Things What Are On In Limerick

Hello Limerick theatre lovers.

Bottom Dog Theatre Company are back with their annual Four (insert theme here) Plays series of rehearsed readings on Sunday nights this September at No. 1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa. The theme for this year's series is "European". Mainly written by people from *looks eastward and sighs enviously* The Continent. Four European Plays.

As always, it's run on a Pay What You Can basis. In the old days, this used to mean a fiver from most people but inflation is what it is and theatre ticket prices are, alas, rather higher than they used to be, so I suggest a tenner. It is "pay what you can" though: in other words, more than nothing and an amount that you can pop in the box at the door without being judged by the person behind the box at the door, so, yeah, tenner seems reasonable.

I remember the era, he said, pulling his seat forward and sucking on a Werther's Original, when you could see full theatre productions in Limerick for eight quid. Sure, it was 15 years ago and they weren't necessarily good shows, but you'd have change for a burger on the way home. All gone. Anyway, artists deserve to have a burger on the way home too.

On Sunday Sept 7, you can see We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay: Dario Fo's wonderful Up The Proles farce criticising the Italian Communist Party for being soft. Torches at the ready, lads. Banger of a play. I'm guessing by the title (obviously it was originally in Italian - Non Si Paga! Non Si Paga! - and it's been translated more than once, always using a slightly different name) that this is the Lino Pertile translation from the 70s. Not important to most people, but a later one includes the option of doing one of the bigger scenes through mime, which isn't really open to a rehearsed reading.

Nothing on Sept 14, but September 21 offers Sławomir Mrożek's Tango. Someone's going to tell me off for saying this, but Mrożek was the sort of cheeky little monkey who was very supportive of the one party under Stalin authoritarian rule in Poland until he defected to Italy in 1963, after which he decided it was bad after all. Tango was written after he defected. The play's set in a messy house with a messy family that collectively follow zero rules until one family member, seeing himself as the intellectual of the bunch, decides to impose some order. I don't think I'm spoiling the obvious by saying that it isn't really about a little family. Yes, there is a bloke who clearly represents Stalin, and, yes, the script includes a tango.

On September 28, you can see Václav Havel's The Garden Party. In case you've not noticed, we're following a theme of not bowing down to The Man and not losing yourself along the way. As anyone even half-observant who's worked in a corporate environment will be able to tell you, losing yourself is probably the best way of becoming The Man. And that's Havel's 1963 play about a bloke called Hugo whose parents just want him to succeed. Well, that's collaboration with the enemy for you. You'll remember that the 1968 Prague Spring was suppressed by Russia (aided by troops from Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria), Havel's work was banned and they kept putting him in prison, but the Czechs later elected him twice as president, so who's The Man now, dog. It's a very sassy play: if you're going to see just one, make it this one.

Last night: October 5. Play is Seven Deadly Sins, written by "Various". Various is/are Róisín Meaney, Dan Mooney, Elaine O'Dwyer, Donal Ryan, Stephen Ryan, Johanne Webb, Sam Widrim. That's a good committee to make some theatre. Can't tell you a goddamned thing about it as Seven Deadly Sins appears to be a new play. I'm a big fan of gluttony myself, unfortunately. To be fair, Thomas Aquinas included eating too daintily as an aspect of gluttony, so those of us who like to eat pasta with a spoon aren't full-on gluttons. I'm just filling a paragraph here with random words: you've probably noticed.

All shows start at 8pm. THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU TURN UP AT 8PM: THAT IS THE TIME THAT DOORS GET CLOSED, PEOPLE. Doors at 7:45pm. Again, all rehearsed readings are at No.1 Pery Square (upstairs) and they're all pay what you can.

Try to get to one. Going to all four does not count as gluttony.

You're booking via Eventbrite: free at the booking stage, you'll be putting Actual Cash in the box on arrival. You don't have to book them all now, lest you find yourself unexpectedly unavailable in three weeks: you can book them one by one if you like.

BOOKING LINK: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/four-european-plays-in-rehearsed-readings-tickets-1648577623049

I'm a big fan of laziness.

People sometimes suggest that the world is improved by go-getters who go out there and make a positive choice to make the world a better place.

But almost everything in your house was invented by someone who just wanted a lazier way of doing stuff.

So here's the full 2024 lineup (culled from the booklet PDF) for anyone who, like me, is too lazy to go on an Indiana Jones expedition to see if there's also a printed guide and can't find last year's.

It's this weekend, btw.

Sure, there's a webpage at www.limerick.ie/riverfest

But you already have the important pages of the booklet now, which you can save to your phone.

See: laziness is good. Have a nice weekend.

Hey folks. Been a long time since I've slid a list of recommendations for the week your way... and I'll get back to that at some point... but right now I have a single show in Limerick to recommend to you.

No One Is Coming is a storytelling show / one person play by Sinéad O'Brien at Limerick's Belltable this Saturday night (April 6).

It picked up an insane amount of five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, which on its own should be enough to pique your interest.

It's a show about the complications of having a mother, mixed in with Irish folk tales, darkness, some humour, and, obviously (I know Sinéad a long time) enough heart to make you wish the history could be a little nicer, even as you're laughing or crying.

The reason I like theatre is that good theatre exposes the reality of the human condition in both all of its glory and incorrigible tenebrosity. That's what it's for. And, shur, there's nothing like a decent story to entertain you on the way as well.

You should go. You'll be glad you did.

8pm Belltable, tickets are €20/€18

Here's the booking link:
https://limetreebelltable.ie/events/no-one-is-coming/

Tonight (Sept 22) is Culture Night across the country. More free stuff than you can possibly fit into one evening (and I've tried more than once: trust me).

Here's the full rundown of Limerick (city and county) events tonight, courtesy of the good folks of Limerick Arts Office.

As usual, there are loads of things on in both The Hunt Museum and Dance Limerick: while you've a pile of events you could pick from around the city and county, if walking's not your thing, you could easily spend the entire evening at just the Hunt or Dance Limerick.

Your call. Choose wisely! But not too wisely: you might as well try a thing or two that you wouldn't normally do.