The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the Week

Mother Goose

Wednesday-Sunday, March 22nd-26th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; 7pm; €52/€45/€35/€28/€21.50; ticketmaster.ie

Two big names in entertainment (actor Ian McKellen and comedian John Bishop) team up for a contemporary reboot of a pantomime classic, and the result is a blend of a theatrical “total hoot” (Broadway World) and a tsunami of classic-style Carry On double entendres. Keeping it together amid the pop songs (from Right Said Fred to Lady Gaga) and enthusiastic dancing are McKellen and Bishop, both of whom ham it up for all they’re worth. Can we expect McKellen’s most famous character, the wizard Gandalf, to say something impolite? Or to break into a snippet of dialogue from The Merchant of Venice? Quite likely.

Gigs

Fight Like Apes

Friday, March 24th, 3Olympia, Dublin; 7pm; €26.90 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

They were here (2006) and then they weren’t (2016), but Fight Like Apes left us with three EPs and three albums (call me sentimental, but we can’t read album number two’s title, The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner, without wiping away a happy tear). The gig is in celebration of the vinyl release of their 2009 debut, Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion, which features songs such as Jake Summers, Tie Me Up with Jackets, Lend Me Your Face, and (on the bonus CD), the unforgettable This Is Like the Time Jody Didn’t Know What Cunnilingus Was. Thankfully the band had the songs to easily match the titles. For every ticket sold, FLA will donate €1 to the Irish Youth Foundation (iyf.ie).

Robert Forster

Friday, March 24th, Button Factory, Dublin; 7pm; €28.50; ticketmaster.ie

There are few enough songwriter’s songwriters left, but Robert Forster could very well be included in the number. Australia’s Forster may be best known as the co-founder of The Go-Betweens, but his more recent solo albums (notably 2015′s Songs to Play and 2019′s Inferno) and this year’s The Candle and the Flame, copperfasten his status as a songwriter committed to dealing unambiguously yet gracefully with the full range of human emotions. His visits to Ireland are rare, so don’t hesitate.

Pauline Scanlon and Barry Kerr

Friday, March 24th, Moynihan’s Bar, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, 8.30pm; €15; clonmelworldmusic.com; Sunday, March 26th, Campbell’s Tavern, Headford, Co Galway; 8.30pm; €15; eventbrite.ie

Pauline Scanlon. Photograph: Ruth Medjber

Pauline Scanlon and Barry Kerr, established performers in their own right, have also previously collaborated on various creative undertakings but perhaps none more so than on their traditional singing project, The Longing. The key themes of yearning for home, love, independence, and harmony are explored within merged elements of contemporary musical arrangements and traditional roots.

Cocoon: Catch a Breath

Until Saturday, April 22nd, Lord Mayor’s Pavilion and Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald’s Park, Cork city; adm free

A collaborative, socially engaged art project aimed at recognising the effects of Covid-19 on the mental health sector, the seeds of this interactive, reflective solo exhibition by Portuguese Cork-based Catarina Araújo were sown in April-June 2021. Mentored by UCC mental health nursing lecturer John Goodwin, and artist, activist and educator Dr Eve Olney, the work focuses (as its title references) on the outcomes of “cocooning” as well as (notes the exhibition programme) “addressing overlooked needs, and defining a sense of community, connection and solidarity for mental health”.

Podcast

The Blindboy Podcast

Wednesday, March 22nd/Friday, March 24th, Vicar Street, Dublin; 7pm; €30; ticketmaster.ie

It’s good to talk, which is why Blindboy’s enlightening podcast now exceeds 40 million listeners. What began in 2017 as a raw series of varying topics (including tiki cocktails, Northern Soul, how to wash testicles, his short stories, and interviews (including with Kevin Barry, Cillian Murphy, Louise O’Neill and Spike Lee) is now an ear-friendly come-all-ye where, seemingly, every topic under the sky is articulately discussed (we particularly liked listening to his thoughts on “the semiotics of other people’s sweat on rented tuxedos and suits” last year). Have at it!

[ Michael Harding: Blindboy is maybe one of the most gifted writers of his generation ]

In conversation

Harlan Coben

Tuesday, March 21st, Lexicon Library, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin; 7pm; €15/€12; murderone.ie

It may be a newbie in the book festival calendar, but Murder One is, er, killing it when it comes to persuading big-name authors in the crime/thriller genre to hop over to Ireland. American writer Harlan Coben is one of the most successful, with sales of over 80 million (and multiple deals with the likes of Amazon and Netflix). His just-published book, I Will Find You, continues his dominance in the genre with a story about a missing son and an imprisoned father and a book laden with maze-like twists and turns. Coben will be grilled by crime fiction reviewer, Breda Brown.

Comedy

Grace Campbell: A Show About Me(n)

Thursday, March 23rd, Sugar Club, Dublin; 6.30pm; €22.10; ticketmaster.ie; Friday, March 24th, The Limelight, Belfast; 8pm ; £17; ticketmaster.ie

The self-proclaimed “loud girl from London” brings her latest adult-friendly themed comedy show to Ireland, and if you’re on the hunt for a blend of vigorously descriptive personal experiences, audience manipulation, random observations and complete force of character, then you need to see her in action. In some shows her jokes have caused gasps of disbelief as well as walkouts, so be duly advised. This noted, Campbell is a star in the making, with appearances in larger venues inevitable.

Still running

Moving Hearts and the RTÉ Orchestra

Saturday, March 18th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €57.50/€49.50; ticketmaster.ie

More than 40 years ago Moving Hearts ran riot with a dynamic fusion of trad, rock, and elements of jazz. In this unique St Patrick’s weekend gig, the band reform with many of the original members, and add in an orchestra for good measure.

Book it this week

The Verdict, May 30th-June 3rd, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin; gaietytheatre.ie

Robert Cray, June 14th, NCH, Dublin; nch.ie

Future Islands, August 24th, National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin; ticketmaster.ie

Tiësto, August 26th, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, ticketmaster.ie