Beezneez - Tuesdays with Morrie
THEATRE Tuesday 9th March @ 8.00pm
Based on the multi-million best-selling book by Mitch Albion, and adapted for the stage by Mitch Albion and Jeffrey Hatcher, Tuesdays with Morrie is a heartwarming play that tells the story of a professor and a student who meet again after sixteen years, when former student Mitch discovers that his much-loved tutor Morrie is suffering from a terminal illness. What starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage, and Mitch gets a final class in the meaning of life from the older man. A two-hander directed by John McDwyer and featuring actors Michael Roper and Pat Feeley, Tuesdays with Morrie is a warm, compassionate and life-enhancing evening of theatre by Leitrim’s finest, Beezneez Theatre Company.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
"A touching, life-affirming, deeply emotional drama with a generous dose of humor." - NY Daily News
Beezneez website
35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums)
CINEMA Tuesday 16th March @ 8.00pm
France/Germany 2008 100mins French, German with English subtitlesDirector: Claire Denis
Starring: Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Gregoire Colin, Nicole Dogue
Regarded by many as Denis’ warmest and most affirmative movie to date, 35 Shots of Rum is a portrait of the close relationship between widowed train driver Lionel and his affectionate student daughter Jo, who share a cramped apartment on the outskirts of Paris. The film centres on the domestic intimacy of this arrangement, the evolving relationships the two have with their neighbours, whether romantic or parental, and the approach of Lionel’s retirement. In top directorial form, Denis presents an eloquent meditation on family, harmony, loss and loneliness.
“Marvellous.” - Wally Hammond, Time Out
“Outstanding… rich, quietly complex and subtle. A film to be savoured.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“A masterpiece.” - Armond White, New York Press
Adm.: €5
Access Cinema website.
Brian Finnegan, Ed Boyd & John Joe Kelly
CONTEMPORARY FOLK/TRAD Wednesday 24th March @ 8.00pm
Brian Finnegan (flute, whistles), Ed Boyd (guitar) and John Joe Kelly (bodhrán) - erstwhile front man and rhythm section from Flook, one of the finest bands ever to have graced the folk scene - join forces to promote Brian`s new album, The Ravishing Genius Of Bones, a finely woven mix of traditional and original material. Wonderfully hypnotic, the perfect balance between grace and power, sunlight and shade, the three make for a uniquely thrilling union. They will be joined by a very special guest on the night in the form of singer, composer and 'poet laureate' of Russian music, Boris Grebenshikov, a one-man musical institution in his own right. A great night of music in prospect.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
“Sheer musical magic... enthralling.” - The Scotsman
“Multi-layered, rhythmically sophisticated and meltingly beautiful.” - Glasgow Sunday Herald
Brian Finnegan's website.
Flook website.
Boris Grebenshikov's website.
Splódar - Dancing at Lughnasa
THEATRE Thursday 25th March @ 8.00pm
Since its premier production at The Abbey in 1990, Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa rapidly established itself as a modern classic in both Irish and international theatre. Set in 1936 in Ballybeg Co. Donegal, the home of the five unmarried Mundy sisters, this memory play unfolds from the point of view of adult narrator Michael, then 8 years old, the illegitimate son of the youngest sister. His memories of that fateful time, centred round the festival of the Celtic god Lugh, bring into sharp focus images of love, loss, and moments of intense emotion in a play of layered meanings, conflicting rituals and family tensions. Splódar (formerly The Glens Players) is the resident drama company in the Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, and has been creating compelling drama since its establishment in 1995.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
Tony Manero
CINEMA Tuesday 30th March @ 8.00pm
Chile 2008 98mins Language: Spanish with English subtitlesDirector: Pablo Larrain
Starring: Alfredo Castro, Amparo Noguera, Hector Morales, Paola Lattus, Elsa Poblete.
Set in Chile in 1978, with the country in the grip of Pinochet's oppressive dictatorship, fifty-something Raúl is obsessed that he is disco king Tony Manero, John Travolta's white-suited star of Saturday Night Fever. Inspired by repeated viewing of the film at his local fleapit, he forms and choreographs a low-rent dance troupe, performing at a rundown bar on the outskirts of the city. When a national Tony Manero competition is announced, Raúl feels he is destined to win, even when the murderous secret police start to take interest in the inhabitants of the bar and his fellow dancers. The result is at once an absurd black comedy, an unsettling thriller, a confrontation of dark days in Chile's recent history, and a horribly believable, realist portrait of obsession, underpinned by a brilliant lead performance from Alfredo Castro as the misanthropic, misguided anti-hero.
“A multi-textured, striking work of distinction.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“This tough, impassive, marvellous second feature from young Chilean Larraín.” - Wally Hammond, Time Out
Adm.: €5
Access Cinema website.
Limbik Theatre Company - The Harbour
PHYSICAL THEATRE Thursday 8th April @ 8.00pm
A contemporary re-imagining of a selkie tale - inspired by old stories of seal-women - The Harbour follows a daughter’s journey back to her island home, where she finally learns why her mother abandoned her as a child. Funny, moving and visually arresting, with haunting live music, Limbik explores the fragile nature of the relationships that give us shelter, and a safe haven, in a chaotic and unpredictable world. Presented by exciting new UK-based physical theatre company Limbik.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
“A masterclass in surreal storytelling.” East Anglia Daily Times
“Haunting…imaginative… beautifully told.” - Rachel Sheridan, The British Theatre Guide
Limbik website.
Burma VJ : Reporting From a Closed Country
CINEMA Tuesday 13th April @ 8.00pm
Denmark 2008 85mins Language: Burmese / EnglishDirector: Anders Østergaard
Director Anders Østergaard brings us close to Burma’s video journalists in this remarkable documentary. Filming covertly, and risking their lives in the process, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) smuggle their footage out of the country and have it broadcast back into Burma via satellite, providing free images to international media outlets. When, in September 2007, Buddhist monks lead a massive uprising, VJ Joshua is thrown into the role of tactician, coordinating a group of undercover reporters. With foreign TV crews banned from entering the country, it is left to Joshua and his crew to document the events, keeping the revolution alive on TV screens all over the world. - Irish Film Institute
“A flawlessly constructed piece of work, relentlessly gripping, and a stirring testament to individual bravery. Simply unmissable.” - Tom Huddleston, Time Out
“A rich, thought-provoking film.” - A.O. Scott, New York Times
Adm.: €5
Access Cinema website.
The Event
THEATRE Wednesday 14th April @ 8.00pm
A man stands on the stage. He is an actor. We know this because he tells us so, but also because our experience tells us that this is what actors do. Standing in a pool of light, he wittily deconstructs the theatrical experience while offering parallel insight into modern life: what if everything we believe and experience is an illusion - a fantasy designed to make us forget all that's important and... we do. Written and directed by John Clancy, and performed by David Calvitto, The Event is a deceptively simple piece of theatre - unpretentious and totally engaging - which playfully but profoundly leads us to question, not only the nature of reality, but the very nature of existence itself. A winner of the Edinburgh Fringe First Award, The Event is hugely acclaimed, beautifully conceived piece of theatre, masterfully delivering a profound, thought-provoking, imaginative experience. Definitely one not to miss.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
"Absolutely superb theatre that lives long in the imagination and deserves to be the top of any must see list!" - The Mirror
“Intelligent and exhilarating.” - The Guardian
“Calvitto is one of the funniest and cleverest performers around.” - Neil Cooper, The Herald
“An extraordinary tour-de-force… Brilliant.” - Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman
The Event website.
Rig the Jig
TRADITIONAL/FOLK MUSIC Thursday 15th April @ 8.00pm
Rig the Jig comprises seven musicians who met through their love of music. Over the last two years, Rig the Jig has evolved into a leading exponent of Irish traditional and contemporary folk music. The group comprises the musical energies of Michael Banahan (vocals, bodhrán & acoustic guitar), Aoife Kelly (fiddle & vocals), Anthony McDermott (acoustic & electric guitars), Patricia Lane (vocals & bodhrán), Noel Carberry (uilleann pipes, whistles), Paul Gurney (bass guitar, acoustic guitar & keyboards) and Brendan Emmett (mandolin & acoustic guitar). Irrepressible and lively, Rig the Jig offers a combination of Irish traditional music and more contemporary American material, a repertoire of songs, ballads, jigs and reels that is fresh and invigorating, completely natural and spontaneous. Enjoy!Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
"When Rig the Jig let fly, a spirit of connection exists between Irish traditional music and contemporary American material, which is both fresh and invigorating as well as sounding completely natural and unforced." - John O'Regan, Folk Roots
“Rig the Jig is one of the most exciting new bands I have heard in my nearly 15 years as a radio programmer.” - Mike Fleischer, WDCB-FM, Chicago Illinois
Rig the Jig weblog
Alan Kelly Quartet
TRADITIONAL/WORLD MUSIC Thursday 22nd April @ 8.00pm
One of Ireland’s most accomplished musicians in any genre, Roscommon piano accordionist, composer and arranger Alan Kelly exploded onto the traditional scene with his 1997 debut album Out of the Blue, an album which according to Folk Roots magazine “made the piano accordion hip in Ireland again.” His dazzling second album Mosaic established Alan as one of the hottest live acts on the Irish scene with its exciting blend of traditional, salsa and jazz rhythms, and propelled him onto the World Music stage. Alan’s newly released third album After the Morning is fuelled by a rake of self-composed tunes, rich in variety and drawing on musical influences from Brittany to Asturias, to Louisiana. Performing with Alan are three top-drawer musicians: veteran fiddle player Tola Custy; Lúnasa-founding guitarist Donogh Hennessy; and vibrant young flute and whistle player Steph Geremia. Alan Kelly doesn’t just play the accordion, he celebrates it in a way that draws you into the passion he puts into the music he plays. Come and join him in that celebration.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
“ … brilliantly talented, effortless and exuberant.” - The Irish Times
"After the Morning" is an unqualified triumph … superb.” - The Irish Echo
Alan Kelly's website.
Blue Eyelids (Párpados azules)
CINEMA Tuesday 27th April @ 8.00pm
Mexico 2007 98mins Spanish with English subtitlesDirector: Ernesto Contreras
Starring: Cecilia Suárez, Enrique Arreola, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Tiaré Scanda, Luisa Huertas
Directed with maturity and delicacy, Ernesto Contreras’ charming debut feature gently explores solitude and the quest for love between two needy but awkwardly independent Mexico City singles. Self-contained twentysomething Marina works at a uniform factory, and one day wins a trip to a beach paradise. But she doesn’t have anyone to go with her. That is, until Victor unexpectedly presents himself to her as an old friend from high school, an old friend she doesn’t remember. But then she doesn’t seem to remember much as she quietly wanders through her daily life as it passes her by. Original and cliché-free, this often touching and occasionally very funny film is underpinned by a great central performance by Cecilia Suárez and Enrique Arreola.
“What a humane treat this film is: a pinsharp cine-poem of romance. A gem.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“A remarkable feature film debut.” - Sundance Film Festival
Adm.: €5
Access Cinema website.
Xuefei Yang & Natalie Clein
CLASSICAL RECITAL Wednesday 28th April @ 8.00pm
Two truly spell-binding performers, Xuefei Yang (guitar) and Natalie Clein (cello), perform together for this unmissable concert as part of a prestigious Music Network tour. Natalie Clein’s remarkable talent first came to the world’s attention when, aged sixteen, she won the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year award. Since then she has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras and chamber music ensembles, combining traditional repertoire with more experimental pieces. Xuefei Yang is the first ever guitarist in China to enter a music school or launch a professional career, and first to sign an international recording contract with EMI. Lauded for her “feisty virtuosity”, light touch and precision, Yang gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘in demand’: in 2003 alone she performed 54 European concerts for the Night of the Proms Tour, to a combined audience of over 800,000 people! A magical night in prospect.Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
“Natalie Clein… a performer of such great magnetism that she sweeps her audiences along with her, so much so that it is almost a shock when she stops playing and you find yourself back in the real world once more.” - The Oxford Times
“One of the most extraordinary instrumentalists in the world. Ms Yang plays her Spanish music, like her other music, fabulously; with sparkle, clarity and flair.” - The New York Sun
Music Network websiteLadybirds Vocal Ensemble + Mayo Girls Choir - Old and New
CHORAL CONCERT Wednesday 6th May @ 8.00pm
Ladybirds Vocal Ensemble originally got together to play handbells. However, they soon discovered that they all loved to sing and so, from the Bells of Mayo evolved this very entertaining vocal ensemble! In the short time they have been together they have wooed audiences with snappy arrangements of songs from the ‘Swing’ era of the ‘30’s to musical treasures of the 21st century.Mayo Girls Choir was founded in 1994 to help promote choral singing for young girls in Co. Mayo. They have been awarded prizes in the Derry Feis Ceoil, Michael Van Dessel Festival, Pan Celtic Festival, Lyric FM Choirs For Christmas competition and in 2008 and 2009 they received the top prize for youth choirs in the Dublin Feis Ceoil. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is one of the most beautiful settings of this 13th century poem. Combine that with the pure voices of these young girls and you are assured of feast of musical beauty.
Adm.: €15 / €12 (concessions)
