Arts Listings

TEA ’N’ CRISP 

The precocious Quentin Crisp lived a life without shame, reservation or compromise. Shotgun Player member Richard Louis James pays tribute to this international gay icon by bringing him back to life in an original solo piece. Tea ’n’ Crisp is based on Crisp’s writing and public appearances, and will be performed during national gay pride week in celebration of flamboyant autonomy. 8 p.m. Thursday, June 21; Friday, June 22; and Saturday, June 23. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. $25. Reservations advised. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org. 

BLOOMSDAY JOURNEYS 

We may not be in Dublin but that doesn’t mean we can’t traverse its many winding paths, coursing through imaginary seas. In fact, better it be all in the mind. Saturday is Bloomsday, the 24 hours during which Leopold Bloom wandered Dublin—and the characters serially spoke their innermost thoughts—in James Joyce’s sprawling Ulysses. Moe’s Books on Telegraph is hosting an all-day marathon reading from the groundbreaking novel, beginning as the store opens at 10 a.m. and intoning on until closing time at 11 p.m. To chime in as a reader, call Owen Hill or David Brazil at 528-8191, or just show up with your own copy, or buy one from Moe’s. “To my surprise,” said Owen Hill, “one email seemed to gather a head of steam, and I’ve been getting replies for a week. Mark Singer, who writes for McSweeney’s, one of the Joyce scholars we went to for advice, warned us about crowd control, a crush of tipsy people, and we all laughed. But it seems a culture’s grown up around it, like St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo, and it can get like a pub crawl.” Moe’s offers a little Irish music around 2, and Joyce’s Gorgonzola, “but unfortunately, due to insurance restrictions, no red wine.” Nonalcoholic refreshments instead. (None of the author’s beloved lamb kidneys, either!) Everybody gets 15 minutes at the mic, and, according to Hill, “It’s loosely structured, no serious study of the novel—lighter than that ... maybe some attempted Irish brogues? It’s adding up to be a party.” 

Feeling like listening only? Thomas Lynch reads from our favorite Irish Odyssey beginning at 11 a.m. Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222.