Four astronauts and an AI software interface are cooped up in the cabin of a space-craft for nine months on a mission to Mars. As they journey across the vast abyss of space, tensions rise, relationships are tested, and seasons of Real Housewives are watched and re-watched. Arriving on the red planet, they confront isolation, sinister ideologies, the prospect of alien life, and a vibe shift toward corporate authoritarianism. MARS is an opera about space colonisation, reactionary futurism, pronatalism, the madness of hustle culture, and the unsettling futures encroaching on our present.

Opera in the Open is an initiative of Dublin City Council that presents live performances of operatic work in the open air in Dublin City Centre. The annual opera season is taking place on 7, 14, 21 & 28 August in the Amphitheatre at the Dublin City Council Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. Each opera performance is presented in an abridged format, narrated in English, and lasts one hour, fitting perfectly into the lunchtime slot from 1 to 2pm. Attendance is completely free of charge, and all are welcome! The Amphitheatre features a raised stage, seating areas, and grassy verges

Brendan Gleeson makes a long-awaited return to the Irish stage ahead of his West End debut in Conor McPherson's The Weir. And there's no dark like a winter night in the country. And there was a wind like this one tonight, howling and whistling in off the sea. You hear it under the door and it's like someone singing. Singing in under the door at you. It was this type of night now. Am I setting the scene for you? The tallest tales reveal the deepest truths. Conor McPherson (Girl from the North Country, The Brightening Air, The Hunger Games) directs his spellbinding masterpiece THE