anyone for Denis?

The more I think about it the more impressed I am. There really is no end to Dennis McNulty’s talents. Not content with being a general man about town, he consistently has a finger in a number of pies. The latest project that Dennis has on the go is the upcoming i-and-e festival thath will be held in Dublin this coming weekend. Whilst other saps are content to use the bar in The Globe or upstairs in Carnival for their shitty weekenders, Dennis et al use foresight, vision and some good planning to come up with venues that are off the beaten track. The gigs are to be held in the Unitarian Church on Stephens Green and the Peppercanister Church on Mount Street Crescent.

For those of you who may not know about I-and-e David Lacey & Dennis McNulty established it in 2003. In 2004 Paul Vogel joined them and then there were three. i-and-e organise irregular concerts of contemporary improvised music and have been involved in organising concerts in Cork, Belfast and Paris, but they generally take place somewhere in Dublin. This year they have an international array of musical oddballs to either freak you out or to get your mojo rising. Either way it would be well worth attending. So forget about that trip to the cinema this weekend, go to I-and-e instead.

I’ll keep going on the Dennis theme for the moment. Another pal, Denis Clohessy, has done the music and sound design for the Seamus Heaney version of ‘The Burial at Thebes’ playing in the Abbey Theatre from April 4th. Always a busy man, Denis has also done the music and sound design for the upcoming Conor McPherson play ‘The Seafarer’. By a strange coincidence, my wife went to college with Conor whilst I went to college with Dennis. It’s a sad old day when you’re living your life through the artistic accomplishments of your classmates but sure fuck it I’ve no shame. A further coincidence sees our mate Phelim Drew star in the production. No matter how hard he tries he’ll always be Uncle Finbarr from the HB ice cream ad to me. Given that he and his missus have just had a set of twins I don’t know how he manages to remember his lines. Since our most recent arrival I can hardly remember my fucking name. Anyway, seeing as this production has a whole host of friends and acquaintances working on it I have to fully endorse it. It premieres on the 26th April in the Abbey Theatre and then does a tour of the country stopping off in Galway between June 10th-14th, Cork between June 17th-21st and Letterkenny between June 24th – 28th.