Midsummer (a play with songs) review: A romantic comedy where the characters spend more time talking to us than each other

David Greig's play follows two lovers on a dizzying weekend in Edinburgh. Photo: Keith Dixon 

Citysong review: Wordy play about a Dublin family misses its tragicomic notes

Dublin is a record in Dylan Coburn Gray's new play, and time jumps like a needle skipping backwards. Photo: Ros Kavanagh 

The Magic Flute review: Trying to make something of Mozart’s wild music

A prince accepts a mission to rescue a princess in The Magic Flute but not all of it is plausible. Photo: Pat Redmond

La Natura Delle Cose review: A dance masterpiece chronicling the life of one character

Dublin Dance Festival present Virgilio Sieni's dance inspired by a Lucretius poem. Photo: Paulo Porto 

A Streetcar Named Desire review: Tennessee Williams's masterpiece becomes an absorbing psychodrama

This revival of Williams's play about a woman visiting her sister shows the horrors of domestic abuse. Photo: Johnny Frazer

The Glass Menagerie review: Tennessee Williams's breakout play with a little too much polish

The Wingfield family of The Glass Menagerie are all left behind, in some respect, by the world. Photo: Ste Murray 

It Was Easy (in the End) review: THEATREclub's coproduction with the Abbey is a bit of a mess

Grace Dyas's new play follows a group of off-the-grid artists imagining the end of capitalism. Photo: Dorje de Burgh

Spotless review: A peculiar fathering crisis drama turns fascinating thriller

In Gary Duggan's new play, a seemingly transparent young man works his way into the affections of two women. Photo: Keith Dixon 

In Our Veins review: A muddled history of a Dublin docker family

Lee Coffey's ambitious new play rushes through a century of the Dublin docklands. Photo: Pat Redmond 

“Everyone’s a critic”: As column inches narrow, it's time for editors to raise standards

One of the puzzling editorial decisions, in these straitened times, is the Irish Times commissioning book reviewers who have eked out careers in literary writing as opposed to journalism.