ROCK
Royal Blood
The Academy 8pm €20 (sold out) theacademydublin.com
Following their show with Arctic Monkeys at Marlay Park during the summer, the two English RB lads (drummer Ben Thatcher, vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr) return to rock yer socks off. Some people don’t get this duo’s popularity (Grey Keys? Magnolia Stripes?), but this sold-out gig tells a different story. An Olympia gig is lined up for next year if you didn’t get into this one, by the way. TCL
THEATRE
The Playboy of the Western World
The Factory Performance Space. Ends Nov 1 8pm blueraincoat.com
Twelve years ago, when Blue Raincoat's Niall Henry directed Playboy for the Abbey Theatre, it was as though Christy Mahon had been reborn. And with him, falling into the bar as if from the sky, JM Synge's play seemed entirely new. Now Blue Raincoat itself stages the classic, following the physically-adept ensemble's explorations of Flann O'Brien and Beckett. Having kept such company, the dark, unsettling notes of this much-revisited classic might sound out all the clearer. PC
