Read: It’s not many books that manage to mix a fairly astonishing literary prowess with a satisfying bolt of dark humour – the latest author to swagger into town with this particular pair of six shooters is David Bezmozgis, and in his saddlebags are copies of his debut novel, The Free World.

It tells the story of the Krasnanskys, a family of Soviet Jews who flee the Motherland and find themselves stranded in a mean-spirited Rome – yes we can already see the comparisons with Gary Shteyngart starting to pile up. However, this is a different animal, and a superb read. It also contains in its first few pages a contender for the best chat-up line ever when Alex and his brother Karl approach Polina on the Soviet factory floor as work is closing for the day:

- My brother and I are going out to seek adventure. We require the company of a responsible person to make sure that we do not go to excesses.
- What does that have to do with me?
- You have a kind and responsible face.
- So does Lenin.
- True. But Lenin is unavailable. And, at the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I am sure we would prefer your company.

Who says romance is dead, eh?

Be moved: The Dublin Dance Festival is rolling around in May, but this week there is a burst of dance activity. To whet your appetite for the festival, the Light House Cinema is screening Moon Water: Dance on Film on Sunday at 3pm. This features the spectacular Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Company of Taiwan, which will be performing here in May with Songs Of The Wanderers. Meanwhile, in southern climes, there is a double bill from the National Dance Company of Wales, featuring two commissions inspired by Don Quixote and the poetry of Dylan Thomas, with NYC choreographer Stephen Petronio calling the body shots. The show is at Siamsa Tíre in Tralee on Friday and Cork Opera House on Sunday.

Betty was admittedly not a cat person but she took it to extreme degrees

See: Artisit? is currently making a home for itself in various venues around Dublin, including Vicar Street, the Lab on Foley Street, Workmans Club, the Grand Social, and a box-load more. The idea is to exhibit work from recent graduates, local and international, and intertwine the shows with social events, discussions, concerts and screenings. The artists taking part are Ida Arentoft, Lydia Costello, Jesse Darling, James Greenway, Gitte Hoetbjerg Hansen, Jess Littlewood, Oscar Odershaw, Hilary O’Mahony, Rafael Prez Evans, Samantha Ratanarat, (whose work is pictured above, Philippe Senouci and Michael Taborda. For more information, click here.

Print: It’s an exciting time up at Imma in Dublin’s Kilmainham as it prepares for the opening of the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition, but this Saturday you can get up close and personal with printmaking techniques in a workshop with Debora Ando. For inspiration, you can pop into the exhibition of Old Masters Prints from the Madden Arnholz Collection, curated by Janet and John Banville. It features works from Pieter Brueghel, Jacques Callot, Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya, William Hogarth and Rembrandt van Rijn – no pressure there then at all. The workshop is for 15- to 18-year-olds and takes place from 11am to 2pm – booking is preferred, so email edcommbooking@imma.ie or tel: 01-6129956.

That’s our selection for the weekend. On Paddy’s Day there was quite the flutter of emails and tweets linking to a version of Danny Boy by the Muppets, but we reckon that ain’t within an ass’s roar of this beauty. There is no television show in history that treats art and music with the respect and affection it deserves like The Muppet Show, and nowhere will you find such a charming lack of distinction between high and low art. “Forgive me Charlie Parker, wherever you are” – genius.