The Ark, 'Far Away From Me': The Prince and the Pea

You sense an attempted subversion of a fairytale in Amy Conroy's Princess and the Pea-inspired play for young audiences 

The Ark

Feb 14-Mar 15

My review of Far Away From Me by Amy Conroy coming up after the jump ...

Abbey Theatre, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': A Most Rare Vision

A newly politicised, dreamy and gauzy imagining of Shakespeare's comedy at the Abbey Theatre. Photo: Ros Kavanagh. 

Abbey Theatre

Feb 17-Mar 28

My review of A Midsummer Night's Dream is over at A Younger Theatre. Now it's your turn. What did you think of director Gavin Quinn's interpretation? Do you prefer a faithful performance of the text or a deconstruction à la Pan Pan? What performances stood out for you? Your thoughts on Aedín Cosgrove's design and, furthermore, Bruno Schwengl's strange and eccentric costumes? Would you like to see Quinn work at the Abbey again? Should the theatre keep producing Shakespeare?

Sound off in comments below. 

Equinox Theatre, 'Memory Box': On The Run

This ensemble of artists with and without learning disabilities are empowered in a glowing production.

Axis Theatre

Feb 11-12

My review of Memory Box coming up after the jump ...

Lyric Theatre, 'Death of a Comedian': Deal With the Devil

A comedian makes a Faustian pact in Owen McCafferty's new play.

Lyric Theatre, Belfast

Feb 11-Mar 8

My review of Death of a Comedian coming up after the jump ...

... Getting Any Younger

You'll have to go somewhere else to read my Pals and A Midsummer Night's Dream reviews. 

Last September, I sat at conference table inside a glass building in London's King's Place. Sitting across from me was a blonde-haired woman, listening carefully and speaking excitably, as if hope was to be found at the turn of every sentence. Hope was the reason I was there. That woman was Lyn Gardner, theatre critic of The Guardian, and a personal hero.

Rough Magic, 'Everything Between Us': Ignorance is Bliss?

Two sisters collide in the foreground of Northern Ireland's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But obliteration isn't the goal. 

Project Arts Centre

13-28 Feb 

My review of Everything Between Us by David Ireland coming up just as soon as I become manager of a Starbucks in Ballymena ...

THEATREclub, 'HEROIN': Through the Eye of the Needle

THEATREclub's 2010 play finishes a national tour with a once-off performance in Liberty Hall, by special invitation of Dublin councillor Gary Gannon.

Liberty Hall

Feb 9

My review of HEROIN coming up just as soon as Lemass helps us play catch-up ...

Cadence Theatre, 'One Is Not Oneself': Why Must The Show Go On?

A couple grieve their son’s death in this Noël Coward-inspired drama. 

The New Theatre

Feb 4-14

My review of One Is Not Oneself by Gerard Lee coming up just as soon as the orchestra has an extraordinarily small repertoire ...

Landmark Productions, 'The Walworth Farce': What Are We, If Not Our Stories?

A father and his sons perform a ramshackle play about their departure from Ireland in Enda Walsh's grotesque drama. Photo: Patrick Redmond

Olympia Theatre
Jan 14-Feb 8


My review of The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh coming up just as soon as I bring you to the beach in Brighton ...

Exorcising Traumas at First Fortnight Festival

Eleanor Tiernan's National Therapy Project sets out to heal the Irish psyche by satirising past miseries. 

It speaks volumes that First Fortnight, an arts festival that runs the first two weeks of each year with the aim of challenging prejudice to psychological well-being, brings its audiences through the doors of St. Patrick's Hospital, the country's largest mental health provider. Passing staff, doctors and visitors bring the otherwise un-reminded reality of illness and recovery into view. It proves the length of which festival director J.P. Swaine and his team are willing to face stigma head on.