WHAT’S ON at a glance
TRIBES BY NINA RAINE
Gorey Little Theatre, February 22, 23 and 24 Gorey Little Theatre is presenting Tribes, a play by Nina Raine about a comically dysfunctional British Jewish family on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 22, 23 and 24. Parents Beth and Christopher live with their three grown-up children, Daniel, Ruth and Billy. Billy is deaf and reads lips but doesn’t have sign language. When he meets Syliva, a hearing woman born to deaf parents who is now slowly going deaf herself, his interaction with her reveals some of the languages, beliefs and hierarchies of the family and the extended family of the deaf community. To book tickets telephone 053 9421474.
PORTIA COUGHLAN
Wexford Arts Centre, February 23 to February 25 Wexford Drama Group presents the Marina Carr play ‘Portia Coughlan’ at Wexford Arts Centre from Thursday, February 23, to Saturday, February 25, at 8 p.m. each night. The production is directed by Paul Walsh and features a stellar cast of accomplished actors with Shonagh Lyons in the title role about a woman still struggling to cope with the death of her twin brother 15 years earlier. To book tickets, telephone 053 9123764.
THIS IS PALESTINE BY JOHN MCCOLGAN
Greenacres, Wexford, February 24 to February 28 Riverdance founder John McColgan will bring his photographic exhibition ‘This is Palestine’ to Greenacres Gallery in Selskar, Wexford, from Friday, February 24, to Tuesday, February 28. McColgan recently travelled to Gaza and the West Bank with humanitarian agency Trócaire to document communities who endure military occupation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. ‘What resonated with me were the faces of the people I photographed,’ he said. ‘A lot of the portraits i did were people looking directly into the camera lens. The stoicism and dignity of the people as they recounted the abuse and horror they had suffered – it really affected me.’ Trócaire executive director Éamonn Meehan said he hoped the people of Wexford will visit the exhibition and continue to support the agency’s vital work. ‘They have always been very generous. In response to the Nepal earthquake in 2015, a small group of people from Wexford raised over €170,000 for Trócaire’s relief efforts,’ he said. Trócaire is launching a new project in Gaza aimed at supporting women and has to raise 100,000 to run it.
TRAD BAND GOITSE National Opera House, February 25
The sought-after trad band Goitse have just returned to Ireland from a tour of Germany and will perform in the Jerome Hynes Theatre of the National Opera House on Saturday, February 25, at 8 p.m. The group features all-Ireland bodhrán champion Colm Phelan, acclaimed young guitarist Conal O’Kane, charismatic singer and fiddle player Áine McGeeney, banjo and mandolin virtuoso James Harvey and pianist/piano accordionist Tadhg Ó Meachair, Founded in Limerick University’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the quintet have made a name for themselves as a favourite among conoisseurs of Irish traditional music around the world. Having won critical acclaim for their Dónal Lunny-produced second album Transformed, the talented group have been catapulted to the forefront of the traditional music scene. Their distinctive sound lies in the quality of their own compositions interspersed with traditional tunes from Ireland and abroad which make each set entertaining and unique. Grab your dancing shoes and get ready for a night of fast paced musical fun. After Wexford and Killarney gigs, the band are heading to the US and Canada for a series of performances.
I WANTED TO WRITE A POEM
Wexford Arts Centre, February 27 to March 25. Launch on Saturday. I Wanted to Write a Poem is the title of a new exhibition by Jonathan Mayhew, the Emerging Visual Artist Award winner of 2015, who will talk about his work in conversation with independent curator Rachael Gilbourne at the official launch in Wexford Arts Centre this Saturday, February 25, at 3 p.m. The exhibition will run from February 27 to March 25.
LEVY SEKGAPANE IN CONCERT National Opera House, March 24
The tenor Levy Sekgapane will perform in the National Opera House on Friday, March 24. at 8 p.m. in his Irish debut and only concert in Ireland in 2017. The operatic star from South Africa has just recently been nominated in the Young Singer category in the 2017 Internatonal Opera Awards. He has previously won the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (2015) and first prize at the Montserrat Caballe Competition in Spain (2015). For his Wexford concert, he will be accompanied by Albie van Schalkwyk, one of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa. Tickets are €15 with a €10 early-bird price when you book by Tuesday, February 28, using the promotion code young singer. Book at nationaloperahouse.ie or 053 9122144.