7 Things to t do this week...
1 WEXFORD HAS TALENT FINAL: The Grand Final of the annual Wexford Has Talent show at Clayton Whites Hotel on February 11 is set to be a great evening of entertainment, adrenalin and fun, with 15 very talented acts, from singers to a hip hop group. Those performing are ballerina Sorcha Finn, singer Éabha Carty, 7th Fret harmony group, singer Will Troy Walsh, singer Caoimhe Troy, singer Jirat O’Neill, operatic singer Emma Hore, singer Hayley Crosbie, guitarist Aaron McStein, pole artist Danielle Reck, singer Adi Roche O’Leary, musical theatre performer Caoimhe Boyle from Foulkesmills, 13-year-old singer Aoife Goodison, Wexford town singer Luke Hayes and hip hop dance troupe from Wexford town ‘Hysteria’. Tickets are €15 and are on sale at the hotel. The winner of the competition, which is sponsored by the Wexford People, will walk away with a prize of €2,000 and this year, two additional prizes of €500 have been added to the prize pot. The show begins at 8 p.m. Judges for the event say that the standard of talent for the 2017 Grand Final is the best yet with a great night of top talent in prospect.
2 MY REAL LIFE BY EOIN COLFER: Theatre Royal Productions will present the Sing Street star Don Wycherley in the touching and entertaining one-man play My Real Life by Eoin Colfer in Wexford Arts Centre from Thursday, February 9, to Saturday, February 11. It centres on Wexford man Noel who has advanced MS and decides to end it all. While waiting for his overdose to take effect, he records an increasingly rambling message for his best friend. Noel spends what is possibly the last hour of his life reliving the highs and lows of the past 40 years and, surprisingly perhaps, it’s not all doom and gloom. Tickets cost €20 and can be booked by calling 053 91 23764.
3 CUIG IN CONCERT: Gorey Ballygarrett CCE will host an evening of music and traditional sean nos dancing in Gorey Little Theatre on February 11. Cuig are an new Irish trad band and have just returned from the Irish Heartbeat Tour in Germany. Renowned sean nos dancer Irene Cummingham will also perform as will students from Bunscoil Loreto. Tickets on sale from the Gwalia Stores and Making Music.
4 ANDREW MAXWELL ‘YO CONTRAIRE’: Andrew will play in Greenacres on February 10 at 8 p.m with his brand new show ‘Yo Contraire’ having performed it to sold-out crowds at festivals in Edinburgh and Australia. Andrew is one of the biggest names in the history of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival having played to over 100,000 fans. He is the founder of the Altitude Comedy Festival in Mayrhofen, Austria. General admission is €20, to book call 053 91 99199.
5 THE DEAD: An opera based on the James Joyce story The Dead created by the Irish composer Ellen Cranitch and playwright Tom Swift is coming to the National Opera House in Wexford on Friday, February 10, following a sell-out run in the Project Arts Centre in Dublin. The production taps into the rich vein of musical references in the original story. Directed by Jo Mangan,the new opera is presented by The Performance Corporation and Breda Cashe Productions with a cast including Clare Barrett, Kate Gilmore, Ruth McGill and Rory Musgrave.
6 HUMPTY DUMPTY: The classic nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty will be brought to the stage in an interactive all-dancing, allsinging production in St Michael’s Threatre, New Ross on Saturday, February 11, at 2pm. Humpty Dumpty is going on a big adventure to climb the hightest wall in the kingdom but he needs the help of his young audience who will be invited to sing along, solve puzzles and meet famous children’s characters along the way including the Three Little Pigs, Little Bo Peep and the animals in Old McDonald’s Farm. Tickets are €10 each
7 COMEDY AND COOKERY. Monaseed National School parents’ association will host a fun evening of comedy and cooking in the Amber Springs Hotel on Wednesday night, February 8. On the night three local chefs, Eric Poole, Veronica Redmond and Ben Anderson, will take part in a cook off ably assisted by some local celebrities. Local producers and crafts people will also showcase their produce on the night. Anyone interested in taking a table is asked to contact Claire Carroll on 087 2338152. Doors open at 7pm and tickets which are €10 can be purchased on the door or at the Amber Springs Hotel, Monaseed National School or a member of the parents association before the event.