Event of the week
Bob Dylan
Wednesday and Thursday, November 19th and 20th, Waterfront Hall, Belfast, 7pm, £160/£75 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie
As Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour arrives in Ireland for five sold-out shows, there can be no denying the man’s enduring popularity. The old arguments will arise, of course – his voice isn’t as strong as it once was; he doesn’t engage with his audience; the songs don’t sound like they do on the records – but diehard Dylan fans will surely be grateful that the 84-year-old songwriter is still around to perform classics such as It Ain’t Me Babe, All Along the Watchtower, Desolation Row and It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (as well as a selection from the 2020 album for which the tour is named). Dylan also plays INEC Arena, Killarney, Co Kerry (Sunday, November 23rd, and Monday, November 24th) and 3Arena, Dublin (Tuesday, November 25th). All shows will be phone-free: the venues will provide Yondr pouches to keep mobiles safely stowed away.
Gigs
The Horrors
Wednesday, November 19th, Button Factory, Dublin, 7.30pm, €30.95, ticketmaster.ie
Twenty years in and still The Horrors ooze a particular kind of goth cool that other bands would be derided for. Such a position can be attributed not only to the simple fact of staying power but also to a rejuvenation of the band’s music that can be heard on this year’s sixth album, Night Life, which the band created to revitalise the visceral, instinctive spirit of their early work. “Our new chapter is beginning,” says cofounder Faris Badwan. “The Horrors are never-ending.”
Øxn & Richard Dawson
Thursday, November 20th, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, €39.50/€29.50, nch.ie
This is a double bill for those who like their music edged with experimentation and whiffs of creative cordite. The members of Øxn, whose music brilliantly fuses folk, electronics, drone and unambiguous oddness, include Lankum’s Radie Peat, producer and engineer John Spud Murphy, and Katie Kim. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, the singer-songwriter Richard Dawson has a reputation for deconstructing folk music and then imbuing the parts with humour and compassion. (Dawson also plays Quiet Lights festival on Friday, November 21st, Live at St Luke’s, Cork, 7.30pm, €31.)
Quiet Lights
From Thursday, November 20th, until Sunday, November 23rd, Cork city, various venues, times and prices, quietlights.net
Cork’s autumn-to-winter Quiet Lights festival presents another superb schedule of events across four chilly nights. Highlights include Niall Breslin’s shimmering piano pieces from his recently released The Place That Has Never Been Wounded (Thursday, November 20th, Triskel Arts Centre, 7.30pm, €31), Lisa O’Neill (Saturday, November 22nd, Live at St Luke’s, 7.30pm, €38.62; with guest Elaine Malone), the emerging Irish artist How I Became a Wave (Sunday, November 23rd, Coughlan’s, 5pm, €20) and the Icelandic group Müm (Sunday, November 23rd, Live at St Luke’s, 7.30pm, €31; with guest Gemma Doherty).
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Stage
A Christmas Carol
Until Sunday, January 18th, Gate Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €18-€38, gatetheatre.ie
’Tis the time for a classic winter’s tale, and there is surely none more so than Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. First published in 1843, the novella has never been out of print, each of its characters – Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit and his son Tiny Tim – an indelible part of English-language literature. The production takes place over the course of a chilly Christmas night that sees Scrooge (Lloyd Hutchinson) visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. The cast also includes Fiona Bell (Marley) and Emmet Kirwan (Cratchit). Neil Bartlett adapts, Claire O’Reilly directs. (Previews until Thursday, November 20th; opening night Friday, November 21st.)
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
From Thursday, November 20th, until Sunday, January 11th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, 7.30pm, €29.80-€93.40, ticketmaster.ie
Based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, this extravagant collection of pop songs, pin-sharp choreography, striking costumes and plush set design will give every other seasonal show in town a good run for its money. The location is Paris; the era is the late 19th century; the vibe is très risqué demi-monde. The story follows an American songwriter, Christian; the titular venue’s illustrious attraction, Satine; and the treacherous Duke de Monroth. Advance reports suggest that, while the book, acting and songs are more than adequate, the production values are, well, magnifique.
Film
IFI French Film Festival
Wednesday, November 19th, until Sunday, November 30th, IFI, Dublin, various times and prices, ifi.ie
Now in its 26th year, the IFI French Film Festival is Ireland’s leading French cultural soiree, presenting an extensive programme of dramas, comedies and documentaries. There will be more than 20 Irish premieres, including Ma Frère (Summer Beats), La Petite Dernière (The Little Sister), Chien 51 (Dog 51), À Bras-le-Corps (Silent Rebellion), Vie Privée (A Private Life, featuring Jodie Foster in her first big French-speaking role) and Nouvelle Vague (the US director Richard Linklater’s tribute to Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard’s debut feature, from 1960). Also featured are four restored films by Claude Chabrol, and a masterclass with the auteur film-maker Lucile Hadžihalilović (whose new film, La Tour de Glace/The Ice Tower, is also on the programme).
Still running
Jonathan Swift Festival
From Thursday, November 20th, until Sunday, November 27th, St Patrick’s Cathedral and other venues, Dublin, various times and prices, jonathanswiftfestival.ie
Celebrating the life and work of the acclaimed satirist, this year’s Jonathan Swift Festival includes Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast with the actor and comedian Peter McGann (Tuesday, November 25th, Workman’s Club, 8pm, €15) and Savage Indignation (Wednesday, November 26th, St Patrick’s Cathedral, 8pm, €18), a musical and theatrical exploration of Swift’s life.
Book it this week
- Double Indemnity, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, March 24th-28th, ticketmaster.ie
- Martin Carthy & Eliza Carthy, Whelan’s, Dublin, April 12th, foggynotions.ie
- Gerald Barry’s Salome, NCH, Dublin, April 17th, nch.ie
- Florence + the Machine, Thomond Park, Limerick, June 27th, ticketmaster.ie
