Dublin Pride

So Dublin Pride has been on for the past week, and we've been very remiss to not mention it before now.  But do not fear, there's still a whole weekend to drape yourself in a rainbow flag and participate.  All the major gay venue are hosting a pile of events, so you could just show up at any one of them but here's a selection of interesting events over the weekend.

The flagship event is tomorrow.  The Pride parade is always worth watching, and taking part in it even more so.  Assembly starts at noon for at 14:00 beginning at the Garden of Remembrance.  Panti is the grand marshal.

Bressie is playing at The George tonight.
They're also doing their usual bingo with Shirley Temple Bar on Sunday.

Pussy Cat Club, also tonight, at the Button Factory.  Ireland's top female DJs will be there.  Dancing seems essential.

The official closing party is at Sauce in The Kitchen and Boy George is Djing.

Centre for Creative Practices Artists Survey 2012

Monika Sapielak of the Centre for Creative Practices has asked me to publicise their 2012 Artists Survey.  If you are an artist, or know some, please pass on this link and ask them to complete the survey.  They are especially interested to hear from any migrant or niche artists.

http://artisticsurvey.questionpro.com/

As a nice carrot, two artists who complete the survey will have the chance to exhibit their work for a week in the gallery (if their medium is visual) or perform twice at the gallery (if their field is music/film, etc).  Also, everyone who does the survey will get a free membership to the CfCP, which gives discounts for all their workshops.  So it's well worth your time filling it out!

UCD Imagine Science Film Festival

The first UCD Imagine Science Film Festival runs from 5th to 14th July across several venues in Dublin including Lighthouse Cinema, the Sugar Club and Science Gallery. It's part of Dublin City of Science 2012 and aims to celebrate science through cinema, digital media and art. Films shown during the festival will include Fermat's Room, the Russian/Soviet 1972 classic Solaris (right), and short films for children (Science for Nanos).

You can also follow the festival on twitter (@UCDImagineSci / #UCDSci) and at facebook.com/UCDImagineScience.

Odeon: Null Points

Last night I went to the (relatively new) Odeon cinema at the Point with some companions to see the UK National Theatre production of Frankenstein directed by Danny Boyle and starring Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Originally produced in the spring of 2011, it was so successful a production that it was filmed and hence we can all see it.  The filming doesn't take away from the play, and you still hear and see the audience.  The two lead actors alternated roles each night playing the creature and Frankenstein.  I'd never read Mary Shelley's book or seen other adaptation, so I was truly impressed by the horror of it all, especially when you know that an 18 year old woman thought of the idea, and was just 21 when it was published.  I've often heard comments like "Frankenstein is the original horror story" and presumed it was a bit of a cliché, but wow.  There were parts of the story I did not see coming.  For something written almost 200 years ago, it still has a lot of resonance today, especially as scientists get ever closer to Frankenstein's aims of creating life in a non-traditional way.  It was a very physical play - a lot of jumping around and running and violence.  The set was awesome.  (I know - I always go on about sets).  It had this circular turn-style thing which at first appeared to just go around but then later rose and suck into the ground for different scenes.  What looked like a track of real grass was on the stage for a portion of the play, and the stage also rained.  I love it when they make stages rain!  The ceiling was hung with hundreds of light bulbs which were used to great effect.  All the acting was superb and intense, the cast support cast was excellent and the two leads both really deserve the Laurence Oliver award they shared for the roles.  I'm considering whether I might like to see them in the reversed roles but it was a hard watch, and somewhat soured by the experience I shall now relate.

However, the Odeon deserves no points.  They are, if you will, the Norway of cinemas.  I booked the tickets in advance.  The showing was for 19:15, and we duly arrived about 19:00. We made our way through a monument to the Celtic Tiger, a giant empty shopping centre.  I got the tickets from the machine and we proceeded straight in.  Our tickets were checked and went into a small but shiny, clean and new cinema.  There was a whole 2 other people in the cinema with us and we started to chat as we waited for the lights to dim.  And we waited.  And waited.  Then one of the group said "hey Claire, these tickets say 8pm, not 7.15" so I got out my phone and checked my original booking confirmation, which did indeed say the earlier time.  Not being known for shyness, I went straight out to ask what the story was.  A lady with an English accent said oh yes the time had changed, she'd just found out herself, very sorry.  She didn't look terribly sorry.  I asked could an email not have been sent out but she just repeated "all I can I say is I'm very sorry" and that she would pass it on to the manager.  She acted like I was being difficult in complaining about this, when surely getting the time right is a fundamental requirement for a cinema.  So I went back in and informed everyone of this change...no one else knew.  Since we were already there, we stayed and waited but were seriously not impressed.  Surely the people checking tickets could have informed us?  About 19:40, the same woman came into the screening room accompanied by another woman.  In a loud voice she announced "Does everyone know the screening time has been changed from 7.15 to 8 o'clock?  Is everyone ok with that?"  Some people actually said they were, but we all said no.  Spectacular customer service training there.  The other lady came up to us and said they would give us a free ticket each as an apology and hoped that we would come back.  We might but I don't think it'll be soon.  How could we be sure this wouldn't happen again?  By the time it was all over, it was nearly 10:30, easily the longest I've been at the cinema since Schindler's List - an entirely different kind of horror.

A side point: if you are intending to park there - you can get your parking ticket validated in the cinema and you'll only have to pay €5 for up to four hours instead of €2.70 an hour.  My companions were 3 minutes over the 4 hours, having eaten in the Gibson beforehand, so they paid €7.70 for the inconvenience. 

Campo Viejo Tapas Trail

I'm quite fond of Spanish food and wine, so this caught my attention. It's more commercial than many of the events and activities we cover on this site but it looks fun - and the price seems pretty reasonable.

Spanish wine brand Campo Viejo, the flagship of Rioja wines, has joined forces with four of Dublin’s top restaurants for the return of the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail. A celebration of the best of Spanish cuisine, participants will have the opportunity to join the trail through Dublin city centre and discover the art and elegance of ‘tapeo’; the art of eating tapas. Guests will sample an array of small epicurean delights bursting with Spanish flavour that will tickle the taste buds and tantalise the senses. The Campo Viejo Tapas Trail runs from 27th June to 19th August.

Each Wednesday and Sunday the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail will visit four top restaurants around Dublin including Salamanca St Andrews Street, Salamanca Fusion, Parliament Street, Havana Tapas Bar and The Market Bar. During the event participants will visit each of the four featured restaurants, where they will be presented with the venue’s best three tapas. Participants will also enjoy a measure of Campo Viejo Reserva in each restaurant. Tapas in each of the restaurants will feature the best of local produce and will be designed to complement the elegance and full flavours associated with Campo Viejo Reserva. To bring the vibrancy of Spain to life, guests will be treated to an eclectic and diverse mix of Spanish-themed entertainment.

Tickets for the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail are priced at €20 with the trail taking place each Wednesday between 6.30pm and 9.00pm and each Sunday between 2.00pm and 4.30pm. 80 people can participate on the trail during each session. They will be split up into four groups of 20 with each group of 20 starting off in a different participating restaurant. Each group of 20 will be assigned a different route and work their way around the trail. Hosts will guide participants on the trail informing them on the importance of the Rioja region and describing Capo Viejo’s unique characteristics.

For further information and to purchase tickets log onto www.facebook.com/campoviejoireland (Tickets are available for purchase from June 20th).

If you don't have a Facebook login, try http://www.campoviejo.com/Age-Verification?ReturnURL=/Home instead.

A Midsummer Night's Dream - free rehearsed reading

Press release from La Touche Players below, in case you're looking for some cheap fun on Thursday:

Midsummer night - free rehearsed reading in the Teacher's Club

It's midsummer night on Thursday (sob, sob, sob, where did the summer go?)... so come along to a rehearsed reading of a Shakespearean classic comedy!

La Touche Players presents:

William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (abridged)

Directed by Emily Maher

For one midsummer night only… FREE ENTRY!

Thursday 21st June at 8pm

Teacher's Club, 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1

Follow us on Twitter @LaTouchePlayers

Full details on https://www.facebook.com/events/358204667578006/.

Fired!

Gallery Zozimus plays host to this year's NCAD 3rd year and MA ceramics students' exhibition.  It will be opened this coming Thursday, 18th June and runs until 1st July.  You can download an invitation with all the details here.

Brother Hubbard cafe

Brother Hubbard is a new cafe on Capel Street. Opened about three months ago, it's supported by 3FE and HasBean. They've recently had a big break with a favourable review by the Irish Times.



As fans of 3FE will expect the coffee is excellent. There's some variation in the style of coffee produced by the 3FE-associated cafes; Brother Hubbard's espresso is similar to the typical 3FE espresso, having a wonderfully acidic zing. Brother Hubbard also serves food - my first impressions are positive.

As for Rosemary MacCabe's assertion that "Capel Street is becoming one of Dublin’s most happening quarters"... well, maybe. The opening of The Black Sheep craft-beer pub was a good sign, but for now (as I hope the photo above illustrates) Capel Street remains rather ugly. Let's hope that Brother Hubbard's arrival is part of a trend.

Taste of Dublin

Taste of Dublin starts this evening at 5:30 pm and runs until Sunday. One of the more unusual events is Dine in the Dark by Kanchi Ireland. Here's a brief description from the press release:

Disability organisation Kanchi will give diners a truly unique culinary experience at this year’s Taste of Dublin. Fittingly entitled ‘Kanchi Dine in the Dark’, this experiential dining event will see festival goers served an exclusive tasting plate by legally blind waiting staff whilst immersed in complete darkness. The delicious culinary delights will be prepared by ten of Ireland’s most award winning chefs, including Ross Lewis, Kevin Thornton and Malcolm Starmer. The event will take place in an atmospheric pitch black dining venue in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens from 14th – 17th June.

Festival goers will be guided to their tables, where they will be served a taster plate created by Ireland’s most acclaimed culinary experts. Without their sight to guide them, guests will experience the complex tastes, flavours and textures in a completely new and innovative way. In the blacked out dining room, everyone will be immersed in complete darkness, whether they are visually impaired or not. Each sitting will last approximately 30 minutes, after which guests have the opportunity to meet with the award winning chef who prepared their food, and to discuss cooking techniques and the local produce they have sampled.

Student exhibitions - the rising talent of Ireland

Model Hex, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books,
by Natalie Murphy, BA (Hons) Model Making,
Design & Digital Effects, IADT. (Photo: Sorcha O'Brien)

The next week sees graduate exhibitions of the future big names of the Irish art scene. The Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire opened its graduate showcase on 7 June. It will continue until Thursday 14 June and from the reports I'm hearing is a must for anyone interested in the creative arts. You can find the information about opening times and how to get there on the website.

The National College of Art and Design opened its graduate show on Friday 8 June and this will continue until Sunday 17 June. Visiting information for this show is available on the NCAD's front page.

Dublin Institute of Technology is organising a variety of graduate shows, in a number of venues, with the hours and dates available here.