Event of the week
New Order
Sunday October 1st, 3Arena, Dublin; 6.30pm; €65.45/€54.65; ticketmaster.ie
For almost 45 years, New Order have been one of post-punk’s shining examples of how to enjoy a lengthy and successful career without ever veering close to the cringe factor. From the music (albums such as their 1981 debut Movement, Power, Corruption & Lies, Technique, Republic and their most recent, Music Complete, released in 2015) to their creative aesthetic (their sleek, minimalist designs have been mostly created by art director Peter Saville), the three remaining original members – Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert – have leapfrogged over trends, always landing on their collective feet. Special guest is the Australian electropop group Confidence Man. Tony Clayton-Lea
Gigs
Ireland Music Week
From Tuesday October 3rd until Friday October 6th, various venues/times/prices; eventbrite.ie
Anyone with an interest in emerging Irish music acts will know that Ireland Music Week is one of the best city-centric events in the calendar to check out the country’s who’s-who and what’s-what. Equal parts music industry dance card (a rake of bookers, record labels, agents, publishers and managers have confirmed their attendance) and showcase extravaganza (50 music acts will play across several venues), this is the festival where careers, for some, are significantly boosted. Visit irelandmusicweek.com for full details of music acts, venues, stage times and industry delegates.
King Krule
Wednesday October 4th, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; 7pm; €35; ticketmaster.ie
Inspired by the title of Elvis Presley’s 1958 movie King Creole, Londoner Archy Marshall set about corralling his artistic leanings about 15 years ago, and then embarked more seriously on a life in music from 2013, when he was nominated for the BBC Sound of 2013 poll. Since then, King Krule’s music (a blend of disparate forms such as jazz fusion, spoken word, post-punk) has collected a rake of plaudits, with his latest album, Space Heavy, described by Mojo as “mesmerising, profound, excellent…”
The Unthanks
From Thursday October 5th until Friday October 13th, various venues, €31.50 singularartists.ie
Tyne and Wear sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank form the spine of their titular group, whose folk songs are arranged by composer/producer Adrian McNally in ways that cast an almost unbreakable spell. Good for them, then, that they undertake a comprehensive nationwide tour commencing on Thursday October 5th (Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny) and continuing to Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co Meath (Friday 6th), An Grianán, Letterkenny, Co Donegal (Saturday 7th), Town Hall Theatre, Westport, Co Mayo (Sunday 8th), Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin (Monday 9th), Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo (Wednesday 11th), Live at St Luke’s, Cork (Thursday 12th), and concluding on Friday October 13th (Theatre Royal, Waterford).
Visual Art
Andy Warhol Three Times Out
From October 6th until January 28th, Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin; hughlane.ie
It has taken more than five years for the Hugh Lane Gallery to gather/borrow from museums and private collections more than 250 works by Andy Warhol, one of the most identifiable artists of the 20th century, and who routinely contested conformist thought in art. The results, inevitably, brim with one wow factor after another. Kudos to curators Barbara Dawson, director of the Hugh Lane Gallery, and Michael Dempsey, head of exhibitions.
Comedy
Jack Whitehall
Friday October 6th, SSE Arena, Belfast; 7pm; £54.50/£43.50/£38; ticketmaster.ie; Saturday October 7th, 3Arena, Dublin; 7pm; €63.50/€51; ticketmaster.ie
UK comedian and actor Jack Whitehall gets no small width of stick for having the audacity to be born into an upper middle class family (he attended Marlborough College, of which former pupils include Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, and Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales), but he has survived such pounding to forge a successful career. According to advance reports, his show (as part of his Settle Down tour) is a mix of serious reflection and smart jokes. The former touches on personal relationships, the latter on being sent to boarding school by his crotchety father (about which he says he has “daddy issues” but is “fluent in Latin”).
Opera
Faust
From Sunday October 1st until Saturday October 7th, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin; 7pm; €83.50/€63.50/€48.50; ticketmaster.ie
It is a long way from the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, in 1859, when composer Charles Gounod debuted his five-act opera Faust, which is regarded as a jewel of the 19th-century French repertoire. As part of Dublin Theatre Festival, Irish National Opera (INO) stage – with no small vitality and style – a production featuring Seoul-born American tenor Duke Kim (making his INO debut) and Irish soprano Jennifer Davis. Jack Furness directs, and Elaine Kelly conducts the Irish National Orchestra and Chorus. The opera is performed in French with English surtitles.
Literature
Murder One
From Friday October 6th until Sunday October 8th, dlr Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin; various times/prices; murderone.ie
This insightful international crime-writing festival once again strolls the mean streets in search of the evil that people do. Highlights include crime writer Liz Nugent in conversation with former State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy (Friday October 6th) and multi-award-winning writer Tana French in conversation with fellow thriller author Karen Perry (Saturday October 7th). Sunday’s events include two must-sees: writers Catherine Ryan Howard, Andrea Mara and Catherine Kirwan talk true crime inspirations with Irish Times Literary Editor Martin Doyle (3pm), and Sophie Hannah, Steve Cavanagh and Jane Casey discuss how Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith and Dorothy L Sayers have influenced their respective works.
Still Running
Rope-a-Dope
Until Saturday October 7th, Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin; 1pm; €15/€12; bewleyscafetheatre.com
Actor and comedian Terry O’Neill uses his experiences as a champion boxer as the basis for his one-act play (named after a boxing tactic), which sees him revisit his teenage dreams, successes and setbacks in a series of amusing and affecting scenarios.
