Bram Stoker Festival

I had a great time at the Cooks Academy/​Domestic Godless event.
First we were greeted by the eerie Stephen, Mick and Irene and offered a very strong concoction of vodka, chilli (which I found to be one of their favourite ingredients) and chanterelles. Interesting, though not my cup of tea.
From there we were divided into 3 groups and I was put in the Heart course; lamb, beef and chicken hearts served in three different ways. I was on lamb heart duty; scooping out the heart of blood and other lovely bits. I think I was white at the thought, but scooped on nonetheless.
The chicken hearts were coated in chilli chocolate (which I made) and then sprinkled with pop rocks (I think they’re making a comeback). The lambs hearts were stuffed with anise infused black rice and the beef hearts were tenderised, marinated and fried along with baby squid-​the Surf and Turf entrée.
After we completed our tasks, we joined the other two groups to taste their creepy creations; mushroom muffins, risotto with chorizo and mixed mushrooms, chocolate lollipops. endless amounts of unique and tasty treats.
Mick, my team leader, was patient, friendly and fun. He gave a lot of great advice for cooking and proved to be very creative and innovative.
A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Firstly a great festival — really great ideas and very well organised. The capes on the statues around the city were hilarious — I hope the festival continues. I went to see «The Cure in Orange» in meeting house square. Super venue for an outdoor cinema as it is so sheltered from wind and the new roof canopy is genius. The major cure fans at the screening loved every second of the gig and great to see some of the costumes !

A Brilliant festival full of amazing events!
We went to to see an event called the Vampire with no teeth in the Project Arts center in Templebar.
It was a simple set up and the space (The Cube) lent itself beautifully to a lone story teller and a cellist; a small intimate venue that got smaller and scarier as the stories got bigger and bloodier.
Highly recommended on all levels!
The Vampwire sounds superb, I hope it is there next year!

Fomos assistir a Premier de Beautiful Noise, dentro da programação do Bram Stoker Festival. A noite contou com a presença de Eric Green, diretor do documentário, e desse camarada na foto, o baterista da banda My Bloody Valentine.
O filme traz boas entrevistas com The Jesus And Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins, Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Robert Smith (The Cure), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) e muitos outros.

I absolutely loved my afternoon at the Cooks Academy with The Domestic Godless, and before you read any further — I will definitely be checking both parties out for future classes and events!
It started off with introductions to Stephen, Mick and Irene from The Domestic Godless and invites to drink a chilli concoction that when drunk would apparently make us all forget we were ever there … luckily for the purposes of this review, I didn’t drink it (it also contained alcohol and I’m with child so it’s not an option for me) … Anyhoo after drinks were drunk and teams of three were created we all went with our teachers to our cooking stations. I was in Team Mick and he was wonderful. Our job was to create the meaty treats for our feast. The other teams created creepy mushroom risotto’s and death by chocolate delights.
On Team Mick we trimmed, chopped and stuffed chicken hearts, lambs hearts and sliced our way through a huge beef heart. Not for the faint hearted but all in the name of devilishly good cooking. Pans were sizzling with oils and herbs in no time. Chicken hearts were coated with strawberry sauce and chilli chocolate and set on spikes to set. The lambs hearts were stuffed with black rice and liqourice and baked in the oven. The beef hearts were sliced, marinated and fried along with baby squid to create a freakishly good ‘surf and turf’ — FANTASTIC. We also created blood pudding gingerbread men shaped sausages that looked slightly on the evil side.
After all the cooking each team’s dishes were presented and everyone sat down to eat. The aforementioned mushroom risotto styled dish was delicious. The cakey treats were in the shape of mushroom cupcakes and chocolatey cake pops.
My tum was truly satisfied on leaving. I learnt from my masterclass with Mick — seasoning, innovation and creativeness in the kitchen.
An afternoon well spent and I’d do it all again!

Highlight of my weekend. I took the mammy to a horror-​themed Literary Death Match as part of the Bram Stoker Festival (which is absolutely everywhere this year, it really seems to have reached its potential, yays). We weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but left about 90 minutes later feeling exhilarated, entertained and slightly creeped out. Exhilarated because the people involved were so enthusiastic, talented and fun. Entertained because the speakers (both judges and participants) were articulate, gifted at storytelling, and completely absorbed our attention throughout. Creeped out because each piece delivered by the participants was icky and unsettling. Comprising a cast of sleazy manipulative men, dreamy vampire women, a Dublin which demanded and received a worthy vampiric monster, and cannibalistic academics, these were amazing tales.
Smock Alley Theatre is lovely theatre space, putting me in mind of the atmpophere of the tiny, cramped cellars in Paris used by improv groups and other peripatetic artists, but with a great sense of space and modern comfortable and cool seating. It’s a gem, I wish I’d been before, and intend to become a regular attendee.

The Curse of Styria
Pre-​dating Dracula and a huge influence on Bram Stoker, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla gets the 20^th century treatment by directors Mark Devendorf and Mauricio Chernovetzky. This particular adaptation parallels Victorian and late-​Communist times’ treatment of women and their place in society — the key word being «hysteria». Lara (Eleanor Tomlinson) goes with her art historian father (Stephen Rea) to a castle in remote Hungary in 1989 to retrieve some murals from the sleazy General Spiegel. In the cold and uninviting castle, Lara encounters the mysterious Carmilla, who draws her into her spell, bewitching her new friend into an old world of mystery. After she abruptly disappears, the town of Styria’s women start acting violently and committing suicide in droves. Is it the curse of this new young woman’s presence the cause, or a deep-​rooted superstitious fear and subsequent shaming of women and their sexual mores (interpreted as madness) which is the reason? The film begins with magic realism and slowly heightens itself alongside Lara’s awakening and realisation that the flashbacks she experiences of her childhood were the shape of dark things to come. It is the focus on the suppression of women and them taking back their power by all gory means possible. Beautiful shots of the vast gothic countryside and close-​ups of butterflies, woods and stars coupled with the haunting score and inserting of the odd bit of the Jesus and Mary Chain makes it something my own teenage and adult self relishes.
Stephen Rea as the secret-​hiding Dr Hill does a good job against his usual type (really his name should be changed to Stephen ‘RA, such is the plethora of henchmen/​agents he has played, so a stiff role is a welcome change.) The film is all Lara’s though, as we watch her change from haunted teenager to one whose fate is realised but not inexorably sealed. As Carmilla muses, the night is in her veins.