July 2007, 5 nights bolted into the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. An audience of family, friends and intimate fans. songs that were either very new or very old. a testing week with some unprecedented R.E.M, beautifully filmed in an almost palpable black and white.

Friday 30th / 22:15 / Rex (*)
Saturday 31st / 20:15 / Rex
Tuesday 3rd / 18:15 / Rex
(*) Presented by Vincent Moon & Jeremiah

One theatre, four blokes and an audience. But they're not just any four blokes, the audience is hardly normal either, and nobody's ever heard these songs. In July 2007, the most important rock band in the world decided to play for five nights at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Self-imposing what they described as an "experiment in terror", R.E.M. threw caution to the wind and organized a series of "public rehearsals" entitled This is Not a Show to play songs from their new record.
In the audience were family, friends, and a few hundred fans. The songs were brand spanking new or completely ancient, like "1.000.000" from their first EP. Emotion, intrigue and bellyaching - renowned superstars long for the forgotten bite of stage fright. Vincent Moon (known for his work with The Arcade Fire and The Shins) beautifully documents, in nearly palpable black and white, that week of unreleased demos with R.E.M. newbies. Nearly expressionist high contrast profiles and sketches, and an anarchic history, highlight the unexpected emotion in This is Not a Show. At the end of the day, what's left is a minor masterpiece.