Making The Grade invites us into the world of the piano lesson.
Every year teachers and students throughout Ireland prepare for graded musical exams. These exams can be pleasing for some but daunting for others. Each student has a goal, but Grade Eight is the pinnacle. Endearing and uplifting, this documentary explores the bond between piano teacher and pupil as they struggle through these grades. This is a story of the transformative power of music and the pride and happiness it provides both the students and teachers. It may inspire us all to keep making the grade.
“The ultimate feel good film” The Sunday World.
“This is truly life-affirming filmmaking” The Irish Independent.
“One of the great, affecting films about teaching” The Irish Times.
£7/£5.
85 mins.
We’re delighted that award-winning director Ken Wardrop will be with us to introduce his latest film, supported by the Culture Ireland GB18 programme and Arts Council England.
We also recommend booking for IndieCork: New Irish Shorts before this feature and IndieCork: New Irish Shorts from Women on Tues 23 Oct 2018 (see listings).
Supported by the Culture Ireland GB18 programme and Arts Council England and in partnership with Picture House at FACT.
Image: still from Making the Grade, Ken Wardrop (detail only).
Does what it says on the pump-clip!
This Irish Craft Beer Festival, run by well-loved owners of Kelly’s Dispensary in their sister hostelry, will see a number of small Irish brewers represented. Served alongside traditional soft drinks -such as Cidona and Club Orange- and a menu including Irish stew, potato and leek soup and crisp sandwiches (with proper Irish bread)
A great band to spend the evening with, The Jesse Janes will wow you with powerful harmonies and sheer range of instruments!
The Jesse Janes -Helen Seymour, Kate McCusker, Mary Rose McCusker and Treva Goldup- are a Blues, Americana, Skiffle, Rock, Country, Bluegrass and Irish Trad band hailing from Omagh, Bristol and Liverpool.
They say of themselves:
This young 4-piece who started off singing Alison Krauss songs at the end of a Jack Daniels and Jeiger Bomb fuelled night on the tiles eventually developed into a harmonising outfit ready for the road! Their voices blend as if they are all sisters (when in actual fact only 2 of them are!). Their tuneful guitar and mandolin picking encapsulates a modern bluegrass tone with hints and splashes of folk, country, soft rock and POP! thrown in for good measure! The band has an ecclectic choice of influences from the likes of Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Burl Ives, The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac and The Killers. Not only do they make their quirky choice of covers their own but they also write and perform their own music too.
As well as a gale or an argument, a ‘hooley’ is a big old Irish party with music, dancing and –most importantly- oodles of fun.
With live music, a warm Irish welcome and that Saturday Night vibe only a city centre location can bring, this is the best way of wrapping up a day at the festival, in the company like-minded party animals!
In a change to some listings, Wee Bag Band will headline. The Wee Bag Band’s raison d’être is to bring mad, bad, trad, ‘didly’, popular and contemporary Irish/Celtic music and song to the masses at pubs, clubs, dos and festivals in North West, North Wales, the UK, infinity & beyond… They say of themselves “We must be hitting the notes in the right order as, to date, our music has taken us to many parts of the world including the UK, France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, USA, Cuba, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Honduras and even northern Greenland”. If there’s more info you’d like to glean, use these links: http://weebagband.co.uk/the-band/ and http://weebagband.co.uk/wiki/the-intangible/
This event is delivered in partnership with O’Neill’s (Wood Street) with support from the Culture Ireland GB18 programme.
This local history and heritage walk, (led by historian Greg Quiery (Belfast)), features Irish journalists, Italian craftsmen, Lancashire slavers, Polish Impressionists and Liverpool pirates in an exploration of arts and politics.
The walk starts at Bluecoat and covers the surrounding district taking 2 hours.
Walkers may also be interested in other history walks on Sat 20 and 27 Oct 2018.
£6/£4.
Does what it says on the pump-clip!
This Irish Craft Beer Festival, run by well-loved owners of Kelly’s Dispensary in their sister hostelry, will see a number of small Irish brewers represented. Served alongside traditional soft drinks -such as Cidona and Club Orange- and a menu including Irish stew, potato and leek soup and crisp sandwiches (with proper Irish bread)
Sandra is doing her Christmas shopping.
She is loaded with bags and waiting for the bus.
Exhausted and stressed she faints on the bench and when she wakes a bag-lady is leaning over her. Convinced she is being robbed, Sandra turns on her but then realises the scruffy woman was trying to help. The women find a common place where they can come together as friends and Sandra offers Annie a hope for the future.
£10.
Written by Bev Clark and produced by Hand In Hand Theatre.
For a perfect evening of theatre, also book for The Morning After the Life Before at 9pm.
A groggy Sunday morning.
It’s 24 May 2015 and 62% of Ireland is #hungoverforequality. Ann gets a text from her brother, which brings the image of a new Ireland into sharp focus: “How’s the morning after the life before?”. A personal, entertaining tale of weddings, ‘coming out’ and arguments over who takes out the bins, this play is a celebration of a unique historical moment when Ireland became the first country, in the world, to support marriage equality by popular vote. Be prepared for music, cake and equality.
£10.
Gúna Nua presents the internationally acclaimed and multi award-winning The Morning After The Life Before, with ‘Best of Fringe’ awards from London Ontario and Montreal. The event is presented with support from the Culture Ireland GB18 programme and Arts Council England
For a perfect evening of theatre, also book for Baggage at 7pm.
Image (c) Ken Colman; detail only.
Performing live, the Sprockets take-no-prisoners.
Take some good-time revolutionary spirit, add a pinch of psychedelic flavour, simmer it down with some indie soul and you get close to the cosmic vibe of The Hot Sprockets, five blood brothers drawn together by a mutual love of Rock ‘n’ Roll. An inherent ability to ‘get the party started’ has captivated audiences in the USA, Canada, UK, and Europe. With two critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Honeyskippin’, and Brother Nature (which shot straight into the top 10 of the National Irish Charts) the Sprockets recently released their third album Dream Mover. Listeners can expect to hear an earthier soulful psychedelic side, whilst sonically, it marks a huge leap forward for these independent rockers!
£13/£10 + 7.5% booking fee.
Presented by the Liverpool Philharmonic for #LIF2018
Joanne Ryan’s acclaimed, multi-award winning show is a funny, tender and moving exploration of reproduction in 21st-Century Ireland.
Mixed animation with stand-up, monologue and hilarious recorded interjections from Ryan’s mother, Eggsistentialism takes a light-hearted but unflinching look at one of life’s most compelling dilemmas: should making a life for oneself involve making another?
Eggsistentialism is presented with support from the Culture Ireland GB18 programme and Arts Council England.
