Darklight Festival

This year’s Darklight festival gets back to the roots in a celebration of the spirit of grassroots filmmaking. Taking place at The Factory @ Grand Canal Dock from Thur 20 to Sat 22 Oct, there’s DIY SFX workshops and a screening of Evan Glodell’s acclaimed film Bellflower, as well as Jeanie Finlay’s Sound it Out, a feature doc about the last surviving record shop in Teesside. Other documentaries include Blood in the Mobile, showing the chilling connection between our phones and the civil war in the Congo, while We Are Poets follows 6 teenage poets from Leeds Young Authors as they prepare to represent the UK at Brave New Voices, the prestigious poetry slam in Washington DC. Irish artist Jesse Jones is the Artist in Focus; and there’s a late screening of the delightful-sounding Everything Is Terrible featuring seven furry, lovable internet monsters who live in a cave full of VCRS and take forgotten VHS tapes to edit them down into easily digestible viral videos. www.darklight.ie

Absolut Fringe

And so to the Fringe. What delights await us in Week Two?

Man of Valour has been packing them in at the Beckett, a one-man action movie created by The Corn Exchange's Michael West & Annie Ryan and Paul Reid (of Raw fame), the latter delivering a virtuosic performance as an office drone with a hyperactive fantasy gland. From Oz comes another one-man-er, the multi award-winning The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer a feel-good epic bout enduring love and the end of the world that mixes animation, mime, puppetry, projections and live music. (Project)

Dance at Project includes A Lost Opera, a new dance work from celebrated choreographer Deborah Hay directed by Jason Byrne and featuring Ella Clarke, Cindy Cummings and Julie Lockett. Make, I Mean brings together John Scott's IMDT and New York's Adrienne Truscott for a multi-generational -cultural and -discipline piece.

Abie Philbin Bowman brings his edgy satire to the Lir with a piece celebrating the man of the moment, Pope Benedict: Bond Villain. David O'Doherty turns bankrupt explorer in Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctica - sold out at the time of writing but definitely worth queueing for returns. (Smock Alley) For a pocket musical peek at Dublin city 2011, check out Pocket Music at Bewleys, part of Fishamble's Show in a Bag.

In Gis a Shot of your Bongos Mister drummer Brian Fleming creates an aural biographical journey from Fatima Mansions to the shanty towns of West Africa. What Are Poets For? (in a destitute time) sees performance artist Denis Buckley draw parallels between the disenfranchised London Irish and the demoralised new Hibernia. (both at City Arts)

A timeless location on Eustace St heaps on the atmosphere in Hand Me Down the Moon, an immersive theatrical experience created by the formidable trio of Bairbre Ni Chaoimh, Aideen Barry and Louise Lowe, as a young space-obsessed girl embarks on her quest to defy gravity and journey to the stars.

PS a couple of cool freebies: there's a bit of a darnathon at the Fringe box office (Filmbase) over the next few days with Furturemenders' The Sock Exchange. Learn how to darn with love. And prepare to be uplifted at Christ Church Cathedral on Sat 24 @5pm by the swirling choral/choreographical spirituality of Tom Lane's experimental evensong Corokinesis.

www.fringefest.com

Sensorium

Originally established in York and now transferring to Dublin, The Link Project, brainchild of composer Judith Ring, aims to break a few boundaries and change a few perceptions in the structured presentation of music performance. Sensorium, a week long multidisciplinary music festival running at Project from March 7-12, gives us the first taste of such possibilities, encompassing works that include contemporary music, improvisation, electronic music, electro-acoustic music, audio-visual works, music and dance, and physical theatre. The festival opens on Mon 7 with Sonic Boom, a free concert (booking required) of tape works by electroacoustic composers Ed Bennett, Donnacha Dennehy, Roger Doyle, Judith Ring and Jurgen Simpson, including a chance to hear the first Irish performance of Doyle’s The Ninth Set, winner of the Magesterium Prize at Bourges in 2007. Tue and Wed are given over to workshops, with evening concerts showcasing the results. The Contemporary Music Centre hosts a free lunchtime concert on Thur, while the big noise is reserved for Fri & Sat. On Fri a diverse mixture of technological, instrumental and visual performances features works by Enda Bates, Enrico Bertelli, Theo Burt, Alex Harker, Emily Kalies, Jonathan Nangle, Matt Postle and Judith Ring, including the latter’s My one’s bigger than yours for double bass and cello. Sat wraps things up with a lineup of electro-acoustic, instrumental, electronic, improvisation and audio visual works from Enrico Bertelli, Linda Buckley, Jane Cassidy, Emily Kalies, Matt Postle, Judith Ring, Radek Rudnicki, Garrett Sholdice and Tim Wright. Musicians include Enrico Bertelli and Simon Roth on percussion, Joe Browning on shakuhachi, Kate Ellis on cello, Suzanne Fatta and Michelle O’Rourke on vocals, Matt Postle on trumpet and Malachy Robinson on double bass. Should be a good one. www.the-link-project.com, www.projectartscentre.ie

This Looks Interesting

Here’s a few Fringe shows that could be well worth checking out:

The Truth of the Moon brings together writer Simon Doyle, comedian Sonya Kelly and director Sophie Motley for an illustrated lecture by fabled monologist Felicia Umbral, which might not be all that is seems. (New Theatre Tue 14-Sat 18) www.fumbral.weebly.com. Kazuko Hohki’s multimedia performance piece My Husband is a Spaceman, derived from an old Japanese folktale, takes an intriguing look at cross cultural relationships. (Project Wed 15) From Toronto comes Little Illiad a live and virtual show on the theme of Homer’s lost poem, the tale of the end of the Trojan War as explored by Thom, a soldier on his way to Afghanistan. (Smock Alley Mon 20-Sat 25) Return features storyteller Polarbear, one of the UK’s leading spoken-word artists, in the universal tale of a man attempting to find out where he belongs. (Bewleys Mon 20-Fri 24)

This sounds like a sweet lunchtime show. Two highly regarded choreographers, Muirne Bloomer and Emma O’Kane get together for The Ballet Ruse, a witty dance piece about the pitfalls and pressures of ballet dancing, the battle for perfection in that sugar-coated world and the struggle from barre to bar. Design is by the always adventurous Monica Frawley. (Project til Sat 18) More dance when Fidget Feet get airborne in Hang On, a fusion of dance and gravity defying aerial circus skills. (Project Fri 17-Sun 19) And Dance in Progress at DanceHouse features A Study in Absence/A Study in Presence, a refreshing look at our perception of dance and juggling. (Tue 21-Fri 24)

There’s some edgy sonic exploration in Four on the Fringe of Folk, an Irish/Swedish collaboration featuring Caoimhin O Raghallaigh on various fiddles, Seán Óg on sax, Petter Berndalen on snare drum and some fancy footwork from Nic Gareiss. (Fringe Factory Sat 18) There’s more weird and wonderful sounds in the Icelandic Weekend (Thur 23-Sat 25), with indie electro from FM Belfast, charismatic solo songstress Olof Arnalds and the lush, ethereal soundscapes of Amiina. A Feast for St Michael and all Angels offers an experimental Evensong service at Christ Church Cathedral with the Cathedral choir. (5pm Sat 25, adm free)

Comedywise, Colm O’Grady gets seriously funny about potatoes when he takes on the famine in his satirical tragicomedy Delicious O’Grady. (Smock Alley Mon 20-Sat 25) And Jono Katz gets emotional about prickly plants in Cactus: The Seduction as he wanders hallucinating through the desert in search of true love. (New Theatre til Sat 18) Charity shopping gets personal in Help Me! Help Me! inviting you to rummage through Priscilla Robinson’s latest purchases at 3/4 Smock Alley Court (Thur 23-Sun 26) and on the same dates Dame Lane evolves into a transient community space in Laneway. And last but not least, Whiplash go to bed very late (3am, Sun 26) in Red Line Dead Line, a story of Love, Debt and the Loving Dead. The Complex, Smithfield.

www.fringefest.com

Dublin Fringe Festival

If it’s September it must be Fringe time, and sure enough the Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival is just around the corner, 16 days of madness – how about an escaped Zoo, men in Pajamas, 50 naked women and a dancing minotaur for starters – running from Sept 11-26. Theatre, dance, comedy, visual & performance art, and the Absolut Fringe Factory, home to a scintillating music programme including wildly entertaining American performers Taylor Mac and YouTube sensation Miranda Sings; an eclectic Irish Music weekend which featuring Fringe favourite Camille O’Sullivan, a Pocket Jazz festival and Four on the Fringe of Folk; and an Icelandic Weekend of Music featuring Amiina, Ólöf Arnalds and FM Belfast.

Galway’s Macnas are back in town for the opening weekend with a large scale and typically flamboyant outdoor spectacle. Comedy headliners the Pajama Men are in for the duration with their high energy Last Stand to Reason, a hurricane of off-the-wall physical and verbal comedy. On the theatre front, a new show from Siren Productions gives us a contemporary and visceral take on a timeless classic, a new translation by Scottish poet Robin Robertson of Euripides’ Medea, directed by Selina Cartmell. There’s 3 new shows from ambitious young collective Theatreclub, and Ponydance will be out and about with their new show Anybody Waitin’? The Company take on the mammoth task of looking at Joyce’s Ulysses as a template for Irish identity in As you are now so once were we.

The Show In A Bag project features some of Ireland’s best loved actors performing new works created especially for them by playwright Gavin Kostick. In the dance strand there’s Muirne Bloomer & Emma O’Kane’s The Ballet Ruse, Emma Martin’s Listowel Syndrome and double bills from the likes of Fidget Feet. In Berlin Love Tour, Playgroup bring you on a guided tour of Berlin – on the streets of Dublin, and Delicious O’Grady brings you a story of love, loss and potatoes in a one-man tragicomedy set in the time of the Famine.

International work includes the bizarre sounding JERK, a reconstruction of the horrific crimes and murders of young boys in 1970’s Texas using glove puppets. Nic Green’s Trilogy, a runaway hit at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, is a celebration/interrogation of the joys and complexities of being a woman today, the first part ending with a high energy naked dance performed by some 50 volunteers.

Check it all out@ www.fringefest.com

Get Naked with Fringe

It could be all that sunshine has gone to our heads, but what with last month’s Dip in the Nip way out west, it looks like getting naked is the new black. Now Dublin Fringe Festival (of which more anon) has come up with another chance to bare it all: ‘Women of all ages, backgrounds, shapes, sizes, levels of fitness and ability are sought to perform naked in an ensemble dance celebrating the female form, as part of Nic Green’s extraordinary, multi award winning show Trilogy as part of this year’s ABSOLUT Fringe.’ A runaway hit at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, the first part of this celebration/interrogation of the joys and complexities of being a woman today ends with a high energy naked dance performed by the volunteers. Evening workshops take place in the week leading up to the show (which runs from Sept 22-25) including an initial (fully clothed) meeting to discuss everything over tea and cake. Lyn Gardner’s review for The Guardian said: “Trilogy is angry, joyous, heartfelt, rigorous and radiant with hope. It makes you want to fling off your clothes and dance.” So what are you waiting for? More info on how to take part from kate@fringefest.com, www.fringefest.com

Festival of World Cultures

The timing always seemed perfect – that last weekend in August when you hadn’t quite given up hope on the summer; the music was great and the weather was always kind (ah, nostalgia…) But now 10 years on, the dlr Festival of World Cultures is moving to a new slot in late July (23-25), allowing it to tap in more effectively to the international touring circuit. One of the world’s top 25 International Music Festivals, according to Songlines Magazine, this 3 day multi-arts, multi-cultural fiesta brings a real buzz to normally sedate Dun Laoghaire, as over 800 artists from 33 countries take part in 180 events – most of them free. Headliners include legendary Algerian King of Raï, Khaled; former Sigur Rós string section Amiina; Beninese voodoo funk sensationsOrchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou; rising Malian star Rokia Traoré; and creative revolutionaryJah Wobble with his new project The Nippon Dub Ensemble. And among the special 10th Anniversary events are Homeland a collaboration between 4 fascinating world voices – Iarla Ó Lionáird, Tanya Tagaq and duo Adjágas; dancing in the streets with the Birthday Bloco Carnival;and Radio Hemisphere, the festival’s first internet radio. Loads more besides, check it all out@www.festivalofworldcultures.com

Summer in the City

Things get swinging this weekend (8-11 July) with Temple Bar’s Summer Sensational festival (don’t know about that name tho). Lots of (mostly) free stuff to do in the city come rain or shine – the Contemporary Music Centre is inviting you to Play With Music – two interactive multimedia installations: Dioneye, which distorts the participants’ images while using their movements to generate different sounds; and Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd, which exploits the multiple sound interactions of people as they sit on a park bench. There’s also circus and storytelling including a live Where’s Wally?; sean-nos singing and dancing workshops (that should be fun); a Dance Social with Coisceim; music including Julie Feeney and Balkanarama; a whole rake of short movies at various venues courtesy of Filmbase; a family festival at the IFI; and Movies on the Square including Stand by Me, Dirty Dancing and Jaws. www.templebar.ie

Music in Great Irish Houses

Happy 40th birthday to the KBC Music in Great Irish Houses Festival which brings world-class Irish and international chamber musicians to historic and stately venues around the country. Great music in great surroundings is the order of the day, and this year’s festival which runs from Sat 12-Sun 19 June kicks off in Castletown House with highly regarded French ensemble Quatuor Ebene playing Mozart Bartok and Debussy, who the following evening morph into l’Autre Ebene and play jazz, pop and film music at the Sugar Club. Beaulieu House in Drogheda is the venue for Latvian violinist Baiba Skride and Danish cellist Jan Vogler playing Bach, Handel and Ravel on Sun 13, and the following day they too morph into the Skride/Vogler Trio playing Beethoven, Shostakovich and Brahms at Killruddery. Mahler, Schumann and Brahms from the renowned German Fauré Quartet at Killruddery on Tue 15; Brahms and Beethoven from violinist extraordinaire Arabella Steinbacher and pianist Robert Kulek at the National Gallery on Wed 16; tenor Robin Tritschler and acclaimed British pianist Simon Lepper with music for voice and piano by Brahms, Britten, Bax and Schumann at Emo Court on Thur 17; music for two pianos from 2 of our best known pianists Hugh Tinney and Finghin Collins at the RDS on Fri 18; and winding everything up back at Castletown on Sat 19, the award-winning Quatuor Ysaye playing Haydn, Brahms and Schumann. www.musicgreatirishhouses.com

Dublin Writers Festival

This year’s Dublin Writers Festival is about to kick off, with 6 days jammed full of literary-related events from Tue 1 to Sun 6 June. Over 40 writers are taking part including the likes of Antony Beevor (Stalingrad), Hanif Kurieshi (My Beautiful Launderette), Yann Martel (The Life of Pi) and the multi award-winning Ian McEwan, who goes head to head with 1960’s counter-culture icon Stewart Brand on the issue of global warming. Major Irish writers include Tom Murphy and Jennifer Johnston, both celebrating significant birthdays this year, and also in birthday mode is The Gallery Press, throwing a bit of a poetry party at the Abbey on the final day. Paul Brady and Neil Hannon explore the art of song writing and there’s discussions on the new feminism, that tricky second novel, Irish language travel literature and even a bilingual multimedia event. Check it all out@ www.dublinwritersfestival.com

Dublin Dance Festival 2010

And they’re off! If you got a chance to strut your stuff at last night’s Bumper to Bumper headphone disco, you’ll already be in the mood for dance, and there’s a wealth of invigorating and inspirational shows to choose from over the next 2 weeks featuring artists from around the globe. Junk Ensemble’s new show Five Ways to Drown is at Project tonight and on Tue 11 &Wed 12 there’s a double bill from legendary US choreographer Yvonne Rainer: RoS Indexical which harks back to the passion and furore of The Rite of Spring premiere in 1913, and her latest work Spiraling Down.

Also in the opening week, emerging Italian choreographers are showcased in the Aerowaves double bill; from the US there’s Vicky Shick’s collaborative duet Repair, with a live sound score; and Heidi Latsky’s Gimp featuring performers with physical differences; Sunstruck from Australia, in which 2 virtuosic dancers respond to 2 live musicians and a rolling light; a solo and a duet from upcoming Canadian/UK choreographer Laila Diallo; and the world premiere of Rex Levitates’ Secondary Sources, exploring the influences in our bodies that come from people, places and events.

The festival’s Centrepiece Performance at the Samuel Beckett on Tue 17 &Wed 18 comes from the hugely influential German choreographer Raimund Hoghe: Young People, Old Voices juxtaposes the boisterousness of youthful dancers with end of career songs from Jacques Brel and Billie Holiday, building an increasingly poignant contrast between Hoghe and the 12 young cast members from Ireland and abroad. Other shows in week 2 include Caterina Sagna’s talk-based Basso Ostinato; Swimming With My Mother, featuring Coisceim’s David Bolger and his Mum – part of a double bill with Silvia Gribaudi’s ironic take on the female condition A Corpo Libero; and Carlotta Sagna’s Ad Vitam, probing the borders of normality and pathology.

There’s the world premiere of Tere O’Connor’s Day, created for Jean Butler, which moves away from her established world of Irish dance; and Dutch choreographer Beppie Blankert’s Double Track, based on Samuel Beckett’s Text for Nothing, which was originally created in 1986 to a commissioned score by Louis Andriessen. Crash Ensemble will open the show with a live performance of Double Track (Dubblelspoor). Flamenco takes centre stage in the festival’s Grand Finale at Vicar Street on Sun 23. This is the real thing from Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenco, gritty, authentic and passionate performances from an extraordinary ensemble of dancers, singers and guitarists led by the fiery multi-award-winning Soledad Barrio, the ‘Baryshnikov of flamenco’. www.dublindancefestival.ie

Get a Handel on This

Temple Bar Cultural Trust has all kinds of free activities planned for its Handel Celebrations on Tues 13 April, the 268th anniversary of the first ever performance of probably the best-known choral music in the world, Handel’s Messiah – and it happened right here in the heart of Temple Bar. The annual Messiah on the Street featuring Our Lady’s Choral Society has by now become something of a cultural institution, but newcomers from 3 Dublin national schools will also join in a Global Hallelujah. Music historian Barra Boydell sheds a different light on familiar streets and buildings in his Handel & Dublin 1742 Walk, while Nicolas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Archive presents Ye Lord Mayors Delight, a talk and recital (featuring 4 renowned traditional performers) focusing on the earliest published collection of Irish music. And to wrap it all up (keep warm), Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 movie Barry Lyndon gets an outdoor screening on Meeting House Square. All events are free but some are ticketed, more info @ www.templebar.ie

Ergodos Festival MMX

A mini festival of new music at Project this weekend (2&3 April) courtesy of contemporary music bods Ergodos has the concept of optimism (currently a much needed quality) at its core. “In spite of the hardships of our time, there is much to celebrate, much that is beautiful, much to give us hope, and much to be done,” say Ergodos Festival MMX directors Garrett Sholdice
and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly. The first concert, Another Generation, juxtaposes the music of JS Bach with John Cage, Simon O’Connor Jonathan Nangle et al, while the second, The Sun Also Rises, is a work for film and music by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly and David Tynan. www.ergodos.ie

Dublin Dance Festival

Times might be tight but the 6th Dublin Dance Festival looks to be dancing on air, what with the smashing programme they’ve put together for this year’s festival (May 8–23). Over two weeks of dazzling dance from far flung Australia, Canada and the US, and closer to home, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and of course Ireland, with high profile international figures such as Germany’s Raimund Hoghe who gives the festival’s centrepiece performance, legendary US choreographer Yvonne Rainer and flamenco dancer extraordinaire Soledad Barrio featuring alongside dynamic new European and Irish works. The festival is framed by what will undoubtedly be two very popular events, the free Bumper 2 Bumper headphone disco in Meeting House Square and the powerful, passionate and earthy dance of Noche Flamenco in Vicar Street, and there’s also workshops and a kids’ programme. Watch this space. www.dublindancefestival.ie

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

Two Thousand & Ten

Greetings culture vultures, a (very) belated Happy New Year! A combination of holidays, maladies and a prolonged bout of broadband ‘outage’ all conspired to temporarily banish me from the ether. Outage? Outrage more like. What was I thinking switching to Vodafone. They leave you on hold for hours, force you to listen to crap music – if I ever come across that guy who sings More Than Words I’m gonna thump him – and then, 2 weeks later, they wake you up at 9 O’CLOCK ON A SUNDAY MORNING to try and fix the damn thing. And it still didn’t work… AAAAARRRGGH… First chance I have I’m switching right back.

Meanwhile it’s nearly February two thousand and ten. None of this twenty ten business in my neck of the woods. If the French can say ‘mille neuf cent quatre vingt dix neuf’ for 1999, then we should be able to manage something that doesn’t sound like poor vision. But the good news is, despite the R word, there’s actually oodles of stuff going on. Temple Bar Tradfest kicks off tomorrow (27 Jan til Sun 31) with concerts at Project and the Button Factory, including the likes of Matt Molloy, Finbar Furey and new kids on the block Liadan; pub sessions featuring some pretty high profile performers, among them Eleanor Shanley, Kila, Sean Og Potts, Kevin Glackin and loads more; and a string of workshops, screenings, parades, ceilis, in fact all the ingredients for a good oul hooley. www.templebartrad.com

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

Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival

Q When is a bank not a disaster area? A When it’s engaging in a spot of much-needed arts sponsorship. Roll on the 2009 Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival which runs from 24 Sept-11 Oct and fields a strong Irish and international programme, plus seasons of physical and documentary theatre. International productions include The Manganiyar Seduction, a colourful and inspiring show direct from the deserts of India and featuring over 40 Indian musicians and singers spanning three generations. Cheek by Jowl’s Declan Donnellan is back with his elegant and poetic take on Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and the amazing Robert Lepage follows up his far side of the moon with The Blue Dragon. A big hit it the UK last year, art, class and politics collide in Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters, the true story of a group of miners who take painting classes and become an unlikely success (National Theatre UK). Cet Enfant, from rising star of French Theatre Joël Pommerat, explores the emotional ties that bind parents and their children together. An enormous model of Auschwitz is the setting for Hotel Modern’s acclaimed production of Kamp, a fusion of animation, puppetry, visual arts and music featuring thousands of miniature puppets representing the prisoners and their executioners, while the actors move in and out of the scene with handheld cameras.

Sebastian Barry and Conor McPherson (the two extremes of new Irish writing?) lead the fray in terms of home-grown shows, with Barry’s Tales of Ballycumber at the Abbey featuring Stephen Rea and Derbhle Crotty, and the Gate premiering McPherson’s adaptation of The Birds, with Sinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds. Freefall is a new show from The Corn Exchange, PanPan present the Irish premiere of Gina Moxley’s Hansel & Gretel-esque The Crumb Trail, and Druid stage Enda Walsh’s The New Electric Ballroom. The ReViewed section offers a second chance to see successful Irish productions including Buck Jones and The Body Snatchers, Nomad Theatre’s adaptation of Pat McCabe’s The Dead School and Featherhead Productions’ Slat.

International physical theatre comes courtesy of DV8’s To Be Straight With You, an unflinching exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality; and The Age I’m In from Australia’s Force Majeure, with a cast aged from 14-80. Documentary theatre includes Stefan Kaegi’s Radio Muezzin, featuring four of Cairo’s Muezzins and exploring the changing culture of the men who lead the Muslim call to prayer; and multi award-winning Flemish show Once And For All We’re Gonna Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up And Listen, featuring a cast of 13 teenagers poised on the brink of adulthood. There’s also late night theatre in Project, a Family Season at the Ark and a lively programme of special events. www.dublintheatrefestival.com

Absolutely Fringe

A new name, a new director, and the Absolut Fringe is set to rock the city again from Sat 5-Sun 20 Sept, unleashing 16 days and nights of multi-disciplinary mayhem and featuring a healthy mix of Irish and international performers. The most visible face of the Fringe is the Spiegeltent, back for one last hoorah at George’s Dock, and hosting the popular La Clique as well as some very interesting music including Julliard graduate and Philip Glass protégé Nico Muhy, whose credits include collaborations with Antony and the Johnsons, Bjork and Sigur Ros and most recently the film score for The Reader; and Synth Eastwood Has You Surrounded with their daring mix of music, art and technology. But you can also catch a show in a supermarket or in a hospital, new work from Loose Canon, the Performance Corporation and Volta Theatre (who brought you the hilarious Gerry and the Peace Process), a bilingual play by Manchán Magan and international shows including the world premiere of Gerardo Naumann’s A Useful Play Edit Kaldor’s Point Blank and Ranters Theatre’s Holiday. Watch this space… www.fringefest.com

Festival of World Cultures

Although this year’s Festival of World Cultures is only a two-day event, there’s a brilliant line-up for that precious last weekend in August, when Dun Laoghaire becomes the centre of the universe. Highlights include Malian superstar Oumou Sangare, songwriter, social commentator and soul diva, who headlines the free outdoor concert on Sun 30; the mystical Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan; French chanteuse and social campaigner Jane Birkin (forever associated with the heavy breathing of ‘Je t’aime’) singing from her new album ‘Enfants d’hiver’; spiritual mystic and Sufi devotional singer, Sain Zahoor; Nick Page’s Dub Colossus, a sultry blend of traditional Ethiopian music with ethiojazz and club reggae featuring some of Ethiopia’s finest musicians; the intensively percussive Les Tambours de Brazza; and the amazing Warsaw Village Band, making their second visit to the Festival. Lots of these concerts are free, and as if that wasn’t enough, there’s a rake of food fairs, art exhibitions, workshops and cultural demonstrations, the always lively Festival Club, and a Bollywood Disco as part of this year’s Mela. www.festivalofworldcultures.com