Jimmy Carr, the star of British stand-up and television comedy, on the national and near-international comedy circuit at the moment. Good quality act on a good night.

 

 

After leaving college, Ó Briain began working at RTÉ as a children's TV presenter. At this time he also began performing his first stand-up gigs on the Irish comedy circuit. He admitted, "I did the trip from Donegal to Dublin to play to six people; then I turned round and drove home again. I did about three or four years playing to a lot of bad rooms, but learning as I went. It's not bad when someone gives you 40 quid for standing up and telling jokes. I remember thinking: 'This is the life.'"

 

This exhibition will pay homage to the Dutch seventeenth-century artist, Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667) and his exquisite scenes of daily life, which rank among the finest of the Dutch Golden Age. It will also highlight some of Metsu's lesser known achievements in the fields of history painting, portraiture and still life. Metsu started his career in Leiden, where he painted biblical scenes on a large format. After his move to Amsterdam in the middle of the 1650s, he changed his specialisation to intimate scenes of daily life. As Metsu's style became more meticulous in the 1660s, he focused increasingly on representing the pastimes of the upper class. He died at the age of thirty-seven, having painted a varied oeuvre of more than 130 paintings. Few of his colleagues were as versatile as Metsu and his handling of the brush was almost unrivalled. Moreover, his paintings display a unique approach to daily activities, marked by a psychological interest in the people he portrayed. An accompanying catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition.

 

 

 

Includes light lunch. Barbara Brennan reprises her much acclaimed performance as Mary Moone, "Ireland's Queen of Comedy" which was first seen at The Abbey Theatre in 1994. Barbara Brennan began her career in Gaiety pantomimes, alongside the legendary Maureen Potter, and has since established herself as one of Ireland's leading actors with her many appearances at the Gate, the Abbey and across the world.

 

 

‘Is General Connolly an’ th’ Citizen Army goin’ to be your only care? Is your home goin’ to be only a place to rest in? Am I goin’ to be only somethin’ to provide merrymakin’ at night for you?’ Now regarded as a masterpiece, The Plough and the Stars is one of the plays most closely associated with the Abbey Theatre. Set in a tenement house, against the backdrop of the Easter Rising in 1916, The Plough and the Stars is both an intimate play about the lives of ordinary people and an epic play about ideals and the birth of our nation. Amidst the tumult of political upheaval, Jack and Nora Clitheroe are ‘like two turtle doves always billing and cooing’, much to the ridicule of their bustling neighbours. But when Ireland calls, Jack must choose between love for his wife and duty to his country. Heartbreaking, disturbing and very funny, The Plough and the Stars is an historic play that every generation needs to see. At this time of national crisis, when the principles and ideals of the proclamation and the founding of the Republic are, more-than-ever, under consideration, it is an important play for the Abbey Theatre to present once again. Director Wayne Jordan brings the fresh perspective of a new generation to this iconic play.