Arts & Culture

It may have attracted 6.2million in viewers across the water but I remain unconvinced by ITV’s new attempt at Cold Feet. Cold Feet was witty, on trend and dramatic. You cared what happened to the characters and after a run from 1998 to 2003 you were genuinely sorry to see them go. Married Single Other is a new comedy drama that started on ITV on Monday night. It stars a host of well-known faces. The main characters are all proven actors in both the dramatic and comedic scenes. However, the quality of their skills was definitely not showcased in the first episode. I will not overly judge the show because first episodes are usually quite weak. Although the characters by themselves are mildly interesting as a unit it is hard, at this point, to see how they will all fit together. The show centres around six people (script writers just love the number six) three men and three women. A …

There are two important, some would say fundamental, ingredients to any horror-comedy – there’s gotta be giggles and there’s gotta be scares.Jennifer’s Body manages to hit at least one of these marks but ultimately fails to amuse and terrify to any great extent with its tale of of a demonically possessed cheerleader devouring her way through the jock population of her rural highschool.Based on a script by Juno scribe Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body was, on paper at least, a tantalising prospect, morseo by the attachment of starlet Megan Fox in the role of the teen succubus. And, if the film does one thing well, it is to find a proper outlet for the “talents” of the young Ms Fox.Cast as Jennifer, a superficial, sexually aggressive, “hottest chick in school” type even before her run-in with Satan, Fox seems comfortable sending up her public persona.   Acting as foil to the titular Jen is Amanda Seyfried as nerdy BFF, Needy. The two …

ENNIS drummers from the Tribal Spirit Drum workshops running at the Ennis Gaelscoil will do their bit to raise funds for Haiti at a mass gathering of ­drummers in Galway at the end of the month.Tribal Spirit Drummers took to the streets of Galway over the past few weekends to raise money for the people of Haiti and already, the drummers have raised €10,000. All money raised to date has been donated to Medicans sans Frontières and Oxfam. The group have organised a family day fundraiser in NUI Galway, at the student centre, this Sunday. The day starts at 12.30pm with a drum workshop led by John Bowker. There will also be a dance workshop from 2 to 3pm and a chants and songs workshop from 3 to 4pm.The main event is a performance at 4.30 to 6pm, where over 100 drummers from all over Ireland, including Ennis drummers, will play rhythms and songs from Haiti and Africa. All workshops …

THE National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) Audio Book Club has been named by the Ennis Book Club Festival organisers as the overall winner of Ireland’s first Book Club of the Year award.The Dublin-based club, located in Dún Laoghaire, will be special guest at the Ennis Book Club Festival from March 5 to 7. This year’s festival is expected to attract hundreds of book club members and book lovers from all over Europe and North America. Among the contributors to the fourth annual festival will be Lionel Shriver, David McWilliams, Joseph O’Connor, Tim Pat Coogan, Diarmaid Ferriter, Paul Howard, Fiona Looney, Thomas Lynch; Claire Kilroy; Joe Duffy, Paul Durcan and Ruth Dudley Edwards.Commenting on the Book Club of the Year Award, Frances O’Gorman of the festival organising committee explained that entrants to the competition were asked to say why their book club is special.“The NCBI Audio Book Club stood out as a deserving winner for a number of …

THE Corofin Dramatic Society is undertaking one of its most challenging performances to date this weekend when it brings Doubt, A Parable by John Shanley to North Clare.The play itself has previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a Tony Award for best play. In 2008, it was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Bridie Cox is a member of the society and is playing Mrs Muller. “John Clancy, the producer and director, chose Doubt because he thought it would be a challenge, given that it is the first time an amateur group has taken it on the festival circuit in Ireland,” she explained. Bridie believes it is a particularly apt time to perform the play. “It certainly is a challenging play because it causes doubt as much in the characters as in people’s minds when they are watching the play. It also reflects what is happening in the …

OVER 100 session musicians from all over the country and overseas will descend on North Clare this week for the ninth Corofin Traditional Festival.Among the long list of accomplished musicians performing at the event this year are fiddle player, ,Frankie Gavin, concertina player Noel Hill and Arty McGlynn on guitar.The festival runs from Monday, March 1, to Sunday, March 7, and promises to be as entertaining as previous years. Other popular musicians who will entertain audiences include  John Carty, Brian Rooney, Brian McGrath, Seamus Glackin, Catherine McEvoy, Noreen O’Donoghue, Edel Fox, Ronan O’Flaherty, Andrew MacNamara, Mark Donnellan, Jim Corry, PJ King, Méabh O’Hare, Anne-Marie McCormack, Cyril O’Donoghue, Maurice Egan, Alan Byrne, John Rynne, Liam Lewis, Graham Dunne and Chris Droney.The festival will be officially opened by Kevin Crawford of Lúnasa fame at Teach Ceoil on Monday at 8pm, followed by a recital by the flautist.Belharbour concertina player Chris Droney will receive a hall of fame presentation on Tuesday night at …

Seamount College will stage Meowsical, a musical revue, in the Kinvara Community Centre at 8pm on Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5. The production has been adapted and directed by Galway-born Anna de Marigny, née Crowe, and will be staged by a cast of Seamount school pupils.The transition year pupils have been key in the performing, planning and marketing of the production and the second-year pupils will also take part.Kinvara Community Centre will be transformed into a giant barn, the site of a Feis Ceoil for cats. The Simon Cowell of the feline world will link songs from productions as diverse as Cats and The Aristocats, as well as jazzier numbers such as Stray Cat Strut.“The students have played a vital role in the workshopping of the production,” said Ms de Marigny. “The process is as important as the final product and the standard is very high indeed. The premise, a kind of feline X Factor, is fun and …

THE South-Galway based Féile Raifteirí, which was recently launched in Coole Park, will this year take place over the weekend of March 26 to 28. This year, the festival will particularly focus on the various traits of Raifteirí as a Gael, a poet, a singer and musician.Preparations are underway for the festival as a number of schools and youth clubs have already started rehearsing with Irish language drama company, Branar.A number of schools are also taking the opportunity to avail of Irish language singing workshops. The result of this work will be one of the highlights of the festival, as they take to the stage as part of Ceolchoirm na nÓg in the Lough Rea Hotel on Saturday, March 27.The festival will officially open with a music, singing and poetry session under the theme, Raifteirí… fear conspóideach.The festival concert will feature a host of musicians, singers, poets and dancers, including Joe Burke, Ann Conroy-Burke, Charlie Piggott, Marian McCarthy, Manus Maguire, …