A decrepit nightclub might not seem the most obvious setting for a tragedy of Greek proportions, but it certainly makes for an interesting proposition.
Electra Et Cetera is an alternative, ambitious take on Sophocles's classic tale of murder, revenge and meddling gods - all the usual culprits, then, for a Greek tragedy. Electra, the title character, is trapped in the world of an seedy, underground, cabaret club, which most people will have little difficulty relating to. The club is run by her drunk, has-been mother Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus, the resident lounge lizard and owner of the establishment.
The Divas, a chorus of showgirls, are Electra's main confidants, while she schemes and plots in anticipation of the return of her heroic brother Orestes, to avenge their murdered father. Just another Saturday night on the tiles, then.
This adaptation has been devised by the Gaiety School of Acting's Youth Theatre Company. The result is part-Parisian cabaret, part theatrical tragedy and is at the Cube from July 1st to 5th. www.project.ie, tel: 01-8819613.
Laurence Mackin
Homeward bound
THE VIKING REPLICA ship Sea Stallion will set out tomorrow for its "heimkava" - the old Norse for "homecoming". The ship will depart Dublin on a 1,400 nautical-mile voyage back to Roskilde in Denmark tomorrow.
A multinational crew of 65, under Danish skipper Carsten Hvid, enjoyed an easterly wind, the peals of Christ Church's bells, a cacophony of ships' whistles and the roar of several thousand spectators when the replica - modelled on a longship built in Dublin in 1042 - sailed up the Liffey last August. Now Hvid and company are due to return, completing a research project into how our ancestors endured their journey across northern Europe more than 1,000 years ago. Part of that research by Roskilde's Viking Ship Museum involves studying "stowaways" - the marine organisms which will attach themselves to the ship's hull en route.
Dublin's Docklands Authority is hosting a Viking festival this weekend to mark the departure, with a Viking village, market, battle re-enactments and a "living history" encampment. Displays of woodwork, boat building, silversmithing, leather work and textiles are promised, and the Sea Stallion is currently on view at a berth on Custom House Quay.
A fleet of traditional boats associated with the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers' Association is due to bid it fair sailing on Sunday morning. You can also follow the ship's adventures on www.havhingsten.dk.
Lorna Siggins
French fancy
Champagne can make you do the funniest things. So if you happen upon people in period costume throwing balls in the gardens of the Radisson SAS St Helens in Stillorgan,
Co Dublin, on Sunday, July 13th, don't be alarmed - it's in aid of a good cause.
Each year, to celebrate Bastille Day, teams drawn from Dublin's top restaurants and fine wine shops compete at petanque, a ball-and-target game similar to lawn bowls, for the Laurent Perrier Trophy. Last year, 26 teams took part with Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud defeating Rathgar's The Vintry wine shop in a keenly-fought final. All proceeds go to the Samaritans. Right, members of the Les Marie Antoinettes team from Gilbeys in action last year.
Joe Breen
Bia blasta
The Aran Islands are billed as a refuge from anything so vulgar as the present. Yet Inis Meáin is home to one of the most stylish new restaurants in Ireland. Chef-owner Ruairí de Blacam specialises in fresh lobster and crab, caught locally, while his wife, Marie-Thérese, runs front of house with great warmth and efficiency.
There are three suites too, in a building that is almost shockingly modern - there are more thatched cottages than minimalist bungalows in this part of the world. If you are the sort of person who loves tradition but insists on modern comforts, you will adore this extraordinary retreat.
You'll find a pair of mountain bikes and fishing rods at your front door, Ortiz white tuna in the mini-bar, alpaca wool throws for your bed (not forgetting covetable Inis Méain knitwear at the island's shop). The continental breakfast beats anything you'll find in Paris.
In short, Inis Meáin restaurant and suites is the very best of new Ireland in a part of the country that still feels pleasantly unspoiled. Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras!
Inis Meáin Restaurant and Suites, Inis Meáin, tel: 086- 8266026.
Trevor White
Ahoy me hungry hearties
If, like this writer, you're used to sailing at a leisurely pace in Dublin Bay, keeping a weather eye on the wind and looming car and container ferries, it is quite another experience to travel out from the port at 30-plus-knots-an-hour in a Redbay Stormforce 11-metre vessel.
Dublin Sea Tours, which owns two of these sturdy Northern Irish-made boats, called The Brian Boru and The James Joyce, run 75-minute sightseeing coastal trips from Poolbeg Marina to Killiney Bay and back during the summer. This year, however, they have hitched up with Cruzzo Restaurant in Malahide Marina to offer special package tours from Poolbeg or Dún Laoghaire Marinas to a three-course lunch destination at the seaside restaurant for €50 per person, based on a minimum of eight people sharing. Being out on the open sea heading for an excellent meal is a heady way to celebrate a birthday or special occasion and the skipper's first-hand knowledge of local history and birdlife adds to the fun. To make a booking, call Cruzzo on 01-8450599 or for further information on general sailings, schedules and booking, visit www.dublinseatours.ie or tel: 01-4925919. Please note that the Cruzzo boat trip is one way only.
Deirdre McQuillan
Fish in flight
Is it possible that one of the high points of a lovely week's holiday (in this case in Sardinia and Corsica) could have been an hour spent in the South Terminal in Gatwick - I mean, Gatwick of all places? But so it was when, having checked in for the flight to Olbia, we espied the Caviar House and Prunier Seafood Bar. Almost as delicious as the mouth-watering dishes of lobster, crab in its shell, trays of oysters and an array of shrimp were the snazzy clientele. Everyone seemed to be dressed in white linen and deck shoes, navy jumpers over their shoulders, leather weekend bags under their bar stools. Would they all be on yachts in the Med by sundown?
The champagne was flowing too, but who wants that when you need all your wits about you for picking up the rent-a-car at the other end of the trip. Well known for their restaurants, cafes and shops in Paris, on Avenue Victor-Hugo and Place de la Madeleine, and the Croisette in Cannes, and in other major cities, Caviar House and Prunier also have a number of airport outlets which can be found in Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Geneva, both terminals in Gatwick, as well as Heathrow and Stansted. And you can even get take-out so you have supper safely in hand when your flight eventually takes off. It's the way to go.
Caroline Walsh