Weekly Roundup - Block Parties and Slam Sundays

Welcome back to another Weekly Roundup, serving up plenty of great suggestions for things to do around the city over the coming week.

Another busy weekend and week ahead of us here in the capital, and we’ve got all you need to know about the latest events, gigs, festivals, markets and everything else. And be sure to check out our sister site, Dublin Gigs for your daily dose of What’s On around the capital.

The Jesus and Mary Chain play a ‘secret’ gig tonight, Thursday, 31st July in Vicar Street, in preparation for their upcoming tour of the UK and Europe. Tickets cost €30 and there are still some available online.

Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® return to Dublin for a concert as part of the Summer @ NCH series this coming Saturday, 2nd August. This will also be their final appearance here, as after 16 years thrilling audiences around the world, the combo is set to bid ‘Adios’ with its farewell world tour. Needless to say, the concert has already sold out.

DimeStore Recordings is a weekly live music night which showcases some of the best live acts from Ireland and abroad. Having started back in 2009, this free night, with a mixture of some established and some unknown acts, has succeeded in enticing larger audiences to see the budding talent the live underground music scene has to offer. DimeStore Recordings takes place every Thursday night in Sweeney’s Bar on Dame Street.

Nirbhaya, a play based on the horrendous events on a New Delhi bus in December 2012 that shocked India and the world, is playng at the moment at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire. Written by internationally acclaimed playwright and director, Yael Farber, Nirbhaya runs until this Saturday, 2nd August. Tickets costing from €22 (€18 for matinees) may be booked online.

The Gate Theatre hosts Arthur Miller’s play The Price, directed by Tony Award-winner Doug Hughes, which is playing this July and August. Tickets are priced at €25 for the performances, and may be reserved online.

Shakespeare’s comedic play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with a somewhat 70’s twist) is being performed outdoors at Dublin Castle by Mouth On Fire theatre company. The performances come to an end this Sunday, 3rd August, and tickets costing €6 may be reserved online.

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The international smash hit show New Jersey Nights is currently running at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre, coming to an end this Sunday, 3rd August, with a matinee performance. The show is a spectacular celebration of the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and takes the audience on a nostalgic musical journey through the career of one of the biggest selling groups of all time. Tickets cost from €35 and may be reserved online.

The Summer Lunchtime Series continues next Tuesday, 5th August, at the National Concert Hall, featuring Alex Petcu, winner of the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year 2013, on marimba, and is conducted by Elaine Kelly. The concert starts at 1:05pm and tickets cost €10, available for purchase online.

Brian Friel’s revealing family drama, Aristocrats, directed by Peter Mason, continues at the Abbey Theatre, running until 2nd August, 2014. Performances take place at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday on the main Abbey stage, with matinee performances at 2pm on Saturdays. Tickets cost from €13 and may be purchased online.

The phenomenon that is Riverdance continues its run in the Gaiety, celebrating its 20th anniversary. Who will ever forget that memorable interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin back in 1994? Tickets from €20.

The Terracotta Warriors exhibition continues at the Ambassador. This exhibition has over 150 perfectly executed replications of The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China, along with 70 display cases. Tickets cost €14 and may be reserved online.

The 184th RHA annual exhibition continues in Ely Place, bringing together the works of RHA members, invited artists and artists selected from open submission. A little something for everyone on offer, including painting, sculpture, print, photography, drawing and architectural models. Admission is free but donations are also gratefully accepted.

The James Joyce Centre hosts an exhibition of Lee Miller photographs of James Joyce’s Dublin in 1946. The exhibition features 60 previously unseen images from the iconoclastic American photographer. In this exhibition we see Miller traverse a desolate, post-War Dublin in 1946, capturing streets and buildings that were connected to Joyce’s life and work. Admission is €5.

Queer As Folk – A Sexuality and Gender Exhibition is coming to the White Lady Art gallery in Dublin this August. This is a group exhibition that explores each artist’s individual take on what modern sexuality means to them, and the artwork that will offer visitors contemporary views on LGBTQ issues that will be open to discussion during the month. The gallery will host special events during the exhibition to raise money for BeLonG To. The exhibition opening takes place at 6pm tomorrow, Friday, 1st August, and runs throughout the month.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition continues at the Chq Building in the IFSC. The photographic competition is now in its 49th year, attracting entries from professionals and amateur photographers alike – it provides an important perspective on the natural world around us. The exhibition runs until 31st August, and admission costs €6.50

‘The weakened eye of day‘ is a new body of work by Irish artist Isabel Nolan, conceived as a single project for IMMA. The exhibition explores how light manifests as a metaphor in our thoughts, obsessions and pursuits and includes text, sculpture, drawings and textiles.

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IMMA presents a major retrospective exhibition of the work of the internationally renowned Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937–1980). The exhibition, Propositions, will include a selection of works by Oiticica, including vital examples from throughout his prolific career.

Staying at the IMMA, Second Sight, an exhibition drawn from the exceptional collection of photography amassed by Dr David Kronn over the past twenty years, and which is a promised gift to IMMA, opens to the public this Saturday, 2nd August. Admission is free.

There are two exhibitions on at the Hugh Lane Gallery at the moment, both well worth the visit. Irish artist Eva Rothschild’s exhibition is the first solo museum presentation of her work in Ireland. She is one of the most important protagonists of a generation of artists dealing with the expanded concept of sculpture. The second exhibition is entitled ‘A Modern Panarion: Glimpses of Occultism in Dublin‘, featuring contemporary artists whose works resonate with ideas central to beliefs of The Theosophical Society. Admission to both exhibitions is free.

The Merrion Square Lunchtime Market is back today, Thursday, 31st July, running from 11:30am until 2pm, with a wide-ranging selection of foods from around the world. Admission free. Also check out the other Irish Village Markets running throughout the week including Stillorgan on Tuesdays, East Point Business Park on Wednesdays, and Percy Place on Fridays.

The Temple Bar Night Market continues this evening, Thursday, 31st July, from 6pm. A market that features the best of local crafts people, artisans and artists, what better way to enjoy a summer’s evening that a stroll around a sun-drenched Temple Bar?

Happenings are holding another one of their instant pop-up cultural events in Dublin, this time it’s open air cinema in Merrion Square tonight, Thursday, 31st July. The film in question is ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, and starts around 9:30pm. Admission is €5 and, as always, there is a strict no alcohol policy.

GAZE International LGBT Film Festival 2014 gets underway this evening, Thursday, 31st July, and runs until 5th August in the Light House Cinema in Smithfield. Now in its 22nd year, GAZE celebrates Irish and international LGBT film, presenting, exploring and providing a platform for LGBT cinema and filmmakers. The full programme of movies and schedule is available on the festival website.

The first Dublin City Block Party takes place this Sunday, 3rd August, in the Tivoli Grounds in Francis Street in Dublin. This is a day long bash organised by Archetype, Bodytonic and Hidden Agenda, combining good music, tasty food and drinks with games, dancing and fancy dress. Some tickets are still available online (€39.50 + booking fee).

A real summer tradition, the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show is trotting back into town for the 141st installment of the country’s biggest equestrian event in Ballsbridge, starting next Wednesday 6th, and running until Sunday, 10th August. The main event of course is the annual contest for the Aga Khan Trophy. Tickets for the Horse Show may be reserved online.

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Morning Gloryville, an event that was born in May last year in London, and just last July came to Dublin, is back for the second instalment, on Wednesday August 6th, between 6.30am and 10.30am in The Vaults at CHQ, IFSC. So up early with you and hit that dance floor, do some yoga and indulge in a healthy breakfast. You might even avail of a free massage and some free hugs! Tickets cost from €10 and are available online.

The 2nd Annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon takes place this Bank Holiday Monday, 4th August. The route goes from the city centre out to Kilmainham, and finishes up in the Phoenix Park. As well as the actual running, there will be plenty of on-course entertainment with bands aplenty at startegic intervals.

PhotoIreland Festival is Ireland’s first international festival of Photography and Image Culture, and the only festival dedicated to Photography in the country. It celebrates Ireland’s photographic talents – oftentimes only recognised abroad – as well as bringing international practitioners and artists to Ireland. The festival highlights, promotes and elevates Photography in Ireland – conferring on it the importance it duly deserves. The event runs throughout July in a variety of venues around the city.

Slam Sunday, a monthly spoken word poetry competition, takes place this Sunday, 3rd August, at Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge, and is open to anyone on the night. To enter the competition, poets must sign up on the night. A sign up sheet is provided at the venue, and there is no advance online sign up. Sign up begins at 6.45pm and closes at 7pm. The competition itself starts 7pm and finishes 9pm. We highly recommend that you check it out!

The Monday Echo, an event that features a mixture of open mic and featured acts, songwriters and storytellers, traditional poets and their slam cousins, takes place each and every Monday in the International Bar on Wicklow Street. Get yourself along there for a great night out!

So, that’s the Weekly Roundup for this week. Have a great weekend and week ahead, and do remember to keep checking back with Dublin Buzz for all the latest and local news, and Dublin Gigs for your up-to-the-minute What’s On guide. You can of course stay connected with us on our Facebook and Google+ pages, follow us on Twitter, or even join us on Pinterest!