Upcoming events at the Courthouse arts centre

Philomena

Thursday 14 May @ 8 pm

 

Director Stephen Frears teams with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan for this powerful film based on a true story. Philomena Lee is an unmarried Catholic Irishwoman who, decades after being forced by her community to give up her newborn son, embarks on a search to find him with the aid of a BBC reporter. Judi Dench’s portrayal of Philomena as a stubborn, kind hearted Catholic trying to discover what became of the child she gave up is quietly moving. Despite her ordeal her faith is strong, and serene, and her willingness to forgive is a major theme.

This is a film with many facets: it is a comedic road movie, a detective story and an inquiry into faith all rolled together.

The film has received numerous awards and was nominated in four categories at the 86th Academy Awards, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominations.

 

The Aoife Doyle Band

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off-site at The Grand Hotel, Wicklow.
Friday 22 May @ 8.30 pm

 

The Courthouse Arts Centre welcomes the return of the very popular Aoife Doyle Band. They will perform offsite in The Grand Hotel, Wicklow as part of the Wicklow Arts Festival.

The band officially formed in 2010 and since then they have travelled the length and breadth of Ireland performing to critical acclaim.

Their debut album ‘This Time the Dream’s on Me’ (August 2013) received a lot of praise and has been a regular feature on Lyric FM’s ‘Blue of the Night’ and ‘Jazz Alley’ as well as Dublin City FM’s ‘Night Train’. As a result the group have been busy performing around the country to appreciative audiences.

Their repertoire consists of songs from Bob Dylan to Harold Arlen with a jazz slant. They have arranged them in a way that aims to stay true to the lyrics and the melody, as the composer originally wrote.

What the press are saying:

“Doyle’s singing is coming from a deeper, more natural place too, with a feeling for the blues learnt from Billie Holiday and the rare ability to improvise vocally.”

“Her swinging quartet includes some of the best young players on the Dublin Scene.”
Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times

“Aoife Doyle is up there with the best of them.”
“First class backing musicians”
“a high-quality debut album that will surely have a broad appeal”
Grainne Farren, Irish Independent

Aoife Doyle has been singing as long as she can remember, and graduated from Newpark Music Centre in 2008 with a B.A. in Jazz Performance.
The other members of the band are Johnny Taylor on piano, Andrew Csibi on double bass and Dominic Mullan on drums.
Johnny Taylor studied classical piano and clarinet from a young age. He became a music scholar at Trinity College and graduated with a First Class Honours degree in 2006. After studying on a scholarship at Berkley College of Music in Boston, Johnny returned to Dublin and began playing jazz full time.

Andrew Csibi attended DIT College of Music, and as a member of both the Dublin Youth Orchestras and the Junior National Youth Orchestra he performed around Ireland from an early age, including many concerts at the National Concert Hall. In 1998 he was awarded a Diploma from the London Guildhall School of Music and also studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. More recently, he was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre

Dominic Mullan studied music at Newpark Music Centre and was awarded a diploma in Jazz Performance from the London Guildhall School of Music. Dominic is one of the most in‐ demand drummers in Ireland and has performed with many prominent artists in Dublin and around Ireland. He has also appeared at many festivals across Europe.

www.aoifedoyle.com
www.facebook.com/aoifedoylemusic

 

Charolais
Saturday 23 May @ 8.30 pm

Written and performed by Noni Stapleton
Directed by Bairbre Ni Chaoimh
Produced by Tom Dowling

Charolais is a surreal comedy of love, longing and one woman’s rivalry with a Charolais heifer. Set on a farm, this play has its heart firmly rooted in rural Ireland with a randy cow who speaks French! If you are fond of cows and dark humour this is the show for you.
Siobhan is a woman very alone in the world. She wants to change that but the way she goes about doing so is offbeat to say the least. She is looking for love and very determined but there are obstacles to achieving the sense of belonging she craves. One of which happens to be a very beautiful Charolais heifer who appears to be vying for the affections of Siobhan’s fella.

Siobhan’s method of getting rid of any perceived threat to her idea of happy families is very unusual. There is plenty of room here for dark humour, and a little gothic horror!

“I watch him pull the cow from the ditch with his bare hands, her big eyes rest on me dead calm as he leans into her and she gives in all trust. I hate that fuckin’ cow”.

Noni Stapleton is an Irish actress, voice over artist and playwright. She graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2002, beginning her theatre career in What The Dead Want (directed by Jimmy Fay) at Project Arts Centre, Dublin. She has continued to work in theatre, TV and film as an actress and writer and has also performed in many Irish language productions
Winner Bewley’s ‘Little Gem Award’ – Tiger Dublin Fringe 2014

“A comedic performance that jumps between a resentful, distressed woman and an overtly sexual French cow, Stapleton succeeds in drawing the audience into a world of desire, lust and intense loneliness” Irish Times

“Charolais grazes on great drama……After the action reaches a striking and violent conclusion, there is a sense of new life in a depraved place. Artfully, Stapleton’s play is just as pastoral in bringing land and people together”. Broadway world.com

http://courthousearts.ie/whats-on/theatrecomedy/535-2/