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

Event of the week

38th Cúirt International Festival of Literature

Tuesday, April 18th- Sunday, April 23rd, various venues, Galway; various prices/times; cuirt.ie

Once again, the programme at Cúirt (which has a new festival director, Manuela Moser) blends prominent authors (including Sebastian Barry, Wendy Erskine, Max Porter, Anne Enright, Donal Ryan) and new writers (including Alice Kinsella, Nicole Flattery) with poetry masterclasses (Colette Bryce), workshops (Dani Gill), interviews (Carmen Maria Machado and Sinéad Gleeson), book launches (Elaine Feeney’s How to Build a Boat), and podcasts (Caroline O’Donoghue and Emer McLysaght). Across the festival, events take place in the most interesting of venues, from University Hospital Galway and Nuns Island Theatre to Áras na nGael and Galway City Distillery (which hosts the festival opening party with readings from special guests Elaine Feeney and Paul Maddern).

Gigs

David Kitt

Saturday, April 15th, Whelan’s, Dublin; 8pm; €18 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie; Thursday, April 20th, Róisín Dubh, Galway; 8pm; €16; roisindubh.net; Friday, April 21st, Coughlans, Cork; 7.30pm; €18 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

The resilience of soft-spoken Dublin songwriter David Kitt shouldn’t go unrewarded – he has been delivering superb and adventurous work for over 20 years and continues that with his recently released album, Idiot Check (“always anchored by ... his devotion to melody”, noted this paper’s review). Kitt continues his Irish tour throughout April and into May. Visit davidkitt.com for further details.

Nina Nastasia

Wednesday, April 19th, Workman’s Cellar, Dublin; 8pm; €20; ticketmaster.ie

American songwriter Nina Nastasia was a relatively cult folk figure until the release of last year’s Riderless Horse. She had released other albums, of course (notably her 2000 debut, Dogs, which was beloved by John Peel), but until Riderless Horse she had been, it appeared, isolated as an artist and forgotten about for many years. That album’s songs tell us why: they were inspired by the death in 2020 of her manipulative and coercive manager, whose passing freed Nastasia to document, she has said, “moments of empowerment and a real happiness in discovering my own capability”. Get to it.

Josh Ritter

Thursday, April 20th, Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin; 8pm; €28 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

Once a friend of Ireland, always a friend of Ireland? It seems so, as Idaho singer-songwriter Josh Ritter returns to the country that took him and his literate folksy/Americana to their hearts about 20 years ago. He brings with him a new album, Spectral Lines, from which he will perform some songs, but as that isn’t released for another week, we guess that most people will be eager to hear older tracks such as Me & Jiggs, Kathleen, Song for the Fireflies, and the none more intuitively Dylanesque You Don’t Make It Easy, Babe

Ghosts

Saturday, April 15th- Saturday, May 13th, Abbey Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €45/€30/€25; abbeytheatre.ie

Following several enforced years away from the family home, widow Helena Alving (Cathy Belton) awaits the return of her troubled son, Oswald (Calam Lynch), but little does she know of the can of worms he will overturn. Presented by Landmark Productions and the Abbey Theatre, Henrik Ibsen’s 1881 confrontational play is regenerated (and directed) by Mark O’Rowe. Simone Collins, Declan Conlon and Lorcan Cranitch also feature.

An Inspector Calls

Tuesday, April 18th- Saturday, April 22nd, Abbey Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €37.50/€32.50/€25/€20; ticketmaster.ie

Set in 1912 in the English north midlands, JB Priestley’s three-act drama/thriller works as an example of the playwright’s criticism of Edwardian hypocrisy. Inspector Goole visits the home of a middle-class family riven with secrets. The play, a classic example of drawingroom theatre, premiered in Moscow in 1945, was revived by director Stephen Daldry for the National Theatre in 1992, and in 2015 was directed by Irish filmmaker Aisling Walsh for the BBC. Liam Brennan features.

Podcast

The Always Sunny Podcast Live

Monday, April 17th/Wednesday, April 19th, 3Arena, Dublin; 6.30pm; €56.95 (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

US sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is regarded as one of the best of the species, and its associated podcast is viewed in a similar light, which is probably why tickets for these two shows were snapped up in jig time. Creators and leading cast members Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day, as well as director/writer Megan Ganz, dig deep into the Philly-based multi-episode series, which, for non-fans, is based around a bunch of narcissistic sociopaths in the Irish bar Paddy’s Pub. Ah, just like home, right?

Visual art

Aleana Egan: Repeating Song

Friday, April 14th-May 27th, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin; adm free; kerlingallery.com

You might say Dublin-born artist Aleana Egan lives in a material world – her practice involves working with an array of sculptural resources and forms, from steel and wood to fabric and papier-mâché (as well as, says her Kerlin Gallery bio, “shadows and dust”). Egan’s Repeating Song exhibition (which features more painting works than sculpture) evokes remembrance, absence, and presence, and is a perfect introduction to her intuitive, unshowy artistic skills.

Anime

International Anime Music Festival

Thursday, April 20th, Vicar Street, Dublin; 6.30pm; €49.65; ticketmaster.ie

Anime pop stars. Immersive live concert experience. Virtual music idols. Welcome to present components of the future of live entertainment, folks, as the inaugural IAMF presents pop star avatars that in the past two years have generated more than 60 million Google searches and more than a billion views on various online platforms. If the terms “singeroid”, “vocaloid” and “VTuber” are unfamiliar to you now, hurry up – they won’t be for long.

Still running

Gusto with Billy McGrath

The Project (Cube), Dublin, April 18th-22nd, projectartscentre.ie

Filmmaker, comedian and all-round creative whirlwind, 70-something Billy McGrath’s one-man dramedy show focuses on his often star-studded past (Bob Geldof, U2, The Pogues) as well as his belief that society downgrades the impact and influence of “senior” citizens.

BOOK IT THIS WEEK

Morrissey, Vicar Street, Dublin; July 15th/16th; ticketmaster.ie

The Walkmen, Vicar Street, Dublin; August 23rd; ticketmaster.ie

Boygenius, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin; August 28th; ticketmaster.ie

Ellie Goulding, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; October 16th; ticketmaster.ie