A familial gang war broke out on the stage of the Belltable Arts Centre when The Revenger’s Tragedy, a production by the Limerick Theatre Hub in association with Bottom Dog and Belltable Arts Centre, opened at the space. Based on Thomas Middleton’s 17^th-century Jacobean play and adapted by Mike Finn to appeal to modern audiences, the story taps into the travails and troubles of today’s gangland society by focusing on one family and how a single act of revenge can cause a cycle of violence that eventually tears them apart. Simple set design effects emphasise this gangland twist to the medieval tale, typified by the graffiti tag scrawled behind the scaffold set that read “When the bad bleed, the tragedy is good.” Simple touches like this and the employment of CCTV effect t.v to tip the action along brought the contemporary signposts to the centuries old text.  Steve Ryan’s of giveamanakick and Winding’s original score and the, at times, gloomy lighting set the mood for the frequent acts of deception and bloodshed on stage. The main drawback as I saw it, was the size of the venue at 36 Cecil Street which sits the audience too close to the stage and the uncomfortable seating. Brilliant performances from, Pascal Scott and Aidan Crowe, the promiscuous Duke and his bastard son the hapless Spaz lit the stage.

- Shauna McDaniel

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Seneca with support from No Land Folk and David Hope & The Henchmen

Dolan’s Warehouse

Friday November 21^st

An enthralling journey through all things folk rock represented by musicians in the west rolled through Dolan’s Warehouse on a frosty November Friday. Normally the purview of the older punter this gig was played by young up and coming performers to a mostly young crowd.  Limerick outfit Seneca were headlining the show and provided the invites to three other fantastic local outfits.  Returning home from a tour of the U.S Seneca did not fail to engage a busy Dolan’s warehouse. Their journeying has done much to refine a folk punk sound, as they appeared much more at ease on a big stage with a big sound. Among the other three support acts were Shannon man Dave Hope,  well known for his jagged delta blues feel interspersed and resonating with something more of a post country ballad. The highlight of the evening for me was however the set provided by the first of the evenings offerings Clare’s own NoLand Folk. Although their sound was not in the same domain as regards sonic traits, they proved to be the most passionate and well thought out of all the performances. Evidenced by the terpsichorean efforts of the early crowd, NoLand had no trouble in inspiring them to cavort.

-Tokin’ Whiteboy

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Limerick’s Winterfest

Citywide

Friday November 20^th – 22^nd

Neither schadenfreude nor a malevolent sense of humour compel me to write this review on Limerick’s Winterfest 2009, but as a native of this city, who has been living and working here most of my life I’ve got to say it’s just wasn’t good enough. Runaway floating Christmas trees aside packaging a lovely but limited Winter market, free on street parking on Saturday and discounts in stores over the weekend as a undeniable draw for residents and tourists in the region to come into the city was a bit of an oversell from the get go. Granted the Georgian Christmas Market in and around No. 1 Pery Hotel was lovely, but Limerick residents, native and from abroad, have experienced much more expansive offerings, at home and on their travels. Heading toward 2010 can we not expect a little more? Credit where credit is due to No 1 Pery Square Hotel and Spa who took the initiative and started something that the powers that be in City Hall rode the coat tails of as far as I could see. I didn’t see any market on Thomas Street on Saturday but maybe I missed it. I did on the other hand get calls from friends and family on Friday night, who were gridlocked because of the careening mass of steel that had wedged itself into the Condell Bridge. So, all the people who may have been trying to get into the city to avail of the shopping discounts lucked out there. Instead they were trapped in their cars for hours, irritated beyond what’s healthy which in turn most likely inspired them to head to the air conditioned social dessert that is the Crescent Shopping Centre. It is a testament to Limerick folks enduring sense of humour that most people shrugged off the debacle as, ‘typically Limerick,’ with a smile and a chuckle. No one was hurt and the general sense was that it could happen nowhere else in the country. Good or bad, we’ll take it with a pinch of salt, thank you very much. Flooding, record high rain falls and setting the tree afloat on a rising tide (?!) all contributed to the launching of our 100ft eco friendly Christmas resembling that of a the Titanic rather than the LÉ Niamh. Disaster may have been avoided by lashing it down on both sides of the river, it looked pretty heavy to me. Forget the Tree, but let’s get real. Rather than jumping to the defensive every time Limerick’s gets, or is perceived to get bad press, why can’t the City Authorities display what Limerick folk show in spades every day; ingenuity, creativity and pride in what they do, how they do it and a desire for the best that circumstances and resources can yield. Think, imagine, create, execute. You’re letting us down.

- sarah lynch