For two weeks in September, Dublin will be captivated by theatre, dance, music, visual art, live art and street performance from Ireland, and around the globe.

 

MGMT (officially pronounced em-gee-em-tee, but colloquially pronounced 'Management') is an American band based in Brooklyn, New York, consisting of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. Formed at Wesleyan University and originally with Cantora Records, they signed with Columbia Records and Red Ink in 2006. On October 5, 2007, Spin.com named MGMT "Artist of the Day". On November 14, 2007, Rolling Stone pegged MGMT as a top 10 "Artist to Watch" in 2008. The band was named 9th in the BBC's Sound of 2008 top 10 poll. They were also named as Last.fm's most played new artist of 2008 in their Best of 2008 lists.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

‘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.