Event of the week
Gig for Gaza/Irish Artists for Palestine
Gig for Gaza: Tuesday, November 28th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €45; Irish Artists for Palestine: Tuesday, November 28th, 3Olympia, Dublin; 6.30pm; €30 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie
Two major gigs on the same night for the same cause would usually be viewed as an unfortunate clash, but when each show aims to raise funds to alleviate human tragedy – Gig for Gaza for Medical Aid for Palestinians, and Irish Artists for Palestine for the Red Cross – there’s an awareness that whatever event you can get a ticket for is fine, thanks very much. Gig for Gaza, at 3Arena, features Lankum, Damien Dempsey, Lisa O’Neill, The Mary Wallopers, Pauline Scanlon and Síle Denvir, among others; Irish Artists for Palestine, at 3Olympia Theatre, features The Stunning, The Saw Doctors, Mary Black, Mary Coughlan, Aoife Scott, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Tom Dunne, Róisín El Cherif and, in a rare appearance, the Northern Irish activist Bernadette McAliskey. Expect more names to be added to each line-up closer to the day.
Literature
Irish Writers for Palestine
Tuesday, November 28th, Black Box, Belfast, 7pm, £18 (sold out), bkackboxbelfast.com
This is the first of four literary events of readings and music to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians. This involved in the Belfast event include Anna Burns, Glenn Patterson and Michael Magee. Other writers taking part include Sally Rooney, Donal Ryan, Elaine Feeney, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and Kevin Barry. The other three in the series are on Saturday, December 2nd (St Luke’s, Cork; liveatstlukes.com), Tuesday, December 5th (the Complex, Dublin, thecomplex.ie) and Sunday, December 10th (Nuns Island Theatre, Galway).
Gigs
CMAT
From Wednesday, November 29th, until Saturday, December 2nd, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €28.90 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
What a year it has been for Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. In March her debut album, If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, was named Irish album of the year for 2022 at the Choice Music Prize Awards; a few months later her second album, Crazymad, for Me, picked up reviews that many musicians can only dream about. These were followed by a write-up in the New York Times and, more recently, a profile-boosting performance on The Graham Norton Show, on BBC One (which is among the very few British TV programmes to feature live music). Did we mention crossover potential? These four shows sold out in minutes, and CMAT’s playing Fairview Park in Dublin next summer. Yowsa!
Other Voices
From Friday, December 1st, until Sunday, December 3rd, various venues, Dingle, Co Kerry, othervoices.ie
The fun and games, the resilience and creativity, the good vibes and great music, the stuffed pubs and many conversations: Other Voices is back in its home, and the line-up across its three days and nights is, as usual, top notch. The Dingle Distillery Music Trail features a bunch of Irish acts (including Negro Impacto, Conchúr White, Daniel Luke, Morgana, 49th & Main, Nealo, Joshua Burnside, Chalk, and Aonair), while St James’ Church hosts, among others, CMAT, Mick Flannery, Øxn and Julie Byrne.
Beauty & the Beast review: On the way home, younger audience members re-enact scenes. There’s no higher recommendation
Matt Cooper: I’m an only child. I’ve always been conscious of not having brothers or sisters
A Dublin scam: After more than 10 years in New York, nothing like this had ever happened to me
Patrick Freyne: I am becoming a demotivational speaker – let’s all have an averagely productive December
John Francis Flynn
Friday, December 1st, Set Theatre, Kilkenny; 8pm; €22; set.ie; Saturday, December 2nd, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7pm, €28.60, ticketmaster.ie
Alongside Lankum and Øxn, John Francis Flynn is (he might not say) flying the flag for disruptive Irish traditional music. His recent second album, Look Over the Wall, See the Sky, proves his worth as a folk experimentalist; these shows are a rare opportunity to see him up close. His tour continues on Friday, December 8th (Róisín Dubh, Galway), Saturday, December 9th (St Luke’s, Cork), Sunday, December 10th (De Barras, Clonakilty, Co Cork) and Thursday, December 14th (Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick).
Podcast
Off Menu: Live
Monday, November 27th, and Tuesday, November 28th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €36.50 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
One of the UK’s most successful podcasts of the past five years, Off Menu (whose more than 200 episodes feature Steve Coogan, Lily Allen, Stanley Tuuci and Paul Mescal, among others) is hosted by the comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster. At its centre is an interview with a guest about their favourite cuisine and what they like/dislike most about restaurants. Special guests for these shows will be announced closer to the dates.
Design/In Conversation
Steve Averill: My Life in 12 Sleeves
Tuesday, November 28th, Civic Theatre, Tallaght, Dublin, 8.15pm, €17, civictheatre.ie
Anyone who knows even a little about album-cover design will be aware of Stephen Averill. Over the past five decades he has worked with many acts, most notably U2 (from suggesting their name to having one of the longest-running partnerships in music and design history), but of this event he says he will talk about album sleeves that he has been involved with “and those I admire or were an influence”. A fascinating dive into the creative process from one of the most respected names in the business.
Stage
Super Bogger
Saturday, November 25th, Roscommon Arts Centre, 8pm, €18/€16, roscommonartscentre.ie; Sunday, November 26th, Backstage Theatre, Longford, 8pm, €18/€16, backstage.ie; Wednesday, November 29th, and Thursday, November 30th, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Co Louth, 8pm, €18/€16, droichead.com
Following its recent first performance, at the Townhall in Cavan, Clare Monnelly’s origin story of Ireland’s first superhero (created via a chance encounter with a radioactive fox) is delivered via a bravura one-man performance by the actor Aaron Monaghan. Emily Foran directs. The play concludes its brief nationwide tour at the Mick Lally Theatre, Galway, on Saturday, December 3rd, and Sunday, December 4th (€18/€16; druid.ie).
Still running
On Such as We
Until Saturday, December 2nd, Jerome Hynes Theatre, National Opera House, Wexford, 8pm, €27.50/€20, nationaloperahouse.ie
Decadent Theatre Company revives this Christmas play by Billy Roche (The Wexford Trilogy, The Cavalcaders) for a limited run. The play focuses on a barbershop, its upstairs bedsits, and a motley selection of lost and lonely people. Andrew Flynn directs.
