October 2021
FAMILY: My Smile Has Fallen Down
Where has Mr Hoppity the rabbit gone? Did he not want to be with his friends anymore? Did he run away? Has he been eaten by the Bed Monster?! Gagglegoose thinks it might have something to do with Jelly Beans, Mrs Fox is very sure that the Bed Monster doesn’t exist, Mr Fox can’t get a word in and Grumble Skunk is just too cross about everything to be much help! My Smile Has Fallen Down is a show for…
Find out more »November 2021
CINEMA: I’m Your Man
Alma is a scientist at Berlin’s famous Pergamon Museum. In an attempt to secure funding for her latest research, she reluctantly agrees to evaluate a new line of humanoid cyborgs. But Alma has taken on more than she bargained for – the process requires her to live for three weeks with Tom, a robot programmed to be her ideal life partner! Actress-turned-director Maria Schrader has crafted a playful comedy, which cleverly explores themes of love, relationships, humanity and identity. Featuring…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Pádraig Kenny introduces The Monsters of Rookhaven
In this event for our Whiteboard Programme, Pádraig Kenny introduces his new novel The Monsters of Rookhaven and talks about monsters and why they frighten us so much. Pádraig will ask what monsters are, and what frightens you, and why we like scary stories. He reads a short extract and talks about what inspires him as a fantasy writer - and some tips for your own writing. Pádraig Kenny is an Irish writer from Newbridge, County Kildare. His critically acclaimed…
Find out more »THEATRE: Fight Night
Winner of Best Actor and Bewley’s Little Gem awards at Dublin Fringe, and nominated Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards, Aonghus Óg McAnally returns with his smash hit solo show Fight Night by Gavin Kostick for a 10th Anniversary nationwide tour. A gripping journey charting the comeback of Dan Coyle Jr, a failed amateur boxer living in the shadows of his overbearing father and his brother’s Olympic success. After years out of the ring, the birth of…
Find out more »VISUAL ARTS: Beneath | Beofhód – an exhibition by Shane Hynan
‘Beneath | Beofhód’ is an ongoing photographic series examining the degraded raised bogs of the Irish midlands, and the communities connected to them. Peat harvesting and turf cutting are woven deep into the cultural fabric of the region however, these activities have also led to significant depletion. In recent years, legitimate environmental concerns have resulted in pressure to preserve the remaining bogs, heralding significant change for affected communities. Although the benefits of preservation are well documented, the human cost is not.…
Find out more »LOCAL ARTS: Newbridge Musical Theatre presents: Music of the Night
Music of the Night: Musical Theatre’s Greatest Hits After nearly two years of waiting - musical theatre returns to Newbridge! Newbridge Musical Theatre (formerly Newbridge Musical Society) will stage ‘Music of the Night: Musical Theatre's Greatest Hits’ a concert featuring some of the greatest hits from Broadway and the West End at Riverbank Arts Centre. In particular, the concert will pay tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most celebrated musical theatre composers, and will include classic songs from ‘Phantom of…
Find out more »LOCAL ARTS: Newbridge Musical Theatre presents: Music of the Night
Music of the Night: Musical Theatre’s Greatest Hits After nearly two years of waiting - musical theatre returns to Newbridge! Newbridge Musical Theatre (formerly Newbridge Musical Society) will stage ‘Music of the Night: Musical Theatre's Greatest Hits’ a concert featuring some of the greatest hits from Broadway and the West End at Riverbank Arts Centre. In particular, the concert will pay tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most celebrated musical theatre composers, and will include classic songs from ‘Phantom of…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Science Week Workshops with Super Paua
Riverbank Arts Centre and Super Paua present Primary School Workshops for SCIENCE WEEK from 8-11 November Choose from three very different workshops outlined below to explore science, storytelling, creativity and activism in your classroom. These workshops will be conducted via ZOOM by Mark Ball of Super Paua, who created The Lonsdale Project - a theatrical exploration of the life and work of world famous (and Newbridge-born!) scientist, Dr. Kathleen Lonsdale. WORKSHOP#1: Stargazing & Storytelling Themes: Creativity, Art/Science, Astronomy, Storytelling Ages:…
Find out more »CINEMA: Gagarine
The everyday wonders of the world around us dazzle in this thrilling feature debut, about a young Parisian whose dreams are far from Earthbound. Yuri lives in Cité Gagarine, a vast housing project in Ivry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris. It was opened in the 1960s by the famous Russian cosmonaut, after whom both the building and its young resident are named. Now in a state of disrepair, the building is to be torn down, but this once-thriving hotbed of…
Find out more »THEATRE: Pure Mental by Keith Walsh
Keith Walsh is Pure Mental. Having finished up a 5-year stint presenting on National Radio, in the pressure cooker that is a breakfast show, Keith has finally found a bit of time for himself. More importantly, he’s found time to check in with his mental health. Midlife Crisis? Midlife awakening? Breakdown? We’ll find out. This show is part of his therapy and you’re his therapist! Join him on a journey of introspection and exploration, as he locates his demons and…
Find out more »THEATRE: Pure Mental by Keith Walsh
Keith Walsh is Pure Mental. Having finished up a 5-year stint presenting on National Radio, in the pressure cooker that is a breakfast show, Keith has finally found a bit of time for himself. More importantly, he’s found time to check in with his mental health. Midlife Crisis? Midlife awakening? Breakdown? We’ll find out. This show is part of his therapy and you’re his therapist! Join him on a journey of introspection and exploration, as he locates his demons and…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Fighting Words – Creative Writing Workshop
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge is the Kildare Partner of Fighting Words. We present creative writing workshops for primary and secondary schools. Fighting Words workshops are always free of charge to the participants. These interactive creative writing workshops will be conducted via ZOOM or Microsoft Teams by an experienced Fighting Words tutor, Pierina Campbell, and supported by 2-3 volunteers from Riverbank’s Fighting Words team. The workshop will last two hours (with optional break!) and we request that the teacher is present…
Find out more »CINEMA: Wildfire
Having disappeared from her border town in Northern Ireland a year prior, Kelly (Nika McGuigan) suddenly shows up on the doorstep of her sister, Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone). Kelly’s reappearance upends Lauren’s stable life, slowly bringing to the fore, a deep-seated trauma related to the mysterious death of their mother. Despite their differences, the sisters rekindle their bond, which reignites Kelly’s desire for the truth. They soon find themselves on a collision course with everyone around them, triggering a confrontation with…
Find out more »SCHOOLS SCREENING: Night Forest/Nachtwald
New German language film, this engrossing and tense teen drama features great performances and beautiful natural landscapes. Driven by the belief that a legendary cave exists in the Usulenberg mountain, teenage Paul’s dad sets off on an expedition, only to never return. A year later, the boy is struggling to cope with his father’s disappearance. Convinced that the man was right, Paul sets off on a search with his best friend Max to try to uncover what actually happened to…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Fighting Words – Creative Writing Workshops
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge is the Kildare Partner of Fighting Words. We present creative writing workshops for primary and secondary schools. Fighting Words workshops are always free of charge to the participants. These fun interactive workshops will be conducted via ZOOM or Microsoft Teams by an experienced Fighting Words tutor, Pierina Campbell, and supported by 2-3 volunteers from Riverbank’s Fighting Words team. The workshop will last two hours (with optional break!) and we request that the teacher is present throughout.…
Find out more »THEATRE: Eden by Eugene O’Brien
Eugene O'Brien's Eden is the powerful story of an ordinary relationship on an extraordinary weekend. Billy and Breda are approaching their 10th wedding anniversary. Breda is determined that this will be the weekend that saves their marriage but Billy is more concerned with Imelda, the beautiful young woman he has his eye on. From the writer of the hit RTÉ drama Pure Mule, Eden is a story of stale love and fresh lust in the Irish midlands. Winner of Best New Play…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Super Paua Stories
Choose from two online workshops outlined below to explore multilingual storytelling and creativity in your classroom. These workshops will be conducted via ZOOM. Super Paua Stories Workshop #1 - Krys’s Passport to Poland - Listening Party! “When Krys Maguire’s family move from Poland, she says goodbye to best friend Aggy and any chance of going to the Euros. “Co może być ważniejsze niż Mistrzostwa Europy?” But a trip to Dalymount means the soccer-mad schoolgirl might get the result she wants…
Find out more »December 2021
SCHOOLS SCREENING: Los Lobos/Wolves
Migrant family tale, imbued with a sense of magic, innocence, and poetry to yield a wonderful story of hope. In a rundown apartment in New Mexico, Lucia and her two sons attempt to make their new home. While she’s out working all day, the boys create fantastic worlds in the room, drawing on Mexican myths and recollections of their grandfather. Vivid animations and Halloween spirits break up the day-to-day drabness. The boys meet kindness in the Chinese neighbours and seek…
Find out more »CINEMA: Riders of Justice
Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) returns home to care for his daughter when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. However, when a survivor of the wreck surfaces and claims foul play, Markus suspects his wife was murdered and embarks on a mission to find those responsible. Director: Anders Thomas Jensen Starring: Mads Mikkelsen; Anders Thomas Jensen; Andrea Heick Gadeberg Denmark, Sweden, Finland 2020 116 mins Please note, in line with new Government guidelines, you will be required to show your EU COVID…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Graham Tugwell – Greetings, Heroes!
Greetings, Heroes! Online: The Impossible Library is an interactive storytelling experience where the students take the role of characters in the story, led by expert storyteller Graham Tugwell. Like a choose-your-own-adventure-book, or world-famous role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, Graham will guide the adventurers through a series of exciting and deadly challenges - will each door they choose lead to success or further peril? How will they approach the many puzzles within? Will they find the wondrous treasure at the heart…
Find out more »COMEDY: OWEN COLGAN – On The Dry
Owen Colgan, Irish cult comedy hero is best known for his role as Buzz McDonnell from Hardy Bucks. Hardy Bucks has seen Owen star in four hit seasons on RTE and the Hardy Bucks hit movie which media coined 'the Irish Hangover' and was produced by the mammoth Universal Studios. Owen Colgan is a life coach from the west of Ireland who has seen it all. After 25 years addicted to pints and smoking, it seems he has finally knocked…
Find out more »THEATRE: Heather by Thomas Eccleshare
A reclusive writer. A massive bestseller. A dark secret. What are you willing to forget? What are you willing to forgive? A reclusive children’s writer becomes wildly successful. Her books are treasured across the country. But when a troubling narrative starts to unfold, we find ourselves asking: what matters more, the storyteller or the story? HEATHER is a short, sharp play about language, prejudice and the power of stories. After two highly successful 3-week runs at Bewley’s Cafe Theatre and…
Find out more »MUSIC: Tara Breen & Pádraig Rynne with Donal Lunny & Jim Murray
Tara Breen - Fiddle Pádraig Rynne - Concertina Dónal Lunny - Bouzouki & Bodhrán Jim Murray - Guitar Embark on an odyssey of wonder, joyfulness and upbeat music as four incredibly talented and creative folk musicians shape melodies from past and present into something dynamic and irresistible. A quartet comprising of musicians at the fore of our tradition, expect a performance from the gentle to the rhythmical and all the in-betweens. After over 10 years of performing together as a…
Find out more »FAMILY: Bosco’s Hansel and Gretel
Bosco is Bosco, not a boy, not a girl, just a Bosco: a cheeky, lovely, funny, slightly-cracked, irrepressible, eternal five-year-old who lives in a box and who loves nothing more than to just be Bosco and meet all the boys and girls! After starring on Irish TV for three decades, you’ll see why Bosco remains a firm favourite for each new generation. Enjoy the enchanted story of Hansel and Gretel where a silly Witch tries to capture Hansel and Gretel but…
Find out more »FAMILY: Bosco’s Hansel and Gretel
Bosco is Bosco, not a boy, not a girl, just a Bosco: a cheeky, lovely, funny, slightly-cracked, irrepressible, eternal five-year-old who lives in a box and who loves nothing more than to just be Bosco and meet all the boys and girls! After starring on Irish TV for three decades, you’ll see why Bosco remains a firm favourite for each new generation. Enjoy the enchanted story of Hansel and Gretel where a silly Witch tries to capture Hansel and Gretel but…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Fighting Words – Creative Writing Workshop
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge is the Kildare Partner of Fighting Words. We present creative writing workshops for primary and secondary schools. Fighting Words workshops are always free of charge to the participants. These interactive creative writing workshops will be conducted via ZOOM or Microsoft Teams by an experienced Fighting Words tutor, Pierina Campbell, and supported by 2-3 volunteers from Riverbank’s Fighting Words team. The workshop will last two hours (with optional break!) and we request that the teacher is present…
Find out more »CINEMA: Rose Plays Julie
Veterinarian student Rose has been searching for her birth mother. She longs to know the facts of her true identity. When she discovers that her mother is a well-known actress, she reaches out - despite her mother having stated she wants no contact. They meet, and an awful secret is revealed, one that pushes Rose onto a dark path. Armed with the truth and an unshakable desire for revenge, Rose sets out to track down her biological father, Peter. Reinventing…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Polar Bear & Penguin
Polar Bear & Penguin is a tale of our time, infused with Humour, Fish and Friendship. The tale of an unlikely encounter between a Polar Bear & a Penguin. This is the story of polar opposite characters meeting for the first time, how they get to know one another and ultimately learn how they learn to survive in a world that is melting beneath their feet…paws…flippers. Paul Curley (THE DIG and Bake!) and John Currivan (The Bockety World of Henry…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Polar Bear & Penguin
Polar Bear & Penguin is a tale of our time, infused with Humour, Fish and Friendship. The tale of an unlikely encounter between a Polar Bear & a Penguin. This is the story of polar opposite characters meeting for the first time, how they get to know one another and ultimately learn how they learn to survive in a world that is melting beneath their feet…paws…flippers. Paul Curley (THE DIG and Bake!) and John Currivan (The Bockety World of Henry…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Polar Bear & Penguin
Polar Bear & Penguin is a tale of our time, infused with Humour, Fish and Friendship. The tale of an unlikely encounter between a Polar Bear & a Penguin. This is the story of polar opposite characters meeting for the first time, how they get to know one another and ultimately learn how they learn to survive in a world that is melting beneath their feet…paws…flippers. Paul Curley (THE DIG and Bake!) and John Currivan (The Bockety World of Henry…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Polar Bear & Penguin
Polar Bear & Penguin is a tale of our time, infused with Humour, Fish and Friendship. The tale of an unlikely encounter between a Polar Bear & a Penguin. This is the story of polar opposite characters meeting for the first time, how they get to know one another and ultimately learn how they learn to survive in a world that is melting beneath their feet…paws…flippers. Paul Curley (THE DIG and Bake!) and John Currivan (The Bockety World of Henry…
Find out more »SCHOOLS: Fighting Words – Creative Writing Workshops
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge is the Kildare Partner of Fighting Words. We present creative writing workshops for primary and secondary schools. Fighting Words workshops are always free of charge to the participants. These fun interactive workshops will be conducted via ZOOM or Microsoft Teams by an experienced Fighting Words tutor, Pierina Campbell, and supported by 2-3 volunteers from Riverbank’s Fighting Words team. The workshop will last two hours (with optional break!) and we request that the teacher is present throughout.…
Find out more »COMEDY: NEIL DELAMERE – End of Watch
Fresh from a sell-out tour, star of BBC’s The Blame Game, Fighting Talk and the Newsquiz, Neil Delamere returns to the Riverbank Arts Centre with a new show. Time waits for no man, especially one trying to buy a watch. Things always get complicated. “You’ll be hard pressed to find a more gifted comic at the Fringe. *****” The Scotsman “One lean, mean, comedy, killing machine. *****” The Herald Please note, in line with new Government guidelines, adults (over 18s)…
Find out more »FAMILY: KYLE’S CHRISTMAS SING-A-LONG
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a jolly big sing-a-long! There’ll be singing, jumping and shaking in this holiday-themed family concert with Kyle Riley. Chock full of Christmas favourites, Kyle’s catchy original children’s music and the kids fave raves , it's sure to get the whole family in the spirit of the season. We’ll also dance, make some big noise with percussive instruments, and float with colourful scarves. For under 8s, rock toddlers and little boppers in between. Please note, in…
Find out more »January 2022
VISUAL ART: Invisible Cords – An exhibition by Clodagh Kelly
'Invisible Cords' is a collection of artwork developed by Kildare based Visual Artist Clodagh Kelly over the last ten years. Clodagh uses drawing, mixed media and natural materials to explore health, landscape, healing and form in space. This exhibition draws from three bodies of artwork 'Scratched Room', 'Cruel Nature' and 'Boundaries' allowing the underlying invisible cords that resonate between the different series to emerge. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Clodagh Kelly graduated from Fine Art D.I.T in 1997 and worked as a…
Find out more »MUSIC: EIMEAR CREHAN
++Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been rescheduled from original date (7/10/21) to 21st January, 2022. If you are a ticket holder, we will be in touch directly to offer you the rescheduled date, a credit note or a refund.++ Eimear Crehan is a songwriter based in Kildare and has been performing in the Irish Music Scene for over 12 years now. In that time her sound has really developed, having moved through lots of genres like funk, soul,…
Find out more »COMEDY: Jason Byrne: On Your Marks, Get Set… Gig!
Jason Byrne has been On His Marks since March 2020. Now he’s Set and ready to explode on to the stage. “The Outright King Of Live Comedy” (The Times) is ready to take back and carefully disinfect his crown. How can one man's life continue to fall apart while he is essentially locked in his own house? This hilarious brand new show see’s Jason attempt to make sense of the year in which his life officially became a sitcom script.…
Find out more »April 2022
COMEDY: Callan’s Kicks Live
Oliver Callan brings his huge cast of characters to the stage for the first time in seven years. It’s the first live Callan’s Kicks show in the age of Co-Teeshes Micheál and Leo the ledgebag, Boris and Biden and celeb scientists like Luke O’Neill. As we try to recover from lockdowns, NPHET advice and Stephen Donnelly interviews, Callan deconstructs the leaders and stars of politics, sport and entertainment in a special night of comedy. Callan’s Kicks Live promises to be…
Find out more »COMEDY: Des Bishop – Mia Mamma
I am often asked “where do you get your material from?” The truth is really that I try to see the funny in everything. My mother died in March 2019 and of course it was sad and grief can be tough sometimes but I saw a lot of funny in that too. Since death comes to us all and grief is something most of us will experience I thought there must be plenty of people who would like that funny…
Find out more »May 2022
COMEDY: Dirtbirds – No Filter
In a world where women are expected to have the patience of Mother Teresa, the arse of Jennifer Lopez, the social media profile of Kim Kardashian and the BMI of Elle McPherson the pressure is relentless. Dirtbirds the comedy duo and internet sensation present their hilarious new show ‘No Filters’ which takes a close look at the barrage of bullshit we are subjected to on a daily basis and reminds us that despite what we’re told there is NO SUCH…
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