ZOË’S DUBLIN DIARY: WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK: NOVEMBER 3, 2015 →

Wednesday, 4 November – Lawrence of Arabia, 14:00, €7.50, Light House Cinema

Peter O’Toole’s classic portrayal of T. E. Lawrence trumps all other historical epics in drama, soundtrack and sheer scale. It is World War I, and British lieutenant T. E. Lawrence is sent to the Arabian Peninsula to unite the Arab tribes against the Turks, but in doing so finds his allegiances and identity shaken and undermined. The screening of the four-hour saga coincides with the recent release of a biography recording the enigmatic actor’s outrageous escapades and haughty demands. In a production of Macbeth at the Old Vic late in his career, O’Toole insisted that there be so much fake blood on stage that the actors kept slipping, forcing stagehands to try to mop up the mess. ‘No blood, no show!’ he is said to have roared from his dressing room. Details here.

Thursday, 5 November – The Re-appropriation of Sensuality, 18:00, NCAD Gallery

Emma Haugh’s collaborative project, curated by RGKSKSRG, opens this Thursday. Driven by the question of what a space dedicated to the manifestation of female desire might look like, Haugh deploys a series of fabricated panels that evoke the fantasy space of the sex club: latex, PVC, rubber, chain, velvet, netting. Material from Haugh’s Reading Troupe workshops, which encourage students to give performative responses to critical texts, are included in the exhibition. Details here, and here.

Friday, 6 November – Bring Your Own Stories, 19:00, BYOB, MART

Dublin Independent Publishers are back for the annual Bring Your Own Stories event, hosted by MART. Completely free, BYOB and open to everyone, ten authors from Liberties Press, New Island Books, Tramp Press and Little Island are giving readings. On the bill are June Caldwell, Kevin Curran, Doreen Finn, Frankie Gaffney, Jarlath Gregory, Joe Joyce, Caitriona Lally, Joanna Walsh, Stephen James Smith and Enda Wyley. Details here.

Saturday, 7 November – Metropolis Festival 2015, 12:00 to 00:00, €79.50/€145.50, RDS

The much-hyped Metropolis opens its doors this Saturday. Billed as a multi-arena winter indoors music festival, Metropolis is occupying the RDS this weekend with panels, talks and installations as well as music from an impressive selection, featuring both heavy-hitter regulars and local bohemians. Saturday sees White Collar Boy and Cloud Castle Lake alongside Matthew Herbert and Todd Terje, Gemma Dunleavy and Clu with Vince Staples, and talks from John Cooper Clarke and Giorgio Moroder. Details here and here. Tickets here.

Sunday, 8 November – Prison, School Tour, Ainriail, 20:00, €7 BYOB, Barricade Inn

With the new threat of a court injunction to force the social centre and collective from the building, this could very well be your last chance to see the Barricade Inn in its present
configuration. The line-up for the evening so far includes synthy post-punk, trancey electronica and sludgy stoner doom, and more is promised. Details here.

Monday, 9 November – Dulciana presents: ♀, 20:00, €10/5, Freemasons

An all-female choral lineup is joined by Imogen Holst and Rebecca Clarke in an evening of choral music composed entirely by women. Dulciana’s third concert will also be featuring Anna Clifford, Síobhra Quinlan, Raeghnya Zutshi, Sherry Hazlitt and Éna Brennan, all in the mystic surroundings of the Freemasons’ Hall. Details here and here.

Tuesday, 10 November – The Lobster, 13:00/20:15, €10, Irish Film Institute

In the bizarre universe of Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster, those who have remained single are sent to a sinister countryside hotel, where they have 40 days to find their soulmates, or face transfiguration into an animal of their choosing before being released into the wild. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman engage in some fantastic deadpan delivery within the surreal confines of Lanthimos’s English-language debut.