Last evening I went to the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield to see the documentary ‘Truth or Dare’ (some people have called it a rockumentary but I have issues with makey-uppy words like that – I am only mentioning it to express my disgust at the bastardization of language).

It’s about Madonna’s 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. I remember seeing it on video cassette about twenty years ago and being impressed. It was a precursor, in a sense to the the reality television so prevalent today. A warts and all, behind the scenes look at a concert tour by a star at the peak of her powers. It showed her relationships with her dancers and the craziness that seems to go hand in hand with global fame.
It’s wildly entertaining. Although our Madge comes across as a bit of an attention junkie, despite her talent – with Warren Beatty commenting to the ever present lens ‘She doesn’t want to live off camera.’

It was being shown as part of GAZE – the gay film festival held every year on the August bank holiday weekend. And one of the dancers in the film was a guest speaker before it commenced. A slightly strange choice seeing as he (along with two other dancers) sued her after the film came out, for invasion of privacy. I spent the film trying to figure out which dancer onscreen had been in the cinema speaking to us.

The audience was ‘of a certain age’ – forty and upwards. I kept that thought to myself. These are my people after all.

I remember the Lighthouse cinema being on Abbey Street years ago.

It’s since moved to Smithfield and it is my favourite cinema in Dublin – those seats are wildly comfortable. Smithfield itself has become massively gentrified with the old horse market long gone, to be replaced by swanky glass shops and apartments. I used to live close to there about twenty years ago when it was as rough as hell, with the Benburb Street intersection being a red light district. Poor, innocent little me – unable to leave my building without being accosted by some hollow-eyed street worker inquiring if I was ‘looking for business.’ I rarely left the house as a result – it was quite simply intimidating.

Those glass buildings are equally intimidating – this is now a neighbourhood for the rich. You almost feel like you have to dress up, to walk through it.

A very pleasant evening, all told.