The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book and the ones to catch before they end

Event of the week

Arctic Monkeys

Tuesday, June 20th, Marlay Park, Dublin; 4pm; (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

It seems an odd thing to say, but Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys are now such a commercial proposition that for their new stadium tour they have spared no expense: huge circular video screens, impressive retro-style lighting and a ginormous mirror ball suspended above the stage. Of course, the band has changed dramatically in the almost 20 years since they released their 2006 debut album (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not), yet they seem to have navigated those changes – notably, from guitar songs to piano-lounge tunes – with minimum fuss and great style. Advance reviews of their shows suggest that their latest album, The Car, receives short shrift, as their more boisterous back catalogue is rifled for crowd pleasers. Special guests include The Hives and The Mysterines.

Gigs

Pet Shop Boys

Monday, June 19th, 3Arena, Dublin; 6.30pm; €90/€80; ticketmaster.ie

If there is a droller UK pop songwriter than Neil Tennant, we have yet to hear them. It has been that way since the mid-80s, which is when Tennant and his creative partner Chris Lowe started their relentless string of hit songs with West End Girls. Even now, the pair remain an anomaly, but their success hasn’t waned – their most recent album, Hotspot, was a European smash and a number one on the US (Billboard) Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Prepare for one wry pop tune after another sung by Tennant, no dancing whatsoever from the always stationary Lowe, and (as always) very clever stage design.

SZA

Wednesday, June 21st/Thursday, June 22nd, 3Arena, Dublin; 6.30pm; €95; ticketmaster.ie

Solána Imani Rowe was born St Louis, in the US, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, and since 2014 she has been running with the likes of Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and other heavy-hitting female music acts. SZA’s career changed for the better from the release in 2017 of her debut album (Ctrl) and then went into overdrive last year with her second album, SOS. The success of each (but particularly the latter) is the reason why an artist with a mere two albums under their name can stuff the 3Arena for two nights. Special guest is UK songwriter/singer Raye, who will be performing songs off of her recently released debut album, My 21st Century Blues.

Jenny Greene & the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra

Friday, June 23rd, Live at the Marquee, Cork; 6.30pm; €55; ticketmaster.ie

Dublin DJ Jenny Greene proved her worth during the pandemic when she delivered virtual gigs via YouTube from her very own Rave Cave (located in her house). Latterly, however, Greene’s skilful (and playful) collaborations with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra have become the stuff of dance-floor legend. The skinny? Classic 80s and 90s dance tunes are played in sync with the multi-limbed orchestra, with the result a commingling of strings and vocals courtesy of special guests Chris Kabs, Gemma Sugrue, Paul Reid and Jack O’Rourke. Advice? Get up, get down, get up again.

Megan Nolan: A conversation with a man in his late 30s made clear the realities of this new era in my dating life

The Big Irish Times Quiz of 2024

Róisín Ingle: My profound, challenging, surprisingly joyful, life-changing year

Stage

Happy Days

Wednesday, June 21st to Saturday, June 24th, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; 7.30pm; €45/€40/€25; ticketmaster.ie

“What’s the idea of you ... What are you meant to mean?” Samuel Beckett’s play resists easy answers, but the fun is in investigating what exactly is making Winnie (Siobhán McSweeney, revising her role from 2021′s lockdown streaming production) so obstinately cheerful (or is she?) and why her husband, Willie, seems so reluctant to be drawn into such positivity. Is it an odd work? Of course it is. “Strangeness,” said Beckett of one of his most revered plays, “is the crux of both the comedy and tragedy of it.”

Comedy

Ismo

Sunday, June 18th, Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin; 6.30pm; (sold out); ticketmaster.ie

Can any comedian live up to being called “the funniest person in the world”? We think not, but Finland’s Ismo Leikola certainly didn’t buckle when he was so described in 2014. Based in the US since 2015, Ismo takes his comedic cues from the brilliant George Carlin and the two Eddies – Murphy and Izzard – but his decidedly outlier view of the world is perhaps better underscored by his straight-faced Scandinavian background. Whatever – the guy is funny, so go see.

In conversation

Karin Slaughter

Tuesday, June 20th, Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin; 8pm; €15/€12; murderone.ie

As part of crime writing festival Murder One, international best-selling thriller writer Karin Slaughter (if it isn’t her real name then it should be) has decided to be grilled about her career. It is some career, too, with almost 40 million copies of her books residing on shelves and bedroom locker tops the world over, numerous awards, and television adaptations (notably of Slaughter’s Will Trent novels; ABC network has renewed the titular series for a second season). Asking the questions and turning the thumb screws ever so slowly is Irish writer Edel Coffey.

Choral

The Sixteen: A Celebration of Byrd

Tuesday, June 20th, NCH, Dublin; 8pm; €42.50/€34.50/€27.50; nch.ie

One of the world’s most celebrated choral ensembles, The Sixteen makes a welcome return to the NCH with Song in the Wilderness, a programme that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, one of the most renowned composers of the Renaissance. An especially attractive element of the programme includes new works by the Grammy-nominated Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova.

Still running

Paul Bokslag Paper Trails

Until Sunday, July 2nd, Grilse Gallery, Killorglin, Kerry; grilse.ie

This exhibition of Netherlands artist/designer Paul Bokslag (now based in Callan, Co Kilkenny) features large-scale paper cuts and acrylic paintings. “I love the simplicity and fragile nature of papercuts,” he says, “and that the hand of the maker can be found in every single line.”

Book it this week

The Unthanks, Irish tour, October 5th to October 13th; ticketmaster.ie

Calexico, The Helix, November 5th; ticketmaster.ie

The Murder Capital, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; November 18th; ticketmaster.ie

CMAT, 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin; December 1st and December 2nd; ticketmaster.ie