Souvenirs for the Swindled

Actor Marcus Lamb and cellist Kim V Porcelli in Men Like Us - an arrangement of three Samuel Beckett plays by Mouth on Fire

Last Friday night the Beckett impresarios, Mouth on Fire, produced three of the playwright's one-act plays in the Kevin Barry Room of the National Concert Hall. The company were accompanied by musician Kim V Porcelli, whose looped cello arrangements spun a sound so vast that you could get lost in its despairing folds. First up was Matalang - an Irish language adaptation of Catastrophe - in which an autocratic director (Clive Geraghty) mercilessly arranges the presentation of an actor (Shadaan Felfeli) onstage, stripping his clothes and altering the height level of his arms. Felfeli's trembling turn as the unspeaking, unprotesting protagonist does disturb. "There's our catastrophe!", says the director triumphantly.

Discrimination in Drama: Persevering Some Playwrights

Philip Doherty's The Circus of Perseverance for the Gonzo Theatre Company (Smock Alley Theatre until Nov 30) makes jokes of the disenfranchised. 

There is a scene in The Circus of Perseverance by Philip Doherty - a comedy that brings the misfits of Dublin's economic misfortune into the circus ring (Smock Alley Theatre until Nov 30) - where a taxi driver laments the loss of Ireland's great artists. "Even Brendan Behan", he says, "and he had the face of a melted arse".

This Weekend: Cork Puts On a Show, Limerick Imagines its Future

This weekend the theatre communities of Cork and Limerick cities organise to address issues in their local infrastructures.

Attic Productions, 'Marvel': The Things Money Can't Buy

Project Arts Centre,

Nov 19-23

My review of Marvel by Elizabeth Moynihan coming up just as soon as I should have been named Hermes ...

Clinic Media, 'Life Behind The Venue': There is an 'Us' in 'Usher'

Project Arts Centre
Nov 19-23

My review of Life Behind The Venue coming up just as soon as I get an office with a balcony ...

Lyric Theatre, 'Brendan at the Chelsea': Beauty and the Behan

Project Arts Centre
Nov 12-16

My review of Brendan at the Chelsea by Janet Behan coming up just as soon as I phone a publisher to find out where my husband is ...

Smashing Times, 'Witness': Theatre for Change

Project Arts Centre
Nov 5-9

My review of Witness - a programme of new work by Smashing Times - coming up just as soon as I do a good impression of Enda Kenny ...

City of Culture to Increase Visitors to Limerick but is it Engaging with Theatre in its Locality?

Production image of Tom MacIntyre's What Happened Bridgie Cleary by Bottom Dog - one of several Limerick-based theatre companies who could benefit from inclusion in Limerick City of Culture

In July 2012 Jimmy Deenihan, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, introduced the National City of Culture initiative, wherein a designated city will host arts events all year round in hopes of increasing visitors to the locality as well having a long-term effect on the development of arts in the area.

Hosting duties were given to Limerick, a decision which couldn't have been more timely. It's been a difficult year for theatre companies in the city as the closing of the Belltable Arts Centre dealt a serious blow to the city's artistic infrastructure. When the government delivered the budget last month they announced €6m to go into Limerick for City of Culture. But from the reveal of the programme on Monday it was obvious that almost all of that money is going towards importing artists from outside the area. There's no doubt that the initiative will draw visitors to Limerick but it risks severely missing the opportunity to generate audiences and resources for the companies who will be working in the city after this ceremonial year is over.

CoisCéim Reveal New Dance Show About Former Project Arts Centre Director

Berlin-born Agnes Bernelle worked for British Special Operations during World War II as a 'Black Propaganda' radio announcer in Germany. She later became an international actress and cabaret singer, and spent the last years of her life in Dublin where she worked as Creative Director of Project Arts Centre

CoisCéim Dance Theatre launched their artistic programme for 2014 today. New collaborations see David Bolger and company donating their catalogue of twenty years' work to the National Dance Archive of Ireland (making them the first dance company to do so) as well as a residency in the National Gallery in February to develop a special performance in the gallery in June to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Most exciting is the March premiere of the company's next dance piece AGNES - a work based on the life of Agnes Bernelle.

Abbey Theatre, 'The Hanging Gardens': Why Don't You Listen to the Story?

Abbey Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival
Oct 9-Nov 9

My review of The Hanging Gardens by Frank McGuinness coming up just as soon as I'm better off marrying a horse chestnut ...