Dnote - Dnote is a guide to art and culture in Ireland

‘The Chastitute’ is a solid distillation of the strengths of John B Keane – comedy, entertainment, and an unerring grasp of the darkness at the heart of Irish society. The ‘chastitute’ of the title is bachelor farmer, John Bosco McLaine. Now in his early 50s, John Bosco’s life is dominated by the lethal concoction of alcohol and loneliness. Living alone, with only his aunt to look in on him from time to time, John’s life of regret stems back to the fact that he has never married. In fact, he has never even lost his virginity. His lack of action, so to speak, is a combination of a number of factors.

Three actors hurtle through ten of the most famous Irish plays ever written whipping through over 70 characters in a show that’s crammed with culture, comedy and hilarious hysterics.

Tuesdays with Morrie is the autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie’s appearance on a television news programme and learns that his old professor is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Mitch is reunited with Morrie, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life.

JOYCED! takes us on a tour de force of Joycean Dublin, bringing the audience through the year which Joyce would later make famous in Ulysses.

A one-woman show performed by Katie O’Kelly that through multi-character performance (22 at least!) and magical word play, depicts the people who were of most importance to Joyce: his father and his cronies, Oliver St. John Gogarty, the tenor John McCormack, Alfred Hunter (the man who would later become Bloom in Ulysses) and, of course, Nora herself.

Six of the funniest plays you’ll see this year – all in one night.

Durang Durang is absurd, manic, and high-energy. These twisted, dysfunctional tales will make you laugh and cry and then hate yourself for it. Don’t miss your chance to see this hilarious evening of short plays by the award-winning playwright Christopher Durang.

Unlucky in love and tied up in knots, Corkonian Alice is all set for her sister’s wedding (always the bridesmaid and never the bride), when a chance encounter with delivery boy Warren sends her spiralling through the Dublin night.