MONDAY
Pat Harris Thin Places
Places in the North Mayo landscape in paintings by Pat Harris
Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Co Mayo arasinisgluaire.ie
Pat Harris considers locations in the vast expanse of north Mayo with an eye to the Celtic idea of "thin places", where the veil of time is lifted – and past, present and future seem simultaneously apparent in the landscape. Harris and his partner Linda Ruttelynck, have recently built a home and studio in the area.
TUESDAY
John Kelly: A Group Show
Uillinn, West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, West Cork Until August 31st westcorkartscentre.com
A solo show, in fact, but one that spans the considerable range of Kelly's practice. Vivid paintings from his residency in Antarctica are complemented by an outdoor iceberg installation in Glandore Harbour , visible only with smart phones via a free app gaz(AR) for iOS. Recent Irish landscape paintings, etchings produced for Moo Brew beer labels, Corten steel sculptures and subversive models of art institutions and galleries make up a pretty full house.
WEDNESDAY
Playlist for Pieta
Whelan's Dublin 7.30pm €25/€20 whelanslive.com
A fine reason to be happy – Pieta House, a non-profit organisation that provides a specialised treatment programme for people who have suicidal ideation, or who self-harm, celebrates its 10th birthday with a big bash at Whelan's in Dublin. Special guests lining up to pay take part include The Young Folk, Elephant, Sinéad White and many more.
Once: The Musical
Olympia Theatre. Ends Aug 27 8pm (Sat mat 3pm) oncemusical.ie
"He's a Romantic," says Girl, the Czech kook, of her favourite composer, Mendelssohn. "But dead, right?" enquires luckless Dublin busker Guy. Aren't they all? Such is the tone of Enda Walsh's nimble and clever book for the musical based on John Carney's endearing 2006 film; sensitive to the original while wisely cutting through its treacle. Guy and Girl still "meet cute" here but the romance is passionately chaste: all they can do is make beautiful music together. First brought home to Dublin last summer by Landmark Productions – whose co-production with the GIAF of Walsh's most recent play Arlington finishes this weekend - it's another Irish story set in a pub, but for a more intimate, conspiratorial quality, like a session during a lock-in.
THURSDAY
Enda Bowe - At Mirrored River
Visual Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow Until October 16th visualcarlow.ie
Enda Bowe's empathic photographic portraits of young people in a midlands town – not that far removed from Visual – have a cinematic quality. We sense the anticipation and apprehension of these individuals as they reflect on their lives and perhaps face decisions that will shape their futures. Warm character studies are beautifully fleshed out by an exploration of the fabric of the place and the surrounding landscape.
Nigel Mooney's Organ Failure
JJ Smyths, Aungier st., 9pm, €10,jjsmyths.com
Much-loved guitarist and singer Nigel Mooney has always favoured medicinal band names, ever since his early days with the Gripewater Blues Band. His last quartet reveled in the name Nigel Mooney's Hip Operation; now his hard-swinging new organ trio, with rising Belfast organist Scott Flanigan and in-demand drummer Dominic Mullan, carries on the tradition.
The Wake
Abbey Theatre. Ends Jul 30 7.30pm (Sat mat 2pm) €13-€45 abbeytheatre.ie
Returning to Galway from New York, Aisling O'Sullivan's long-exiled Vera learns learns of her venal family's betrayal. "There was no wake," says a concerned neighbour about a beloved grandmother. "There was an inquest." Thus begins Vera's own riveting inquest in Tom Murphy's neglected and meticulously crafted play from 1998, one that will brutally dispel her fantasy of a supportive family, spill the ugly truth of her life as a New York call girl, and expose every shameful secret festering in late-1990s Ireland. Only when the town has been scandalised by her flagrant bacchanalia, and she has been pushed to breaking point, will the past be laid to rest. Director Annabelle Comyn is in assured possession of the play's strange soul, startlingly refracted through minimal design and a sometimes uncanny tone, with a largely impeccable cast guided by an extraordinary, earthy performance from O'Sullivan.
