HAPPENINGS:

Musictown

An eclectic two-week musical celebration, this year Musictown applauds collaboration and diversity in all its forms from April 12-21. Artists from across the musical spectrum will gather at various venues across Dublin to collaborate and create unforgettable musical moments.

Highlights include Damien Dempsey performing at Vicar Street on Friday, April 12. Dempsey will perform tracks from his standout new album ‘Union’ as well as classic tracks from his much loved catalogue. See musictown.ie for all events.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra

The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s journey with Mendelssohn culminates with a major work that fuses the Romantic imagination with the forms of Bach, Beethoven and Handel. 

Mendelssohn’s revolutionary hybrid, his Symphony No 2 Lobgesang, reconciles the Romantics’ belief in the superiority of instrumental over vocal and choral Baroque music. It is a remarkable joyous and uplifting work.  

Jörg Widmann conducts the ICO with an illustrious line-up of stars for this glorious production in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on Wednesday, April 10. Tickets on www.irishchamberorchestra.com

Musical in Rush

Rush Musical Society will stage ‘Urinetown the Musical’ at the Millbank Theatre, Rush, until Saturday, April 13 at 8pm nightly (no performance on April 8). 

Set in a not too distant future, this hilarious musical deals with the impact of wholesale water shortages on the masses, corrupt politicians, power hungry utility companies and the inevitable love struggle between the classes.

With every scene the satirical plot twists and turns offering comic and clever observations on life, love and society.

Online bookings are open with patrons now able to choose their seats for each show with great ease. Visit www.millbanktheatre.com. All other enquires to the Millbank Theatre box office at 01-8437475. 

Ideal Home Show

The Permanent tsb Ideal Home Show will have everything under one roof for those in search of new ideas, inspiration, information and the products and services they need to help them achieve their Ideal Home.

Running from April 12-14 learn about the latest in interior design, décor and furnishings and get expert advice for planning building projects, extensions, renovations and new builds.

There will also be a wide variety of home appliances, home technology and automation, security systems, energy efficiency and lifestyle products. See www.idealhome.ie for details.

Spring show and plant sale

The annual Howth and Sutton Horticultural Society Spring Show and Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, April 13 from 2.30pm to 4.30pm at St Nessan’s Community School, Baldoyle. 

Flowers, fruit, vegetables, cookery, photography, arts & crafts and a junior section will feature. There will be a plant sale, bookstall, homemade cakes, raffle, and refreshments for all to enjoy. 

Admission to the show is €2. Entry for HSHS members, visiting exhibitors and children is free. There will be wheelchair access to all parts of the show. For further information see www.hshs.ie/events/

Great Ireland Run 

The 19th annual running of the 10k Great Ireland Run will take place on Sunday, April 14, in the Phoenix Park.

Set in the iconic surroundings of Europe’s largest urban park, runners can enjoy a truly inspiring celebration of running, as they make their way through the spectacular natural surroundings of a park filled with rich history and natural beauty. See greatrun.org/great-ireland-run for details.

Neil Simon comedy Plaza Suite

Neil Simon’s comedy, ‘Plaza Suite’, will be staged by St Patrick’s Dramatic Society, Dalkey at The Studio, dlr LexIcon, Dun Laoghaire nightly at 8pm from Tuesday, April 9 to Saturday April 13. 

Plaza Suite is a collection of three unrelated one-act plays, each set in the same New York hotel suite. Hilariously funny and achingly poignant, its central theme is middle age crisis and its effect on marriage.  

In the opening play, Karen is hoping for a romantic celebration of her wedding anniversary with her husband, Sam. However, Sam is distracted by work problems and his secretary.  

The second play introduces us to successful movie producer, Jesse Kiplinger who is on a brief stopover in New York and makes contact with his high-school sweetheart, Muriel Tate. 

Both, for their separate reasons, wish to defibrillate their past romance. 

Finally, the third couple, Norma and Roy, are dressed and ready to celebrate the wedding of their daughter. The groom and all the guests are waiting downstairs, but the bride has locked herself in the bathroom…. 

Tickets (€18) for Plaza Suite, which is directed by Seymour Cresswell, are available online at 

www.eventbrite.ie (search for Plaza Suite), or by phone on 01-2807185. 

Bingo in Raheny 

Fancy a good night out and a chance to return home with a few euro? It’s eyes down for bingo, which takes place at the Raheny GAA Clubhouse, 2 All Saints’ Road every Thursday, from 8.15pm to 10.15pm. 

Contact bingo@rahenygaa.ie or phone 01-8313530 from 7.30pm to 10pm for more details.

Split Ends

Bewley’s Café Theatre presents ‘Split Ends’ by Lauren Larkin and developed and directed by Aisling Byrne which is a one-woman tour de force exploring the struggles and strength of Dublin women and the things you may only tell your hairdresser! 

There’s nothing a new hair-do won’t fix, right? Amy has worked in the salon since she was 16. She loves it. She loves her fella Darren too; they bought their house last year and have it almost how they want it. 

Her clients are the business; everyday she has chats with generations of Dublin women about their struggles and their strengths. Amy’s worked hard for what she has and whatever she sets her sights on, she gets…Until now…Split Ends is a one-woman show rich with Dublin humour and heart; it charts the tragedies and the triumphs, the little woes and small wins of four women and girls from different walks of life; as divulged from the hairdresser’s swivel chair. It plays till April 13.