November November

What a busy month: the nights may be closing in but that’s no excuse to draw the curtains, light the fire and put up the feet (mm, sounds tempting) – there’s just too much going on out there. Lots of stuff at Project, Corn Exchange are previewing their new production of Beckett’s sublime Happy Days which opens on Tue 9 and runs til Sat 20. Expect a slightly different slant on this portrayal of human resilience in the face of desolation. Fishamble have a new play by Sean McLoughlin Big Ole Piece of Cake, also running til Sat 20. Starting on Mon 29 Irish Modern Dance Theatre bring together video artas Charles Atlas and choreographer John Scott for In This Moment ‘a dazzling dreamlike meeting of high energy dance, vibrant colours, quirky humour, a musical soundscape in five languages and giant projections filmed live with a cast of seven outstanding dancers’. Phew! And from Randolph SD comes Ellamenope Jones, a new musical theatre piece with a contemporary gothic edge and a dollop of greed and desperation that opens on Tue 30. www.project.ie

Meanwhile David Horan’s new production of Brian Friel’s iconic Dancing at Lughnasa is at the Helix until Sat 19 with a top notch cast including Charlie Bonner, Donna Dent, Maeve Fitzgerald, Garret Keogh, Kate Nic Chonaonaigh, Marie Ruane, Stephen Swift and Susannah de Wrixon. www.secondage.com

PurpleHeart are at Focus Theatre with the European Premiere of Men of Tortuga by upcoming American playwright Jason Wells. A dark comedy of negotiation, conspiracy and assassination that exposes the barbarism encoded in corporate bureaucracy, it had a critically acclaimed debut at Steppenwolf’s New Work programme. Captivating, according to Variety magazine. John O’Brien directs this new production with a cast including Dermot Magennis, Les martin, Gerry O’Brien, Stewart Roche and Steve Wilson. Previews from Tue 9, opens thur 11. www.focustheatre.ie

Oper Ireland sing out their last hurrah with their final season at the Gaeity – 7 performances of Puccini’s much loved Tosca kicking off on Thur 11 and running til Sun 21. Irish soprano Orla Boylan shares the lead role with Amarilli Nizza (replacing an indisposed Cara O’Sullivan). Making their Irish debut are Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias as Baron Scarpia and Argentinian tenor Marcello Puente as Sciarrone, and other Irish cast members include Nyle Wolfe and Imelda Drumm. Tickets from €25, student standbys available an hour before the show. www.operaireland.ie

Dermot Bolger’s The Parting Glass is at the Wood Quay Venue on Sun 21 as part of 2010 Innovation Dublin, before heading out to Axis in Ballymun for another short run following its success there and in NYC this summer. Ray Yeates stars in this one man play about a returned emigrant’s experience of contemporary Ireland from bom to bust. A sort of sequel to Bolger’s In High Germany, it’s set on the infamous night when Thierry Henry dashed our World Cup hopes, that sleight of hand becoming a metaphor for the speedy deception of the post-boom years. www.axis-ballymun.ie

The Performance Corporation are heading out on tour with their recent sell-out hit Slattery’s Sago Saga, starting at the Mermaid in Bray on Tue 16 and visiting various points within reach of the capital such as Carlow and Newbridge. Arthur Riordain’s adaptation of Flann O’Brien’s unfinished comic masterpiece – one part carnival, one part surreal satire – features, among other things, a Scotch woman with an evil plan to outlaw the Irish potato. Jo Mangan directs, and the cast includes Clare Barrett, Darragh `Kelly, Lisa Lambe, Aonghus Og McAnally and Barry Ward. www.theperformancecorporation.com