An Grianan theatre’s current season is on sale and sales are good, well why wouldn’t they be? Sure it’s only the best season ever, but don’t take my word for it look at these gems coming up:

Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra arrive on Monday 22 October .Niklas Willén is the conductorand Emma Johnson, clarinet, is the soloist. Programme:Dag Wirén: Serenade. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto. Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks. Haydn: Symphony No. 85, La Reine. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with its autumnal tone, easy-going melodies and bubbly finale was his last completed work before his death at the age of 35 – it remains one of his most popular. Who better to play it than Emma Johnson? a former BBC Young Musician of the Year, and now an internationally renowned virtuoso.

Sean Hughes

Sean Hughes is on Thursday 25 October at 8pm. As seen in Coronation Street! At the age of 24, Sean became the youngest comedian ever to win the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award. Now aged 41, but “spiritually 11”, he has enjoyed almost 2 decades at the top of the comedy tree. The Sean Hughes National Tour is a long overdue return to the comedy circuit by one of the best stand-ups of his generation. He has retained his distinctly dark,explosive style, his quick-fire banter with the audience and “his piercing eye for the expectation-flipping one liner” (Evening Standard). More topical than tomorrow’s news, his twisted gaze can fall upon anything and everything, from dog death to his love of teenage indie pop. No two nights with Sean are ever the same - each one, an original and authenticated masterpiece, never to be seen again…After so long away from his natural habitat Sean is returning to his first love…stand up comedy.

Druid Theatre Company
Druid Theatre Company, Ireland’s leading theatre Company return to An Grianan this time with the funny ‘My Brilliant Divorce’ on Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 November at 8pm. Druid's third production of Geraldine Aron's hilarious but poignant story sees Deirdre O' Kane take over the role previously played by Glenne Headley and Dawn French. Angela has been recently deserted by her accountant husband for a younger model and finds herself adrift in a sea of weird encounters, sneaky solicitors, phone-in counsellors, and a bad case of hypochondria! Should she fight to keep her husband? Or should she sign the final papers and move on? Come see why it was such a hit in London's West End... The Letterkenny performances kindly sponsored by La Maison, Canal Road, Letterkenny.

Rough Magic
Another first for us as the wonderful Rough Magic bring us Improbable Frequency on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 November at 8pm. By Arthur Riordan and Bell Helicopter and Directed by the superb Lynne Parker.
It’s the Winner of three Irish Times Theatre Awards including Best Production and Best Director, Improbable Frequency is a joyous surreal satire that lifts the lid on Ireland’s beloved neutrality and cuts to the heart of the tempestuous affair with its nearest neighbour – England!
It’s 1941. Europe is at war and espionage is the front line. As the rest of the world gets on with the small matter of the Second World War, Dublin’s lights burn flagrantly and Europe’s intellectual elite has come to play. But suspicious messages on a radio-request show have drawn the attention of M15 and a diffident young code-breaker is dispatched to Dublin to determine which side neutral Ireland is really on.

To book, get a brochure, or ask any questions call the Box Office on 074 9120777 or go online at www.angrianan.com

Warhol Exhibition

The Model in Sligo have been doing wonderful things for a few years now and this latest talking point is a Warhol exhibition. Now I’m a big big Warhol fan, well everyone in Marketing should be because he basically wrote the rule book! This major exhibition marks the work of Andy Warhol and those involved in his expansive studio, the Factory. It presents the Factory as a centre of experimental art production and will bring some of the most important work emerging from the studio during that time to Ireland including film, painting, photography, sculpture, music and books. During this period Warhol expanded his practice into a collaboration with the seminal band the Velvet Underground and the exhibition will include films and music resulting from this collaboration. As a reflection of the multi-disciplinary nature of the Factory it will also include key screen-prints from the period including the Electric Chair and Photo Booth series, the ‘disposable’ Silver Cloud sculptures, and a large collection of iconic photographs documenting the Factory taken by Billy Name, Stephen Shore and Nat Finkelstein.
Many of these works have not been seen in Ireland before and this exhibition presents a rare opportunity to address the creative legacy of Warhol and those artists working with him during this extraordinarily productive period of the Factory’s history. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Jan Winkelmann and Francis McKee. There will be associated seasons of talks, film and music to coincide with The Eternal Now. Call the Model on 071- 9141405 or surf to www.modelart.ie

Damien Dempsey at the Balor

Damien Dempsey returns to the Balor for the third year running. It says in the press release: One of Irelands most talented songwriters and compelling live performers, Damiens brand of hard urban folk is a natural fit with the Balors surroundings. It's a rare treat to see a natural performer who regularly sells out 1,000 seater venues in such an intimate setting as the Balor. Damiens annual Balor gigs are always an experience - this year especially so as it will be his last performance in the old 'Ritz Cinema' Balor before the theatre moves to new premises in early '08.For Bookings and more information contact the Balor on 074 91 31840. Me I’m no fan of Dempsey’s ‘Christy Moore if he came from Dublin’ style sing a longs but I know a lot of people do like him.

Regional Cultural Centre Exhibition
Irish Art 1947-1974, The Great Southern, 2nd October - 21 December 2007. Donegal is privileged to host this significant National collection of Irish Art 1947-1974. It features many of Ireland’s leading 2oth Century artists including: George Campbell, Anne Madden, Patrick Collins, Norah McGuinness, Nano Reid, and Patrick Scott. The collection was originally assembled when Great Southern Hotels were in public ownership, as is one of the best known and widely admired modern art collections in Ireland. It is loaned to us by the Crawford Gallery in Cork. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive education programme aimed at both Secondary and Primary students.

Film Club at the Regional Cultural Centre
The autumn film programme begins on Thursday 4th October at 8pm with ‘Moliere’, a lavish costume drama that imagines what happened when the French playwright mysteriously disappeared in 1644. ‘Romance, creativity, subterfuge and repartee are among the pleasures to be had in this consistently diverting, bittersweet costumer’ (Variety). And it’s film night, every Thursday at 8pm until 6 December, with a jam packed programme of the most acclaimed new international films, right here in Letterkenny. Call them on 074 91 29186.

Contact: get me on chiba at eircom dot net. or see me djing in the Central each and every Friday night. Musically this week its all about the Jamaican Funk.