The events to see, the shows to book, and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

Paramore

Thursday, April 13th, 3Arena, Dublin; 6.30pm; €63; ticketmaster.ie

In terms of creative output, Paramore, from Franklin, Tennessee, have put themselves through the wringer over the past 10 years, with singer Hayley Williams the sole constant member and focal point since the band’s formation in 2004. Matters are settling, however, and with This Is Why, the band’s latest album (their first in six years) they have gained the sharp focus that occasionally eluded them in the 2010s. Always a decent proposition live, Williams and friends (including guitarist and keyboardist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro) will be blasting out new songs and older, deeper cuts, all of which will be doused in punk, pop and emo styles. Will the fans walk away happy? You betcha.

Gigs

Peter Doherty

Thursday, April 13th, Limelight, Belfast; 7pm; £29.50; Friday, April 14th, Opium, Dublin; 7.30pm; €33.50; Saturday, April 15th, Cyprus Avenue, Cork; 7pm; €30; ticketmaster.ie

Describing Peter Doherty, the sometime guitarist and singer with The Libertines and Babyshambles, as “the millennial Jean Genie/Jean Genet” is a classic case of imagination gone wild, but there could well be something of value in his Battered Songbook tour, which sees the ruffled ragamuffin of ramshackle rock dig into his back catalogue for (says the press release with a serious face) “an unforgettable ride into his strange and fascinating world where nothing is as it seems and life itself is an intense euphoric dream”.

Sam Smith

Friday, April 14th (sold out)/Saturday, April 15th, 3Arena, Dublin; 7pm; €59.50; ticketmaster.ie

Sam Smith has come a long way from being a ‘featured’ artist (on Disclosure’s 2012 breakthrough single, Latch; and Naughty Boy’s No 1 single from 2013, La La La). Indeed, Smith’s achievements now include three Brits, five Grammies, one Golden Globe and one Academy Award (each for best original song for 2015′s Writing’s on the Wall). With the Gloria 2023 tour (so named after Smith’s new album, the title track of which was co-written with Northern Ireland’s Foy Vance, the UK singer-songwriter continues to broaden his commercial reach, with an eye for interesting costume changes.

Theatre

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Tuesday, April 11th-Saturday, April 15th, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €44/€40/€35/€21.50; ticketmaster.ie

The unadorned but comfortable life of Syrian beekeeper Nuri and his artist wife, Afra, is destroyed when their home city of Aleppo is bombed, after which the couple and others escape to safer ground in the UK. The play, presented by Nottingham Playhouse, which is committed to supporting refugees and asylum seekers, has been praised not only for its multimedia and set design but also its message (from Christy Lefteri’s 2019 source novel) of empathy and the fortitude of the human spirit.

The Price

Thursday, April 13th-Saturday, June 3rd, Gate Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €31.50/€26.50/€21.50/€16.50; ticketmaster.ie

Real estate, ambition, sufferance, familial obligation, mountainous ego and lack of integrity are the constituent parts of Arthur Miller’s 1968 play. Some years after their father dies, estranged brothers Victor (Simon Delaney) and Walter (Sean Campion) return to the family home to oversee the sale of the estate. Each has an agenda, as does Victor’s wife, Esther (Abigail McGibbon), and antique dealer, Gregory (Nicholas Woodeson). Conleth Hill directs.

Spoken word/Comedy

Bob Odenkirk

Thursday, April 13th, NCH, Dublin; 8pm; €45/€36/€28.50; nch.ie

You know him from the television series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but did you know that Bob Odenkirk’s 2022 memoir, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, is one of the best recent examples of the celebrity autobiography? The book, which traces his career as a comedy writer-performer on Saturday Night Live and The Larry Sanders Show, and then his diversion into serious acting on the aforementioned series, forms the basis of this one-man show. Odenkirk is sharp enough to realise, however, that most audiences prefer an evening of comedy, comedy, comedy than drama (albeit fortified with lacerating self-awareness), so adjust expectations accordingly.

Ballet

Bold Moves 2023

Friday, April 14th-Saturday, April 16th, O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin; 7.30pm; €35/€30; takeyourseats.ie

Works from three of the world’s most acclaimed contemporary ballet choreographers (Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin, Filipe Portugal) herald the return of Ballet Ireland to the live stage. Presented under the umbrella title of Bold Moves, the three pieces – Naharin’s Minus 16; Barton’s Happy Little Things Waiting on a Gruff Cloud of Wanting; and Portugal’s All that Remains) introduce elements of improvisation, precision and whimsy. Perhaps the most intriguing of these is Naharin, whose creation of the Gaga movement language has spread globally among professional and amateur dancers alike. (Also Tuesday, April 19th-Saturday, April 23rd, same venue.)

Podcast

Doireann Garrihy Presents – The Laughs of Your Life

Wednesday, April 12th/Thursday, April 13th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; 8pm; €57.50/€46.50; ticketmaster.ie

Not one but two nights here as broadcaster Doireann Garrihy makes a dream become true by hosting her popular podcast in front of a live audience. The thrust of the themed podcast is asking guests a sequence of relatively set questions about humour and their memories/experiences of it. On the face of it, such an outline seems a tad mundane, but Garrihy is deft enough at interviewing to dig a little deeper when the occasion arises. (At the time of publication, guest names over the two nights were not made unavailable.)

Still running

M(h)aol

Irish post-punk band M(h)aol take their recently released debut album, Attachment Styles, on tour: The Loft, Galway (April 12th), Cyprus Avenue, Cork (April 13th), Kasbah Social Club, Limerick (April 14th), and Workman’s Club, Dublin (April 15th). Expect confrontational, exciting music laced with the signature battle cry of “I want to make a mess”.

Book it this week

The Rest is History Podcast, Vicar Street, Dublin; May 16th; ticketmaster.ie

Ricky Gervais, 3Arena, Dublin; July 11th; ticketmaster.ie

Elvis Costello, NCH, Dublin; September 7th; nch.ie

The Chemical Brothers, 3Arena, Dublin; November 1st; ticketmaster.ie