Emergenza is the world's biggest festival for unsigned bands, with an average of 6,000 bands participating every year in 200 different cities all over the world. Every year the national finalists gets to spend three days in Germany at the Taubertal Open Air festival, where the world final takes place, with an average of 30,000 people showing up over the weekend. This is where, every year, the best band wins a professional production for their first album and where plenty of other musicians are rewarder for their skills with prizes from the festival's sponsors.

 

First hosted in 1992, Ireland’s most established new band showcase has provided a live platform for scores of up and coming Irish acts over the years. Recent acts to have featured include Fight Like Apes, Declan O’Rourke, Halves and Delorentos to name but a few. Ronan Yourell from Dublin band Delorentos said of the tour “It was an important step in the development of our band as we gained invaluable experience through the gigs and also met some really cool people!” A number of artists will be chosen from the tour to perform in a ‘Best of Showcase’ gig which will take place in Dublin venue The Academy on May 1st.

 

Every Monday, good quality stuff.

 

 

Nobody has ever seen a living dinosaur, but scientists can give us a good idea of what they looked like and how they moved. We often imagine dinosaurs as colossal flesh-eating beasts that lived on our planet for an incredible 160 million years. Some were indeed gigantic, but many were only as heavy as a Labrador dog and many were vegetarian! Did you know that the Ornithomimus could run faster than an Olympic sprinter? See how the sociable Triceratops lived in herds, caring for and protecting their young. Meet Dilophosaurus, a relative of the first dinosaur found in Scotland. Come face to face with the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the fiercest land predators ever known. This massive animatronic model, 4 metres tall and 7 metres long, is so lifelike you’ll think it’s the real thing! Walk past the head of a hungry Tyrannosaurus and watch as his terrifying jaws go SNAP!

 

 

 

 

 

As described by themselves: "Yes, ladies & gentlemen & boys & girls, The Village on Wexford Street will host the weekly musical extravaganza which sees 6 acts go head to head playing three songs each in a cauldron of excitement. Then we roll out our famous Clap-O-Meter; a gigantic, scientifically homemade replica of The Empire State Building which lights up to the ecstatic reaction of an audience going bananas. The winner then goes forward on a journey through a perilous musical jungle until we are left with the King of the Kong, the grand prizewinner! It’s a Monster!!! "

 

Freelance photographer Hazel’s first solo show, specially commissioned by The Mill. From live music to fashion shoots, Hazel’s energetic work captures the essence of the moment, creating scenes of high drama juxtaposed with her stylized compositions and settings.

 

The World Premiere of Oscar Wilde's The Birthday of the Infanta. The twelfth birthday of the Infanta, the Princess of Spain, is a grand and marvelous affair. Snake charmers, Egyptian musicians, puppets, bullfighters, monkeys and bears all come to entertain the Infanta and her friends. But the one that makes her laugh loudest is the open-hearted little Dwarf brought in from the forest to perform a wild woodland dance for her. She is so delighted that she throws him a white rose and insists that he dance again after dinner. The innocent young Dwarf is over the moon and he is sure that the Infanta has fallen in love with him. Determined to declare his devotion to her, he decides to sneak into the Palace to find her... ...but what he finds in the Palace will break his simple heart. Cover charge includes a light lunch.

 

A unique performance of Samuel Beckett’s short prose works The End and The Calmative presented together in one exciting double bill. The End is a gritty account of the last days of an old man’s life as he struggles to live despite his willingness to die, while The Calmative tells the tale of a haunting night time trek across one man’s hometown in a state somewhere between his dreams and reality. Two stories adapted for the stage and presented in the great tradition of the Irish storytelling, the perfect introduction to the humour, compassion and integrity that are the hallmarks of Beckett’s work.

 

 

 

‘It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood’ Over 400 years after it was written, Shakespeare’s dark depiction of ambition, guilt and murder continues to send a shiver down the spine. Macbeth’s sword is still wet with blood when he returns victorious from battle, a loyal servant to his King and a hero amongst his comrades. But when three weird sisters cross his path with mysterious prophecies, Shakespeare’s fearsome tragic hero comes face to face with his most fierce opponent yet – his destiny. Swayed by promises of greatness and the demands of a power-hungry wife, Macbeth swathes his way to power – and moral decay. Rooted in the Irish landscape at the time of Cromwell, this muscular new production from director Jimmy Fay (The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, The Playboy of the Western World, Ages of the Moon) lays bare the darkest side of human nature. Macbeth continues our commitment to presenting the work of William Shakespeare and follows our productions of Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and The Comedy of Errors. We are delighted that Aidan Kelly will play Macbeth and Eileen Walsh will play Lady Macbeth in this thrilling new production.