Howie the Rookie review: A vivid poignant broadcast from Mark O’Rowe’s Dublin underworld

Glass Mask's streamed theatre production, in conjunction with the Lock Inn, rediscovers the darkness and violence of Mark O'Rowe's breakout play. Photo: Seán Doyle

Coronavirus arts measures: The Culture Ministry is a carriage waiting to turn into a pumpkin

Bewley's Café Theatre is the first venue to be seriously impacted by the pandemic. Photo: Bewley's

We’re in Here review: A sly contemporary play about temporary disconnection and lasting gratitude

The narratives of a drama facilitator, a counsellor, and a son remembering his mother intermingle in John Doran's consoling new play. Photo: John Doran

The Little Foxes: Can the flapper generation of the Gate’s plays become the theatre’s playwrights?

Lillian Hellman in 1976. A revival of her 1939 drama The Little Foxes, now sadly postponed, could signal a new trend for how the Gate Theatre interprets the American playbook. Photo: The Advertising Archives

Coronavirus arts measures: Politicians like talking art, just not the work involved in making it

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar aimed for a piece of rhetoric by quoting Seamus Heaney, but when politicians talk about the work involved in making art, they usually sound inarticulate. Photo: RTÉ

Coronavirus arts measures: The government took an arts policy and made it into a branding strategy

Last week, Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan launched new arts measures to cope with the pandemic, with €500,000 invested by the department. Photo: Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Irish Times Theatre Awards: The political avant-garde leads the pack, as the sector feels the cold

The Examination, a sly contemporary play exploring the Irish prison service, wins best production, in a year when the outwardly political shows are winners. Photo: Luca Truffarelli 

The Duty of Harsh Criticism: It isn’t pointless to talk about art during the crisis

During World War I, book critic Rebecca West wrote the essay "The Duty of Harsh Criticism," a reminder that art must be talked about during the war. Photo: AP

The Dragon: The uplifting fantasy comedy staged at the end of a pandemic

Lady Gregory's 1919 comedy is set in a mythical castle on the Burren, where, according to a prophecy, a princess will be devoured by a dragon. Photo: NUI Galway archives

Coronavirus: Art has a kind of magic. It’s helping to counteract feelings of separation and loneliness

As the virus spreads, art is synthesising new connections. Painting: Three Witches (scene from Macbeth) by William Rimmer.