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Arts & Culture

Young, gifted, green and coming to Ennis

THREE comedy acts in one show are coming to Glór next week.Young, Gifted and Green showcases some of the country’s most talented and popular young comedians, many of whom regularly headline shows in their own right. Each gig features three acts. The three up-and-coming comedians, Colm O’Regan, Eleanor Tiernan and Dermot Whelan, have been described as the future of Irish comedy. Colm O’Regan has been in comedy for the last four years and, in that time, has progressed to being one of the most sought-after stars of Irish comedy. He has played all the festivals – Edinburgh, Kilkenny, and the prestigious invite only Montreal Just For Laughs. He has played all over Ireland and the UK and even as far away as Tokyo and Osaka. Colm is also a regular at the Laughter Lounge in Dublin, which describes him as having a “PhD in stand-up comedy”.His TV and radio credits include the Paramount Comedy channel (World Stands up), RTÉ 2’s …

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Glór Gallery presents Made in China

AN art exhibition inspired by a visit by a group of nine local artists to Beijing over two years ago, is the latest offering of paintings and drawings to come to Glór in Ennis.Made in China came about after a group of nine artists visited Beijing in November 2007 to launch their exhibition, Made in Ireland. That exhibition mainly explored each artist’s response to the landscape of Ireland. Made in China is the artists’ response to their experiences of China, and their brief introduction to Chinese culture, the city of Beijing and the surrounding countryside. “Throughout the work, it is evident that Chinese visual aesthetics and cultural philosophy had a bearing on the process of forming an image, be it abstract or literal visual,” a spokesman for Glór said.“Made in China is work inspired in the most part by this visit and is a response to the experience both visual and cultural the artists had in this ancient city and …

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Word to the wise: go to X-PO in Kilnaboy

Wise Ways, an exhibition of artwork by students of Kilnaboy National School and visitors to the X-PO community and arts project goes on display at the centre from Sunday.The exhibition consists of 48 relief wall-mounted works in fired red clay, accompanied by stories by visitors to the X-PO Kilnaboy and students at the Kilnaboy National School.“Focusing on the theme of ‘wise ways’, the works were created during workshops with Dublin artist Terry O’Farrell in 2009 and 2010. The original work from Raheen Community Hospital day centre was exhibited at X-PO last year and this exhibition shows work made in Kilnaboy in response to the same theme,” a spokeswoman for the exhibition said.“The exhibition documents the extraordinary wealth of knowledge from the older generation of the Burren either directly from that generation or passed on to their grandchildren. It offers the public an opportunity to learn from their wisdom, how to live more respectfully towards the environment, with a greater sense …

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All aboard for a Stagecoach singing summer

Renowned gospel choir teacher, Keara Shearon will join the Clare centre of Stagecoach Theatre Arts school as resident singing coach at Cois na hAbhna for the summer term starting this Friday. Anita Mahon, who appeared on The Late Late Show last Friday with the Celtic Tenors and The Munster Rugby Club Choir will also take a special singing masterclass this Friday. “We are delighted to have secured Keara on contract, she is a local legend in Galway and I’m sure our Clare students will adore her classes. Anita was equally brilliant on RTE last Friday and her workshops are always tremendous fun,” said former Fair City actor and Clare principal, John Lucey.“With the addition of Sorcha Barry’s dance classes and Zita Monahan’s acting workshops, this promises to be an action packed and exciting three months in Cois na hAbhna”. Parents interested in a prospectus may call 091 556274 or visit www.stagecoach.ie/clare.

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When you wish upon a Dog and String

Clare’s Dog and String Theatre Company are bringing a children’s theatre show in Glór this weekend.The Wishing Tree, suitable for children aged four to eight years, is an interactive tale of wonder and awe, told by Azal, the artist. The show presents two stories told using a broad range of puppetry from life size puppets, animated objects and shadow puppetry. The tales investigate the way in which our inner vision creates the world around us. Azal the artist weaves together the two narratives as he attempts to draw what he sees on the shadow screen. His artistic skills transform the everyday objects into characters that come to life and tell their own story. The brush becomes Cinderella, the spoons, the ugly sisters.Dog and String is a touring theatre founded in 1995. It was founded by professional visual artists who felt there was an opportunity to bring visually stimulating work to younger audiences who did not have easy access to art …

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Boredom, he wrote

Dear John DIRECTED BY: Lasse Hallstrom STARRING: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas CERT: 12A Nicholas Sparks deserves all the flak he gets for his dumb books. I’ve just finished reading Dear John and I find myself pondering on the words of Jesus ­ who commanded his disciples to gouge out their right eye if it caused them to sin.Both of mine have led me to a very dark place indeed and to guard my poor soul against any such grievous offence in the future, it may be best to follow the good Lord’s advice and dig them out with a fork. And volunteer for a lobotomy as well, just to be sure. Movies based on Sparks’ books are another thing though – where a talented cast and crew have occasionally been able to drag some semblance of art and entertainment from the terrible pages. Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn and Paul Newman breathed fine life into Message …

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It’s the return of the Doctor

SCEPTICAL is the only way to describe how I felt about the new series of Dr Who. I cried, I laughed and I cried some more when David Tenant said farewell in the last of the Dr Who Specials on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t know what to make of this new doctor, Matt Smith, with his weird alien-shaped face and funny accent. I was convinced that I would not, could not, like him and therefore with a sceptical heart, I tuned in to watch the first in the new series on BBC recently. Before I begin explaining about the new Doctor, I should explain a little about the show in general. I have featured it on numerous occasions but as it is a new series, I will recap. Dr Who began on BBC in 1963 and ran until 1989 when it was felt that the adventures of the Doctor and the sets were all becoming a little bit too …

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On the couch

So a big budget disaster by Mr Catastrophe himself, Roland Emmerich, seemed like a good way to kick off my consumption of Bluray films. I mean if ever there was a guy you could trust to put it all on the screen it’s Emmerich.Never one to put stars or even subtlty over spectacle, he’s hit the Hollywood money button dead-on with such hits as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow – not what could be considered measured, character driven pieces, but wildly successful and entertaining nonetheless.What could be more perfect for the director than a potential world-ending scenario that has not only historical credentials that predate the Bible, but has also had a load of tinfoil-hat wearing believers waxing apocalyptic on the internet for as long as alt.fruitloop.kerrazee has been around for them to compare apocalypse survival notes and new techniques for hat making? The damn thing has “hit” written all over it.Except for one small detail – instead …

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