘stepping’ from South African gold mines and US slave plantations to the present day. Admission for both events is free, booking advisable @ www.axis-ballymun.ie

It's the Fringe

Can’t make the Picnic? Pick a Fringe show instead. There’s lots of free stuff, like French choreographer David Rolland’s The Readers at St Patricks Park on Sat 12; Jago Ni Murchu’s Meadow beside City Hall this Sunday; Bedrock’s Garage in Arnott’s window; the Monumental Gathering in Smithfield on Sun 19; the ever resourceful Whiplash with Spartacus: To Hell and Back at the Civic Offices on Sun 13; and the Gorilla Chorus popping up where you least expect them.

Taking a stroll through the Fringe programme, the new satirical show from the excellent Volta, All of Human Life is Here could well be referring to what’s on offer. Die Roten Punkte showcase their lipstick-smeared sonic collisions; The Lost Pirates seduce with their campaign of musical debauchery; and Nico Muhly bedazzles with his eclectic creativity. Waterworn invites you to step onboard a barge; Wondermart gets you stepping out in a supermarket; Basin brings you the hidden mysteries of the Blessington Street Basin; One Penny Operas give you instant dance composition from the likes of former Fringe director Wolfgang Hoffman, while other dance includes an Aerowaves double bill with shows from Germany and Belgium. Cirque de Legume conjure up the excitement, danger and sensuality of cast-off vegetables; The Blanch brings you the contemporary shopping experience in all its gory glory, and in complete contrast, Beckett’s Act Without Words II takes to the streets, directed by Sarah Jane Scaife and designed by Aedin Cosgrove.

Chilean director Jose Miguel Jiminez attempts to rewrite history in Who is Fergus Kilpatrick? and, in one of the main international contributions, Argentinean director and filmmaker Gerardo Naumann experiments with his new film on stage in A Useful Play. The Angry School lets you get angry; The Enemies explores Jorge Luis Borges’ sublime short story ‘The Secret Miracle’; and cultural paranoia is alive and well in the provocative juxtapositions of Terror of Living. Shows from a trio of Fringe regulars include Power Point, the Performance Corporation’s stylish take on corporate deviousness; Loose Canon’s Anatomy of a Seagull, dissecting the cruel essence of Chekhov; and Semper Fi’s site-specific Black Bessie, exploring the rituals of a homeless woman. www.fringefest.com