Gig of the Week: Ciaran Hinds takes the stage to tell A Soldier’s Tale

The Soldier’s Tale

Tuesday May 31-Saturday Jun 4, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm (Sat mat 2.30pm), €30 smockalley.com

Ciaran Hinds has been a busy man of late, picking up Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta nominations for best supporting actor for his role in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast. Now Hinds is taking to the stage as the narrator in Stravinsky’s tale of a soldier who makes a Faustian pact with the devil. Joanne Quigley McParland directs this multimedia performance, which also stars contemporary dancer Emily Ayres, with music performed by The Fews Ensemble, hailed as one of Ireland’s finest chamber music ensembles. Stravinsky’s story is set during the first World War, and tells the parable of a Russian soldier who sells his fiddle to the devil in exchange for the promise of untold wealth.

Live at the Marquee

Darragh Ó Sé: Changing grades hasn’t worked out - the GAA needs to go back to U-18 and U-21

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Michael McDowell: Irish ‘sneaking regarders’ of Trump are naive about the threat he poses to democracy

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Jacques Nienaber says Leinster got it wrong in three areas against Toulouse

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Martin Wolf: Falling fertility rates are one of the biggest challenges facing our world

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Until June 29th, Marquee Road, Ballintemple, Cork, Ireland, 6pm ticketmaster.ie

It’s going to be a busy, lively month down at the Marquee, with a line-up of live shows that should amply make up for all the gigs you’ve missed during the pandemic. I’m sure many artists are glad to be getting out of the mansion and back on the road, but the army of production staff, technicians and stage crew who make it all happen will be doubly relieved to be earning a living once again. You’ve already rocked out to The Coronas and jammed with The 2 Johnnies, but still to come are throaty singer-songwriter Tom Grennan (May 31st), blue-eyed soul veterans Simply Red (June 1st), moody American band The National (6th), the octogenarian sex bomb himself Tom Jones (11th), dark disco cat Deadmaus (17th), dadravers Orbital (18th), pop royalty Pet Shop Boys (22nd), The bould Christy Moore (25th), Kiwi rockers Crowded House (27th), disco linchpin Nile Rodgers with Chic (28th) and the pop star with the licence to drive Olivia Rodrigo (29th). Add in a 25th-anniversary run of Riverdance (3rd-5th), Comedians John Bishop (9th & 10th), Joanne McNally (12th), Dara Ó ain (23rd) and Tommy Tiernan (26th), and another musical whirl with Jenny Greene and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra (24th), and that’s your early summer celebrations sorted.

The David McWilliams Podcast

Wed Jun 1, Lost Lane, Dublin, 7pm Adm free (first come, first served)

The economist and Irish Times columnist rocks up to Lost Lane in Dublin with his co-host John Davis for a good aul’ chat about the big topics that are occupying our minds these days, such as the cost-of-living crisis, the economic fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and why we can’t rent a flat for love or money. McWilliams is one of Ireland’s most popular podcasters, routinely topping the charts and talking about the things everyone wants to hear. It’s the second instalment of the Island’s Edge Podcast Tour, which sees top podcasters convening in various Irish pubs. Last month Blindboy hosted a podcast in Cork, and the final leg is on June 15th when the Off the Ball team are at Roisin Dubh in Galway.

Tropical F**k Storm

Wed Jun 1, Button Factory, Dublin €20 foggynotions.ie

With a name like that, you can pretty much guess where this Australian band sits on the rock ‘n’ roll food chain. They describe themselves as “post-apocalyptic acid punk disco scuzzheads”, and while reviewers stroke their beards and muse on what it all means, Beat Magazine has put it most succinctly: “A Tropical F**k Storm gig is like putting your brain in a blender for an hour straight.” Having presumably scrambled the cortexes of their home audience and left them a gibbering wreck, the quartet are about to unleash their musical chaos on the northern hemisphere, so get ready to have your mind melted when they pummel you with tracks from their albums A Laughing Death in Meatspace, Braindrops and Deep States.

Billie Eilish

Friday June 3, SSE Arena, Belfast 7pm; June 4 & 5 3Arena, Dublin 7pm ticketmaster.ie

The rise of Billie Eilish to global popstar status has been pretty impressive - particularly since she did it all on her own terms, refusing to pander to record company marketeers or image consultants. Her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? changed the pop template to something darker and more delicious, and earned her Grammy awards in all the major categories, including Album of the Year. Her current album, Happier Than Ever, continues on her singular vein of moody, melodic tunesmithery, and once again is co-written by Eilish and her producer/multi-instrumentalist brother Finneas. She also became the youngest ever artist to write and record an official Bond theme, with her song No Time to Die.

Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott

Jun 4, St Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin, 6pm, €39 ticketmaster.ie

The former singers with The Beautiful South finally land in Dublin for their postponed gig, and no doubt they’ll be performing lots of gems from the South, including Amsterdam, Don’t Marry Her, Perfect 10 and Ol’ Red Eyes Is Back, with probably a few classics from Heaton’s earlier band The Housemartins thrown in. The duo reconnected in 2011, when Heaton asked Abbott to sing in his musical The 8th, and since then they have never looked back, releasing four acclaimed albums - including 2020′s Manchester Calling. The support lineup is definitely worth getting there early for, with superb Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke and 80s Caledonian soulsters Deacon Blue on the bill. The next night it’s the turn of former Oasis man Noel Gallagher to bring his High Flying Birds to Raheny (Sun June 5, 5pm)

Forbidden Fruit

Royal Hospital KIlmainham, Dublin, June 4th-5th forbiddenfruit.ie

Dublin’s first and longest-running outdoor city festival is celebrating 10 years of the Fruit, with a return to the RHK after a two-year absence, and a fresh lineup that includes New Zealand pop royalty Lorde, London-based Belfast duo Bicep, thinking person’s party band Hot Chip, south London multi-instrumentalist Tom Misch, South Korean superstar DJ Peggy Gou, Puerto Rican MC Princess Nokia and Aussie mixmasters The Avalanches. There’s no shortage of homegrown acts hitting the FF stage over the two days, including Gemma Dunleavy, Malaki, Aby Coulibaly and Kojaque.