Galway Advertiser 2000/2000_11_23/GA_23112000_E1_080.pdf 

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T E R T A I M M E N T D I D Y O U HEAR THAT.

The Three (or more) Faces of N i a m h
NIAMH MCGRATH, another alumni of Galway Youth Theatre, will perform three one-woman skits at Padraig's Place Performance Centre, New Docks, on November 28, starting at 9.30pm.

Happy 75th birthday to Ciaran MacMathuna from RTE One
TO MARK his 75th birthday. Open House will have a special programme in tribute to broadcaster Ciaran' MacMathuna on Friday, November 24 on RTE One at 3.25pm. The programme will be repeated on Sunday afternoon. Ciaran's distinctive voice - a deep, incredibly relaxed delivery that once prompted a friend o f mine, hearing it f o r the first lime, l o remark t h a t i l sounded a s i f h e ' d only recently awakened and w a s n o n e t o o happy about i t either w a s one o f t h e 'signatures' of Irish radio since i t began. And for many people around t h e country w h o listened to his different programmes over the years, i t w a s Ciaran who first introduced them to the n e w generation o f traditional musicians like Frankie Gavin and Christy Moore. He w a s a pioneer but you only realised i t years later. Open House will feature not only Ciaran but his wife, Dolly MacMahon and other family members, a s well a s a wide range of well-known names from the world o f folk and traditional Irish music, I h e revival and strength of which owes much to the pioneering work o f Ciaran when RTE Radio was still known as Radio Eireann

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Spice Girls Forever
FROM THE creators of Girl Power conies their third instalment, a record ambitiously titled Forever, although on hearing it you may begin to think that their time is
up-

by Keith Barrett

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Considering ihey opened the floodgates for the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and many more, you'd expect their album would be full of sass and, eh. spice. But no, what we have here is a collection of adult songs that rarely gets racier than offering to keep you up all night. Now tracks like 'Tell Me Why' and 'Wasting My Time' are certainly com petent, and you could probably include "Let Love Lead The Way' and 'Time Goes By" to that list, but they still fail to deliver what the foursome have been promising all through their careers, spunky, edgy, and lively pop. Instead, the string of marriages, divorces, and babies has left them far more grown up than their fan base really allows. Melanie C. who still has the best voice on offer here, occasionally pipes up and makes it all worthwhile, as docs (to a certain extent, before they get annoying) Mel B's raps. But all in all if the Spice Girls want to live into the next decade, they'd want to start making tabloid headlines again.

Galway audiences will remember Niamh from her appearances in Galway Youth Theatre productions A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It a few years back. Since then she's been acting pretty much non stop, with Fir Feasa Theatre Company (Brian Friel's Lovers), and in the Abbey production of The Marriage of Figaro, and the Peacock production of Strawberries. She played Agnes in the Drogheda Theatre production
of Agnes of God.

Our Rating: 6 / 10

Niamh had (he only female role in (he Yew Tree Theatre Company production of Alone We Stand, which won the coveted Little Devil award at the Edinburgh Festival - the show is sched

uled to tour Australia early next year. Niamh has been building up an enviable reputation as an all-round thespian - she not only acts, she also directs, and writes. She's pre viously performed two one- AN GOB Fliuch will launch its new club, The Gob Club women shows, both of which tonight (November 23) at 8.30pm. she wrote and produced. The Gob Club will be opened by the Minister for the She's a bundle of energy and Marine Frank Fahey and promises to be another exciting a naturally-gifted actress who addition to this popular bar. is really going places. A lot is going to happen on the night of (he launch. There This is her second play, will be finger food and wine as well promolions from and it's another showcase for Guinness, Mama's restaurant, and Becks. There are fabulous this multi-talented actress, a prizes of watches, a leather jacket, dinner for four at three set, one-woman show Mama's, and a voucher for pints in An Gob Fliuch to be lha( she'll be performing on won. November 28 at 9.30pm at There will also be a trad session from 7.30 to 9.30pm and Padraig's Place Performance a video of Galway's 1998 All Ireland exploits. In this way Centre. New Docks (091 An Gob Fliuch hopes to continue to cater for sports enthusi 563696). No seating after asts, Gaelic speakers, and people who just love to socialise. 9.30pm. Don't miss it.

The Gob Club opens tonight

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Marilyn Manson Holy Wood
WELL LOOKIE here. Marilyn Manson is back again, so all you letter writ ers may get your pens out now, because just as I gave his last album a good review, I'm giving this one too. Considering a lot of people wrote in last time complain ing. I fully expect some form of lash for what I'm about to So. why does this deserve a good review? Initially, it wasn't going to gel one. It fell as if he was doing (he same thing as he did with Antichrist Superstar, angst. gloom, you know the score. But it has to be said this is probably the closest thing to a concept album Manson will do. and dare I say it. he seems lo have matured quite a bit. Sure, he still gives out yards aboul a God he claims doesn't exist, and complains about a life not worth living, but he's recently made friends again with Mr Trent Re/nor. and perhaps this has him on a new track. There arc some musically powerful moments on the album, notably the eviscerating power chords on 'The Fighl Song' and the galloping rhythms of 'Disposable Teens'. And yes. while there's loads of doom and gloom here

The Cell'
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I KNOW some film-makers just set out to shock and once that is how it is presented then it is perfectly acceptable. However here they try and mask it wilh a veneer of a science fiction thriller. Director Tarsem is not content with the single premise of entering into another's mind: he had to make one of those minds very sick indeed. True, the sets are fantastic and Ihe visual imagery superb, with clever close attention lo detail. It does not however make up for the fact that there was a kind of relish in exploring the diseased mind of a dangerous serial killer. Some of the scenes were played out with brutal voyeurism. Although nodding in the direction of other serial killer movies like the incomparable Silence of the Ixtmhs and Kiss the Girls, none of these felt the need for some of the barbarity shown here. Trusting the psycho logical manipulation of the audience is much more effec tive Although it is hilled as being a Jennifer U>pe/ movie, stealing Ihe show arc her two male co-stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Vince Vaughn. Lone/ does not seem to have the conviction she showed in Out of Sight. Vaughn and D'Onofrio on the other hand have an undcrstandinu

Our Rating: 8.5 / 10
Albums supplied courtesy of Zhivago Sound & Vision. Galway

of their characters, giving fabulous, if sometimes grotesque performances. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lope/) is a child psy chotherapist, wilh the aid of some remarkable technology, and her own sense of compassion, she enters into the mind of a young boy to try to guide him out of his coma tose state. Meanwhile a sick serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) is on the loose and has his own killing jar - an automated cell (hence the title) where his victims are drowned. Driven into a coma by his illness the killer still has a victim alive in that cell but time is running short. FBI Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) turns to Catherine and her team lo enter into the mind of the killer on the off-chance that he might divulge where he is hold ing his captive. However, this is like no mind Catherine has ever visited. She has lo navigate, risking her own san ity, through the layers of surreal evil lo reach the little piece of lucidity thai just might save a life. All Ihe lime we are aware of ihe danger that Catherine might just believe what is happening lo her in the truly nightmarish world is in fact reality. Watch out for the horse.

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