Thursday, April 30, 2020

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

Friday, April 24, 2020

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

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

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

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

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

Saturday, April 4, 2020

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 

Thursday, April 2, 2020

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

Friday, March 27, 2020

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

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Our New Girl review: Sexism satire meets psychological thriller in Nancy Harris’s outstanding play

A nanny arrives out of the blue, to help a woman with her troubled son, in Nancy Harris's psychological thriller. Photo: Ros Kavanagh