Liam McCarthy: ‘Theatre is weird. The problem is that it’s all about public humiliation’Playwright nervously awaits the opening of Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party, his reimagining of a Chekhov story now set in LimerickTue Apr 30 2024 - 05:15
Mother and Child review: A family reunion staged as a psychological dramaTheatre: This production has none of that oppressive intimacy; even as mother and child both discover they are sad products of their upbringingsFri Mar 22 2024 - 13:26
Na Peirsigh/Persians review: A mind-numbing report from a miserable warTheatre: Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill’s translation of the tragedy by Aeschylus finds parallels with Irish history but sometimes succumbs to information overloadMon Mar 11 2024 - 15:23
The Making of Mollie review: Anna Carey’s book is now a razor-sharp suffragette stage comedyTheatre: In Sarah Baxter’s production at the Ark in Dublin, the story unfolds in an ingenious slapstick version of DublinMon Feb 26 2024 - 10:55
Gaza’s oldest theatre lies in ruins. For the people who made art there, its story lives onRashad al-Shawa Cultural Centre, conceived by artist Laila Shawa and architect Saad Mohaffel, was destroyed in an Israeli bombardmentMon Feb 26 2024 - 05:00
Bellow review: An odd-couple pairing between an avant-garde performer and a traditional musicianTheatre: Brokentalkers are aware they occupy a rarefied zone. This encounter between Gary Keegan and Danny O’Mahony enjoyably sends up their approachFri Feb 23 2024 - 09:59
Sive review: John B Keane’s dark tale struggles to get past the flaw at its heartThe Gaiety Theatre’s new production makes plain the limitations of a play that barely allows its title character an original thoughtWed Jan 31 2024 - 14:56
2024 on stage: 20 plays, operas and dance works to see over the next 12 monthsStephen Rea brings Krapp back home, Hamilton comes to Dublin and Irish National Opera stages SalomeSun Dec 31 2023 - 05:15
Thomas Kilroy’s death feels like the end of an era for Irish theatreThe writer was often mentioned as part of a ‘god tier’ of Irish playwrights, alongside Tom Murphy and, especially, his close friend Brian FrielMon Dec 18 2023 - 08:55
Theatre of 2023: A year split between the muted past and vigorous presentProductions of classics appeared to be aimed at long-time theatregoers, yet this year the Arts Council warned of a decline in young people attending playsSat Dec 16 2023 - 05:15
‘What a rough day it will be for the drama when Ireland is freed’: Dorothy Parker’s extraordinary theatre criticismThe American writer’s six-year run as theatre critic, including for Vanity Fair, is rarely remembered, but its wit and fearlessness lit up Broadway a century agoThu Dec 14 2023 - 05:15
History Play review: Alive to revisionism and the unlit corners of the pastDublin Theatre Festival 2023: Pan Pan’s nightmare is not that unsettling to awake fromMon Oct 09 2023 - 09:13
Somewhere Out There You review: The enjoyable sweep of a head-spinning romanceDublin Theatre Festival 2023: In Nancy Harris’s bold new play, creativity becomes a way to deal with lonelinessWed Oct 04 2023 - 11:01
Zona Franca choreographer Alice Ripoll: ‘With each new dance we go one step more looking for freedom’Dublin Theatre Festival 2023: This year’s opening show, from Brazil, is a thrilling dance about a young generation facing off against a darkening worldSat Sept 23 2023 - 05:30
Columbia March review: A dark comedy about derailed youthDublin Fringe Festival 2023: The greater goal of this show seems to be a satire of machismoWed Sept 20 2023 - 10:22
Nancy Harris: ‘There’s something about other people’s weddings that tell us where we’re at in our lives’The playwright’s newest offering Somewhere Out There You may play to the rhythms of a romantic comedy, but it’s just as interested in family dynamicsTue Sept 19 2023 - 05:15
The Dan Daw Show: ‘It was important that we showed the beauty of kink’Dublin Fringe Festival 2023: Daw Daw’s radically personal production introduces sometimes alarmed audiences to far-out role playSat Sept 16 2023 - 05:15
Irish hip hop meets wrestling: ‘It’s the beauty of the absurd that both these things have’Dublin Fringe Festival 2023: Ahmed, With Love. is showcasing Irish rap in a wrestling extravaganza that isn’t afraid to be silly in its seriousnessWed Sept 13 2023 - 05:15
Scaredy Fat review: Gleeful horror-comedy about terrors of cinema and of real lifeDublin Fringe Festival 2023: The emotional tug of production is that it doubles as sincere coming-of-age storyMon Sept 11 2023 - 10:12
Endings. review: The Faustian bargain presented as slick gig theatreDublin Fringe Festival 2023: Fionntán Larney uses the rhythmic eloquence of hip hop to weave a world of suppressed male emotionSun Sept 10 2023 - 10:29
Only an Octave Apart review: An eclectic cabaret mash-up of classical and pop songsDublin Fringe Festival 2023: from Greek underworld to modern desolation, a message gets through: ‘You’re not beaten yet’Thu Sept 07 2023 - 10:04
Dublin’s disappearing venues: A promised 500-seat theatre is shrouded in mystery A narrow junction in the city centre was once the focus of a vibrant live entertainment scene. But will a new auditorium planned for the site be permitted to open?Sat Jul 22 2023 - 05:45
Lie Low: This outstanding Irish play deserves to set Edinburgh Festival Fringe alightTheatre: Ciara Elizabeth Smyth has bent the logic of farce before, but not with the force that propels Lie LowWed Jul 19 2023 - 11:57
The Hare: A journey made in hope becomes a tour of bruising collisionsTheatre: There is a hint of Lewis Carroll to Clare Monnelly and Bob Kelly’s intriguing playscript for this Once Off productionWed Jul 12 2023 - 12:15
Master Class: An Audience with Maria Callas – The infuriating genius of an opera legendTheatre: Caitríona Ní Mhurchú gives a sharp performance while Conor Hanratty’s intelligent direction allows for seamless retreats into the pastMon May 15 2023 - 10:00
‘In one moment something broke inside me’: Ukrainian artists in Ireland on the war at homeDisplaced by Russia’s invasion of their country, these performers continue to act, dance and teach with passionMon May 15 2023 - 05:30
Vardy v Rooney: how the Wagatha Christie trial was turned into a drama ripped straight from the tabloidsA very contemporary story ripped from tabloid headlines has been turned into a drama on its way to a Dublin stageSat May 06 2023 - 06:00
Speed-the-Plow review: Power trips without the intoxicating authorityTheatre: This restaging of David Mamet’s play about misogynistic Hollywood executives flips its characters’ sexes. Much of the impact gets lost in translationFri Apr 07 2023 - 11:26
Madonna played this preyed-on assistant on Broadway. Now a man is stepping into her shoesSpeed-the-Plow: Janet Moran flips the sexes in a new production of David Mamet’s play about casting-couch coercionsMon Apr 03 2023 - 05:45
Mirrorball review: A bold musical faces up to a new world of dangersBelfast Children’s Festival: Mirrorball lends urgency to creativity as a radical idea, when a climate of hatred is depressingly resonantMon Mar 13 2023 - 11:04
Mirrorball: Can a children’s play counteract a conspiracy theory?‘This musical is about how wonderful it can be when you step into your own life,’ says Matthew Cavan aka Cherrie OntopSat Feb 11 2023 - 05:00
The cellist, the comedian and the drag queen: doors open for the viral stars of lockdownMusician Patrick Dexter, comedian Shane Daniel Byrne and drag queen Ariana Grindr are enjoying post-pandemic successTue Feb 07 2023 - 05:00
Tales from the Holywell: Four stars for Damien Dempsey’s Abbey Theatre concert residencyThe singer-songwriter’s show, directed by Conor McPherson, combines absorbing self-portrait with compassionately intelligent visionFri Feb 03 2023 - 11:36
Charles Self: The inspiring work and tragic death of an intrepid RTÉ designerThe designer’s creativity at the dawn of the colour-television era has rarely been remembered since the horrific events of more than four decades agoTue Jan 17 2023 - 05:00
Piaf review: Great music from a dark, jagged placeElaborate production does justice to the French singerMon Dec 12 2022 - 11:49
Davina Devine: ‘I pick stuff that feels good to me. It’s not just about picking up a cheque’The drag queen hosts a weekly club night in Dublin and appears often on TV and radio, but we still know little about Davina 20 years into her careerSat Nov 19 2022 - 04:20
Propaganda review: Satisfying ruses in a cold-war musicalBelfast International Arts Festival: Conor Mitchell has crafted a slippery, intelligent new operaMon Oct 24 2022 - 10:19
‘I discover myself thinking that maybe an idea is too much. Then I decide: no, it’s not’Director Romeo Castellucci, who returns to the Dublin Theatre Festival next month, insists he’s not a provocateur despite a history of generating shock and outrageThu Sept 29 2022 - 05:00
The Complex: A Dublin arts centre comes together against the odds Vanessa Fielding has brought a large, multipurpose art space into being in Smithfield. It’s not her first achievementWed Sept 07 2022 - 05:00
Remnant Ecologies: marrying climate crisis alarm with a love of living thingsIn an art installation at the Botanic Gardens, a magical world comes under threatTue Aug 16 2022 - 05:00
Tivoli Place: Aparthotel’s theatrics devoid of community culture Francis Street development draws on local cultural capital but the Liberties has yet to see a returnSat Aug 13 2022 - 05:00
The Steward of Christendom: Owen Roe is tremendous in the Gate Theatre’s new version of Sebastian Barry’s playReview: Barry’s script aims to take us to the wrong side of history. Despite Louise Lowe’s meticulous direction, we don’t quite get thereWed Jul 27 2022 - 12:40
Why have theatre posters vanished from the walls of Dublin city?The Irish Poster Advertising company is no more. Already at risk of little to see, how are we to know what’s on?Tue Jul 26 2022 - 00:00
Girl from the North Country: In a Depression-era musical, Dylan’s music gives everyone a leg-upTheatre review: Uplifting epilogue reminds us what perseverance sounds like, before the winds of change blow in. It sounds like DylanFri Jul 01 2022 - 13:16
Dubliners: Struggling to get intimate with James Joyce’s short storiesDialogue used to help piece together comedy scenes are not always complemented by the production’s choicesTue Jun 21 2022 - 13:23
Translations: Seizing the emotional connection to languageLanguage is a serious, sacred thing in Brian Friel’s dramaMon Jun 20 2022 - 19:48
Constellations: A what-if rom-com with too many parallel universesThe concept is familiar, but ultimately the multiple narratives don’t deliverThu May 12 2022 - 09:29
An Octoroon: Theatre’s past crimes rewritten as a magnificent masterpieceCenturies of obscene caricature, is delivered as both confrontational and comedicWed Apr 27 2022 - 08:58
Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster – Modern horrors presented as thrilling gig theatreWho can think of a previous play where the Gate Theatre’s audiences danced at their seats?Thu Apr 21 2022 - 12:12
