Pick of the Week: 11/07/2008
MUSIC: Rock critic John Meagher
Friday July 11 2008
THE BLUE NILE
THE MUCH-admired Glasgow trio play only sporadically, but when they do play, it’s an event. After turning in an excellent performance at last year’s Electric Picnic, they are the top attraction at the Galway Arts Festival – which has a fine music programme this year.
Each of their four albums is likely to get a thorough airing, including magnificent debut A Walk Across The Rooftops from 1984 – described by one UK critic as “a peerless evocation of the romance inherent in rainy midnight city streets, an angular Hopper study of twilight melancholy” – and 2004’s High. There will also be an opportunity to hear new songs. Paul Buchanan and friends – who certainly take their time between releases – have a new album in the works that’s set to come out early next year. Don’t hold your breath, though.
Radisson SAS Galway, Tuesday, July 15 (€38.50)
MOVIES: Film critic Paul Whitington
MAMMA MIA!
AN ASSAULT on several senses, the big screen version of the hit musical based on the songs of ABBA opens with a bang this week. The essential spirit of that show has been retained, but several big names including Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan play the leading roles.
Streep is Donna, a former hippie who now runs a hotel on a Greek island with her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Amanda is about to get married, but before she does she wants to discover who her father is. Donna was quite the loose filly in her youth, and in the summer Sophie was conceived any one of three men could have been the one. After finding their names in her mother’s diary, Sophie invites them all in an attempt to discover the truth. Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard play the men, and all look a little bemused at finding themselves in a musical. But the songs are the stars of the show and the ensemble cast mainly does them justice.
ARTS: Arts editor Sophie Gorman
GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL
ALL ROADS lead to Galway this month. Hot on the heels of a celebrity-packed Film Fleadh, the city of the tribes will cut the ribbon on a particularly sparkling Galway Arts Festival on Monday. Over the following fortnight, more than 400 writers, artists and musicians will all be stepping up to perform.
Once again, this impressive festival has secured some major international names to woo you west. Blondie, Joni Mitchell, Philip Glass and John Mahoney are just some of the familiar faces.
Theatre highlights include the European premiere of Better Late, South Africa’s experience with apartheid through the eyes of writer/director Yael Farber and the homespun Enda Walsh Season presented by Druid. This year’s programme also boasts a brand new Festival Big Top, which will be host to Australia’s spectacular Circa – not to mention music galore in the Spiegeltent.
www.galwayartsfestival.com
STYLE: Stylist Suzie Coen
CRAFTS IN ACTION
THE CURRENT Crafts in Action event at the Kilkenny store on Nassau Street is a must for anyone interested in quality Irish design. Throughout the summer, six specially selected Irish designers from the fields of pottery, ceramics, jewellery and prints will showcase their production processes live in the store, demonstrating the skills and intricacies required of their craft. This weekend, it’s the turn of jewellery designer Maureen Lynch.
A firm favourite with modern classic fans, her gold and silver jewellery combines elegant simplicity with high-quality design. Lynch’s stamp is distinctively feminine which translates into easy-to-wear day pieces. Also well worth a look is her understated and sophisticated wedding jewellery collection. The Crafts in Action event takes place today (10am- 7pm) and Saturday (10am-6pm).
