HAPPENINGS: A few things worth checking out this week

Footloose the Musical

St Paul's College, based in Raheny, will present 'Footloose the Musical' for three nights – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, January 24, 25 and 26 – at 7.30pm nightly.  With a cast of 130 very talented young adults, it promises to be a fantastic production. Tickets, which cost €12, are available from the college office.

Port exhibition at The Lab

Silvia Loeffler’s ‘Transit Gateway: A Deep Mapping of Dublin Port’ documented the transitional changes in the shape of Dublin Port, from its medieval shoreline to its modern day configuration. For the past year, Silvia has been deep mapping the changing face of Dublin Port since Medieval Dublin through to the present day. Based at Terminal 1 in Dublin Port, Silvia hand painted a series of nine maps that have been on display to members of the public for the past year before coming to the LAB on Foley Street, Dublin 1 on loan, this month. The exhibition runs until March 4. For more information visit www.dublincityartsoffice.ie or contact 01-2225455.

New documentary at IFI 

The Irish Film Institute (IFI), in collaboration with Tradfest 2018, is delighted to welcome actor and traditional music enthusiast Stephen Rea to introduce the premiere screening of Paddy Hayes' new documentary ‘Noel Hill: Aisling Ghéar’ on Saturday, January 27. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Paddy Hayes and musician Noel Hill. Tickets are available at www.ifi.ie or from the IFI Box Office on 01-6793477.

Trinity on Tour

Pupils from in and around Dublin have the opportunity to experience life as a rock star when Trinity College London presents its Trinity on Tour Rock & Pop experience. Over 200 students aged between six and 16 will take part in the initiative, which takes place at Dublin’s Firhouse Educate Together School on Saturday, January 27. The aim of Trinity on Tour is to introduce children to the rewards of learning a musical instrument. Children along with their music teachers are invited to attend this free half-day event, which offers the opportunity to meet and play alongside real session musicians. For further information or to book places visit www.trinityontour.com.

Temple Bar TradFest

TradFest Temple Bar has gained a reputation as the one of the biggest and best traditional Irish music and culture festivals in Ireland. It is now a firm fixture on the National and International festival calendar attracting national and international visitors. The festival takes place from January 24-28 with over 200 events at venues including St Patrick’s Cathedral, St Werburgh’s Church, St Michan’s Church, Dublin’s City Hall, House of Lords, Dublin Castle, The New Theatre and the Button Factory.
Performers down to take part include The Dubliners, Martin Hayes, Donovan, Paul Brady, Paddy Casey, John Sheahan, Mick Flanney, Matt Molloy, Arty McGlynn, John Carty, Mundy, Clannad, Moya Brennan, Sharon Shannon, Maura O’Connell, Altan and many more. See tradfest.ie for details.

Looking Deadly

Written and performed by Niamh McGrath and Keith Singleton and directed by Amy Conroy, ‘Looking Deadly’ pits a pair of small-town rival undertakers against each other. A wedding is the craic, birthdays are grand but you can’t beat a good Irish funeral. Kind words, hang sangwiches, a glass of warm porter, milky tea, a bad ballad, a snog with that cousin you know you shouldn’t fancy and a fight over who thought more of the dearly departed.  Having sold out around Ireland, Foystown’s two rival funeral directors are back with the rollercoaster that is the battle for the funeral of local legend, Big Tom McCarthy. Looking Deadly will make you laugh and cry, just like any decent funeral should and Big Tom will rest in peace… eventually. It opens on January 30 and plays till February 17 at Bewley’s Café Theatre at Powerscourt. www.bewleyscafetheatre.com.

Danny O' Brien: 'RaconTour'

After inheriting a broken-down, unreliable, older-than-he-is motorcycle, Danny decided to take to the road on a comedic expedition. Come hear the story of this RaconTour – in all its glory, failures and triumphs alike. Danny O' Brien’s 'RaconTour' is on at the dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum Town Centre from Thursday, January 25 at 8pm. Following in the footsteps of Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran and Dara O Briain, Danny was handpicked this year to perform as part of the iconic ‘Best of The Edinburgh Fest’ show in Australia and has also featured on The Comedy Channel’s ‘Brexit at Tiffany’s’ show. See www.milltheatre.ie

Le Chéile students will rock you

The students of Le Cheile Secondary School have been singing, dancing and rehearsing over the past couple of months in order to bring you an unforgettable performance! Le Chéile TY’s debut production of ‘We Will Rock You’ is in town for three days, from Wednesday, January 24 to Friday 26 at Le Chéile Secondary School, Hollystown Road, Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15. Doors are open from 7pm and tickets are only €10 per person. More information and tickets are available at www.lecheilety.com/musical.

Burger Fest 

This week sees Burger Fest 2018 kicking off at several venues around the city from January 22-29. Dubliners are invited to indulge in the most creative and delicious burgers the city has to offer over the eight day festival and participating venues are in with a chance of their signature burger being crowned Dublin’s Best Burger. The public will get the opportunity to vote for their favourite burger using the hashtag #BurgerFest. Venues taking part include Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Box Burger, BuJo Burger, Hillbilly’s, Romayo’s, Fenelon’s and the Village Butcher Ranelagh. For more information check out www.thefestivalcrew.com.