FESTIVE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
JACK WHITEHALL: STOOD UP
SSE Arena, Belfast, December 19 Following two sell-out arena tours, the former A League Of Their Own panellist and voice actor – reduced to a non-speaking role in the box-office dominating Frozen – returns with his most hilarious show yet. A joy to comedian firmly on the road to becoming a global megastar, Whitehall gained international attention thanks to the success of his recent smash-hit Netflix Show, Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father. This will be his biggest tour of the UK and Ireland to date, and is one not to be missed.
PAT SHORTT: HEY!
OLYMPIA PANTO: CINDERELLA
Hey! delivers a peculiar take on modern life that only the unique imagination of Pat Shortt could conjure up. The show is an hilarious and quirky look at Ireland, brought to you by one of the country’s best loved comedians. It boasts a rogue’s gallery of odd-ball characters, bizarre situations and, as one would expect from the man behind ‘Jumbo Breakfast Roll’, there is even a brand new song or two! After three sold-out nights at the Olympia Theatre at the beginning of this year, 2020 marks the last time that Pat Shortt will perform Hey!, meaning that it’s your final opportunity to catch the show.
A Christmas tradition like no other, the Olympia Panto brings another unmissable production this holiday season. Directed by acclaimed Irish actor Simon Delaney and featuring an all-star cast of famous faces from the nation’s favourite television shows, Fair City and Dancing With The Stars, 2019’s outing is Cinderella: The Story Of Cinders & Her Fella. The title role will be played by Riverdance star Zoe Talbot, while her Prince Charming comes in the shape of Dublin comedian, Al Foran. The cast is rounded out by Fair City’s Ryan Andrews and Maclean Burke, Xposé star Nadine Reid and West End star Rob Vickers.
Various Venues, Nationwide, January 3–February 28
Olympia Theatre, Dublin, December 20–28
FROM TURMOIL TO TRUCE: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE National Photographic Archive, Dublin
Drawing on the NLI’s rich and varied holdings of photographs and newspaper cuttings contemporaneous to the Irish Civil War, this new exhibition explores the key aspects of a dramatic, brutal and extreme period of Irish history. In telling the story of Ireland’s pursuit of independence, the exhibition highlights the increasing normalisation of violence at the time; the impact felt across the country and at all levels of Irish society; the personal experiences of both individuals and families and the difficult choices that confronted them. The exhibition is free to visit, and is open seven days a week.
122 HOTPRESS.COM
TEMPLE BAR TRADFEST 2020 Various Venues, Temple Bar, January 22–26
From modest beginnings, this celebration of all things trad has become a hugely popular annual event. The past decade has has seen the festival grow in terms of size, ambition and musical breadth, with a line-up that now appeals to the purist and the casual fan alike. This year, TradFest will usher in the light and energy of spring with performances by Irish heroes Paddy Casey, Maria Doyle Kennedy and The Hothouse Flowers; and up-and-coming stars of the future Lisa Lambe, Emma Langford and Susan O’Neill (SON). One of the most exciting acts is sure to be Afro Celt Sound System, a European and African based collective who have forged a reputation for energetic, uplifting shows.