Event of the week
Dublin International Film Festival
From Thursday, February 22nd, until Saturday, March 2nd, various venues, times and prices, Dublin, diff.ie
Where to start? Notable guests? Premieres? The former include the directors Steve McQueen and Elise Girard and the actors Juliet Stevenson, Maxine Peake and Isabelle Huppert. World premieres include Twig (the opening film of the festival, directed by Marian Quinn) and King Frankie (directed by Dermot Malone). European premieres include Woken (the directorial debut of Alan Friel), while Irish premieres include Baltimore (directed by Christine Molly and Joe Lawlor). A slate of much-anticipated 2024 films will also be shown (including Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls), along with Dublin International Film Festival’s ongoing commitment to shorts, documentaries, workshops (Steve McQueen at UCD) and masterclasses (Kevin Macdonald and Guy Maddin). The closing film is Pat Collins’s That They May Face the Rising Sun.
Gigs
PinkPantheress
Tuesday, February 20th, 3Olympia, Dublin, 7pm, €37.15 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
A few years ago, while studying film at the University of the Arts in London, Victoria Walker (as she was then known) posted some songs to TikTok. They went viral within days, and Walker was quickly signed by Parlophone/Elektra. A mixtape, To Hell with It, was released in 2021; PinkPantheress’s major-label debut album, Heaven Knows – brimming with earworm house/garage pop – came out at the end of last year.
Niall Horan
Tuesday-Wednesday, February 20th-21st, SSE Arena, Belfast, 7pm, £55/£44, ticketmaster.ie; Friday-Sunday, February 23rd-25th, 3Arena, Dublin, 7pm, €59.90 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie
Almost 15 years ago, Niall Horan was on his way to the UK to take part in The X Factor. We know what happened next: One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands ever. And we know what happened after that: three solo albums of soft pop/rock. What we didn’t foresee was Horan’s boyish charm morphing into the kind of appeal that sells out arena shows. Fair play. After these five Irish gigs, Horan returns on August 23rd and 24th for two shows at Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin.
Mother Mother
Thursday-Friday, February 22nd-23rd, 3Olympia, Dublin, 7pm, €29.50, ticketmaster.ie
Some music acts take an age to cross over: Mother Mother, the Canadian indie rock band, have been around for almost 20 years, but only in the past three has their appeal grown from cult to mainstream. Once again, TikTok changed things, throwing a few songs from their obscure second album, O My Heart, from 2008, into the atmosphere and watching them soar like rockets (and gain serious traction in nonbinary communities, says lead singer Ryan Guldemond). The band play these Irish shows a week after the release of their new album, Grief Chapter. Support on both nights is from the rising Irish band Gurriers.
Paul Howard: I said I’d never love another dog as much as I loved Humphrey. I was wrong
Gladiator II review: Don’t blame Paul Mescal but there’s no good reason for this jumbled sequel to exist
We had sex maybe once a month. The constant rejection was soul-crushing, it felt like my ex didn’t even like me
Podcast
Saving Grace
Tuesday, February 20th, Ulster Hall, Belfast, 7.30pm, £30; Wednesday-Thursday, February 21st-22nd, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7pm, €33.65, ticketmaster.ie
If the topics of Grace Keeling’s chart-topping podcast don’t drag you in – sample episode titles include Katie Price Talks Playboy House Antics, NEW Plastic Surgery & Wedding Disasters, and Zara McDermott Talks I’m a Celeb Productions, SHOCK Eviction & Becoming a Meme! – then maybe the pitch of it being “the ultimate spot for celebrities to confess all” will.
Literature
Limerick Literary Festival 2024
Friday-Sunday, February 23rd-25th, Belltable, Limerick, various times, €12-€15, limerickliteraryfestival.com
Limerick Literary Festival – formerly the Kate O’Brien Weekend, which began in 1984 – continues to stake a claim as one of Ireland’s primary literary festivals. This year’s 40th-anniversary celebrations include author readings by and interviews with Claire Keegan, Mary Morrissy, Antoine Laurain and Elaine Feeney. The opening event (Friday, February 23rd, 7pm) features Denise Chaila with a music/spoken-word event.
Classical
Britten Sinfonia
Sunday, February 18th, NCH, Dublin, 7.30pm, €19.50-€35, nch.ie
The Cambridge-based Britten Sinfonia has for more than 30 years firmly nudged the boundaries of what people might expect from a chamber orchestra. Adventurous programming, critically acclaimed performances and a wealth of collaborations (including with Steve Reich, Pagrav Dance Company, Father John Misty and Anoushka Shankar) are key elements of its appeal. This event is part of a five-city tour featuring works by Beethoven (String Quartet, Grosse Fuge Op 133) Bartok (Divertimento for String Orchestra BB 118) and John Tavener (The Protecting Veil). The cello soloist is Guy Johnston.
Stage
Audrey or Sorrow
Previews from Friday, February 23rd, then runs from Wednesday, February 28th until Saturday, March 23rd, Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 7pm, €15-€45, abbeytheatre.ie
Marina Carr will no doubt mark her 60th year in numerous ways; perhaps one of the most public will be the world premiere of her new play. Ghosts are about in Audrey or Sorrow, as is a heaving, threatening sea, as a mother keeps watch over her dozing baby. Themes of grief, unsettling mysteries and the shifting forms of family dynamics underscore the production, which is directed by Caitríona McLaughlin. Zara Devlin, Nick Dunning and Marie Mullen star.
Still running
Le Salon du Kerry in Cork
Until Saturday, February 24th, Firkin Crane, Cork, grilse.ie
Presented in association with the Grilse Gallery, in Co Kerry, this collaborative exhibition features work by numerous Kerry and Kerry-based artists, including Rochelle Lucey, Alan Raggett, Zoë Uí Fhaoláin Green, Dorota Borowa, Deirdre McKenna and Cormac Boydell. The exhibition also features screen-prints by Grilse Gallery’s Lucy and Robert Carter of other artists’ works.
Book it this week
The Bothy Band, NCH, Dublin, April 9th and 10th, nch.ie
An Evening with Willy Vlautin, Sugar Club, Dublin, May 22nd, ticketmaster.ie
The Last Dinner Party, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, October 7th, ticketmaster.ie
Nish Kumar, Vicar Street, Dublin, November 8th, ticketmaster.ie
