Author: whatsonni

On Friday 25 October, North Down Museum, Bangor is bracing itself for some intergalactic visitors when ‘Invasion from Planet X’ takes place in its historic building.

Find out of if you could survive an alien invasion at this fun event which is part of a series of after dark happenings across Northern Ireland, to encourage over 18s to try a different kind of night out at their local museum. 

On the night, museum visitors can expect storm trooper performances, escape rooms, alien walkabouts, live music and more!

The event is adults-only with an on-site bar, food, live music and a DJ, all the ingredients for a great night out.

Speaking about the event, North Down Museum’s Manager, Heather McGuicken said: “After the success of last year’s Zombie event, we are thrilled to host Invasion from Planet X. We do hope people will come along and enjoy this unique experience – something different for Halloween!”

Students from South Eastern Regional College are involved in the night and will be showcasing their artistic and theatrical skills with a fantastic programme of alien-themed antics.

‘Invasion From Planet X’ will take place on Friday 25 October in North Down Museum, from 8.00pm to 11.00pm. Tickets for this strictly over-18s event are £10 and available to book online:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/invasion-from-planet-x-tickets-70136537271

The event is part of ‘The Late Shift’ – a series of after-dark, adults-only happenings in museums across Northern Ireland this autumn. The project is supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Tourism NI, and Department for Communities.

Attention Foodies: feast your eyes on this!

Celebrate the abundance of flavours autumn has to offer with a distinctly local twist. #TasteOfComber is our third tasting tour this autumn, taking in some of the finest dining establishments in historic Comber on Thursday 31 October 2019

This guided food tour begins at the award-winning Indie Füde, experts at sourcing the finest artisan Irish produce. Enjoy your main course in the beautiful No 14 at The Georgian House, followe…d by dessert at the multi-award winning Sugarcane Cafe Bistro. The tour ends at McBrides On The Square, where guests will enjoy the finest local cheese paired beer and ale.

Tickets must be booked in advance: £47 per person

Full menu and booking details available on

https://www.visitardsandnorthdown.com/events/food-tour-a-taste-of-comber

To celebrate Positive Ageing Month, Ards and North Down Borough Council is hosting a Positive Ageing Event in Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing and Leisure Complex on Monday 28 October from 10am-1pm.

Aimed at those aged 55 and over, local agencies and clubs will promote their activities and ensure visitors are provided with important information about what’s on offer in the borough.

There will be an opportunity to try different sports and activities on site, including low-impact taster sessions in Tai Chi as well as ‘Active Ageing’ and ‘Gently Does It’ classes. And for those who want to be a bit more active, they can try badminton, pickleball, zumba and walking football!

This year’s theme is based around ‘Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing’ – a Public Health Agency campaign that aims to raise awareness of five simple actions to maintain and improve emotional wellbeing: Give, Be Active, Connect, Keep Learning and Take Notice.

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Alderman Bill Keery, said:

“The event will highlight the range of activities and clubs that are available in Ards and North Down. The number of older people in the world, including our borough, is increasing at an exponential rate so we want to bring them together and help them become more active and more socially connected.

“This growth in our population is one that should be viewed as a successful achievement and the Council intends to make Ards and North Down a great place to grow older as well as a place that is supportive, valuing and enabling for older people.”

The Positive Ageing event is free to attend and opens at 10am on Monday 28 October. A variety of exhibitions, workshops and activities will be on offer so remember to wear comfortable clothes and suitable non-slip shoes!

More information is available from Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Environmental Health Protection and Development department. For further queries, contact Jennifer Parkinson or Gareth McCausland on 0300 013 3333 ext. 40221 or email healthandwellbeing@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk.

Belfast International Arts Festival runs from 15 Oct – 3 Nov in various locations across Belfast.  With over 200 events and 14 UK, Irish and world premieres, there is something for everyone.  This week’s top picks are:

To Da Bone, Fri 25 – Sat 26 Oct, The Grand Opera House,

Christine and the Queens fans will recognise the work of French arts collective (LA)HORDE from the video for Girlfriend, and from their stunning Glastonbury performance.

To Da Bone is a captivating, contemporary rebel-call to the social media generation and explores youth culture, identity and expression.  The cast of 11 dancers were crowd-sourced from across Europe through internet auditions, and have created this pulsing and electrifying performance of jumpstyle dance, with powerful intensity and emotion. High energy.  Stunning.

Real Magic, Tues 22 – Wed 23 Oct, The MAC,

Groundhog Day meets Samuel Beckett!  Real Magic creates a world of absurd disconnection, struggle and comical repetition. Part mind-reading feat, part cabaret act, part nightmare game show, this surreal adventure takes its cue from popular culture and current affairs, while questioning larger systems of control. A compelling commentary on the individual desire for change in the face of higher power.  Make your own political comparisons!

Before, Thurs 24 – Fri 25 Oct, The MAC,

Touchingly combining some of the best-loved songs from musical theatre with the story of an estranged father and daughter, this solo show is set on the closing day of Clery’s department store in Dublin. Writer and performer Pat Kinevane received the Herald Archangel Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival.

Staging Schiele, Sat 26 Oct, The MAC,

Four dancers inhabit radical artist Egon Schiele’s highly-charged world of colour, masterful lines and unusual perspectives that put the human body on visceral display. Shobana Jeyasingh’s award-winning choreography matches the raw intensity of Schiele, and scrutinises the relationship between male artist and female model; the viewer and the subject.

Unique Instruments, Expectant Spaces, Fri 18 Oct – Fri 8 Nov, Ulster University, York Street

Metaphor, simile and story-telling are at the heart of local architectural practice Hall McKnight’s work.  This large-scale installation, which appeared at the prestigious invitation-only 16th international Architectural Exhibition in Venice, cross-references a number of their projects including the re-imagining of new civic spaces from a variety of different perspectives. 

The Octavia Poetry Collective, Wed 23 Oct, Ulster Sports Club,

Octavia is a poetry collective for women of colour, founded by poet, Rachel Long in response to the lack of inclusivity and representation in poetry and academia. The evening will explore themes of representation, cultural identity, and equality.

Lanny with Max Porter, Tues 22 Oct, Black Box,

An innovative hybrid of fairy tale, fable, and myth, Lanny is Max Porter’s hugely anticipated second novel and was recently long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2019.

The Worst Cafe in the World, Wed 23 – Sun 27 Oct, Worst Café (pop-up), Cotton Court

If reality TV had a lovechild with theatre, this is it.  A Big Telly special for Festival, there is just one week to get a table, place your orders and experience the gloriously mad ‘Worst Café in the World’. Pure comedy and pathos, this chaotic foodless venue promises a large serving of entertainment for people who like their theatre fresh. Make sure to book your dinner elsewhere!

For information visit: https://belfastinternationalartsfestival.com/ or to book call 02890 246609.

The Market Place Theatre in Armagh is thrilled to be hosting ‘Shackleton’s Carpenter’, the story of Harry McNish, carpenter on board the doomed ship ‘Endurance’ on her Antarctica expedition.

‘Endurance’ sank amidst the ice floes, leaving Shackelton and his crew of 27 stranded. McNish, brilliant carpenter and shipwright, played an absolutely vital role in ensuring all 28 were saved, but in so doing, had to defy The Boss, and paid the price.

For all his bravery and ingenuity, McNish was one of the very few who were never awarded the Polar Medal. His health impaired by the experience, he emigrated to New Zealand where his condition worsened, and he could no longer work.

Now, alone and destitute, one still night on the dockside, he challenges The Boss one last time. In his fevered mind he relives the Endurance expedition, pitting himself against Shackleton and plagued by the ghosts of his past. How did he antagonise the hero of Antarctica? How does he come to terms with it?  On stage on Friday 25th October.

Then on Saturday 26 October, be sure not to miss The Slocan Ramblers, the bluegrass band of the moment, direct from Canada. Rooted in tradition yet fearlessly creative, The Slocan’s have garnered a reputation for unforgettable live shows.

Their impeccable musicianship, inventive approach, and old-time sensibilities make for a show that hits every target. With an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan, The Slocan’s have been winning over audiences worldwide. They are a band at the very top of their game.

Tickets are available from the Theatre Box Office on [028] 3752 1821, or online at www.visitarmagh.com/marketplacetheatre. To keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

The Belfast International Arts Festival gets underway this week and runs from 15 Oct – 3 Nov in various locations across Belfast.  This week’s top picks are:

The Playboy of the Western World, Tues 8 Oct -Sat 2 Nov at the Lyric Theatre,

Inspired visually by the likes of Shane Meadows’ This is England, this reimagined classic directed by Oonagh Murphy is not to be missed!  Met with controversy when it was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in 1907, John Millington Synge’s brutally hilarious masterpiece, The Playboy of the Western World, is about life on the margins and the lengths we go to, to create a reality more exciting than the place we find ourselves.

Hiroaki Umeda – Median & Accumulated Layout, Tues 15 – Wed 16 Oct, The MAC,

Think Radiohead meets Aphex Twin via The Matrix!

Combining choreography, microscopic science, digital sound and laser projections, experimental Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda draws inspiration from elements invisible to the naked eye. The dancer’s own body and movement becomes part of the throbbing, ebbing cellular projections all around him.  A precision-sharp, captivating, super-intelligent and totally immersive experience.

ASUNA- 100 keyboards, Thurs 17 – Sat 19 Oct, The MAC,

Pioneering Japanese sound artist ASUNA presents 100 Keyboards (literally!) featuring 100 battery operated keyboards, which create an intriguing and fascinating ambient wash of overlapping notes and sonic textures that envelop the audience from every direction.  A truly unique performance!

La Dame Blanche, Fri 18 Oct, The Empire Music Hall,

Hip-hop, cumbia, dancehall and reggae collide in this powerful performance.  Hailing from Cuba where her father, Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos, is the artistic director of the Buena Vista Social Club, La Dame Blanche delivers an irresistible Afro-Cuban mix, which compels the body to dance! Selling fast.

This Brutal House with Niven Govinden, Fri 18 Oct, No Alibis Bookshop,

Drag ball culture, for years an LGBTQ+ subculture, has come into the mainstream eye through TV shows and drag clubs. Govinden illuminates themes of race, gender, and sexual orientation within society through the lens of the vogue ball community. The Belfast International Arts Festival gets underway this week and runs from 15 Oct – 3 Nov in various locations across Belfast. 

La Spire, Sat 19 & Sun 20 Oct, Botanic Gardens

Free event for all ages!

Breath-taking aerial acrobatics on an impressive steel spiral sculpture. The all-female cast combine raw strength, tenacity and vulnerability, accompanied by a live musician and special sound machines to create a suspense-filled dreamlike journey into human fragility and power.

Part of FranceDance UK 2019 and generously supported by the Institut Francais du Royaume-Uni.