Hansel and Gretel review: Pantomime balances tradition with a contemporary pop twistTheatre: Plenty of songs and laughs in this crowd-pleasing show that honours panto’s legacyMon Nov 28 2022 - 15:17
The Irish Times books of the year: Best children’s books of 2022Sara Keating selects her favourite children's titles of the yearSat Nov 26 2022 - 06:00
From the Gaiety to An Grianán: 41 pantos and other Christmas shows around Ireland this festive seasonThis year’s productions include Aladdin at the Waterfront in Belfast, Cinderella at the Everyman in Cork, and The Jungle Book at the Gaiety in DublinMon Nov 21 2022 - 05:00
Gay rights, women’s right, a ‘bad’ abortion and a nervous collapse: Panti Bliss and Tara Flynn’s double billTheatre review: In Haunted and If These Wigs Could Talk, from the Abbey and Thisispopbaby, the activists and performers reflect on success and its priceWed Nov 16 2022 - 12:17
The Gate, after a challenging decade, looks to ‘become the type of civic space a theatre should be’Reports of a problematic workplace culture were followed by financial concerns. The Dublin theatre’s new directors, Róisín McBrinn and Colm O’Callaghan, are looking to the futureTue Nov 15 2022 - 05:00
Solar Bones review: Words worth listening toStanley Townsend carries the weight of this haunting adaptation of Mike McCormack’s novelTue Oct 25 2022 - 13:06
I Wish I Was a Mountain review: Once upon a time with real peopleDublin Theatre Festival 2022: An exquisite escape for young audiences from the noise of modern lifeMon Oct 17 2022 - 11:08
Bros review: Divisive depiction of totalitarian torture Dublin Theatre Festival 2022: Disturbing and demanding drama echos a resurgent European right-wingMon Oct 17 2022 - 10:28
The best new children’s books for OctoberReviews: The Sackville Street Caper; The Light Thieves; Don’t!; An Slipéar Gloine; The Book of Secrets; Girls Who Slay Monsters; The Lost Girl KingSat Oct 15 2022 - 05:00
The Boy Who Never Was review: An always interesting, surprisingly funny take on Sjón’s MoonstoneDublin Theatre Festival 2022: In expanding the story to include the recent pandemic, Brokentalkers don’t quite illuminate the novel that is their original sourceFri Oct 14 2022 - 16:53
Short of Lying review: Luanda Casella grabs our attention, then keeps us on the edge of our seatsDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Structured like a Ted talk, this tricksy performance tackles identity and culture in the internet ageWed Oct 12 2022 - 12:23
Chalk About review: Mature, challenging dance theatre for an eight-plus audienceDublin Theatre Festival 2022: There is plenty of art in this piece, which refuses to patronise its audienceMon Oct 10 2022 - 11:27
A Whistle in the Dark review: This blistering production is a fight for the survival of classic dramaDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Tom Murphy’s 1961 play is about more than toxic masculinity and tribal dysfunctionMon Oct 10 2022 - 10:45
Animals review: Politics and polemic in the farmyardDublin Theatre Festival 2022: This Brechtian reimagining of Orwell’s fable is great funFri Oct 07 2022 - 14:43
The Cold Sings review: Sylvia Plath remains enigmaticDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Junk Ensemble’s latest dance-theatre piece is involving but not illuminatingFri Oct 07 2022 - 12:55
Colic review: Inhabiting the troubling space of struggling adultsDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Eoghan Quinn asks ‘who’s the baby?’ in an unsettling play about parenthoodThu Oct 06 2022 - 13:50
All Hardest of Woman review: At Holles Street, a troubling meditation on life and its fragilityDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Anu and Emilie Pine stage a site-specific production at the National Maternity HospitalTue Oct 04 2022 - 13:45
Grand Soft Day review: A gentle celebration of sensory pleasureDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Mostly wordless performance has wide appeal for two- to six-year-old target audienceMon Oct 03 2022 - 12:40
Lost Lear review: Layered retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy set in a nursing homeDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Venetia Bowe gives a heart-crushing performance of emotional power and physical prowessMon Oct 03 2022 - 11:28
Good Sex review: Raw, unsettling, seductive, provocative and very, very funnyDublin Theatre Festival: This ingenious production from Emilie Pine and Dead Centre celebrates physical intimacy and the live experienceFri Sept 30 2022 - 11:35
How to Be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons review: Michael Keegan-Dolan’s bewitching dance theatreDublin Theatre Festival: Michael Keegan-Dolan’s at times bewildering show builds slowly into something very specialThu Sept 29 2022 - 16:09
Inspired by Ulysses, Emilie Pine and Anu stage a site-specific performance at Holles Street maternity hospitalAll Hardest of Woman engages with a passage in Jame Joyce’s epic novel to explore women’s experiences in the Dublin buildingWed Sept 28 2022 - 05:00
Joyce’s Women review: In Edna O’Brien’s new play, the epiphany James Joyce sought never comesDublin Theatre Festival 2022: Despite the Joyce’s Women title, this is ultimately his play, not theirsFri Sept 23 2022 - 14:44
Gull review: On a meander through Dublin, the subtle power of this piece becomes clearDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Shanna May Breen’s thoughtful, meditative environmental intervention directs our attention to our relationship with the cityFri Sept 23 2022 - 14:40
Fluff review: Sex workers’ hidden lives laid bareDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Lianne O’Hara’s debut play amplifies the voices of those who choose to make a living with their bodyFri Sept 23 2022 - 09:25
Conviction review: Battling inner demons in a graveyardDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Eva O’Connor’s strength is her sardonic tone, which infuses much of this audio drama about self-belief, self-doubt and sisterly loveWed Sept 21 2022 - 13:17
He’s Perfect review: A highly personal interrogation of sexualityDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Conor Cupples’s monologue contains much to admire — sometimes a bit too much, in factWed Sept 21 2022 - 10:15
Festival fun: A bumper harvest of children’s shows is on the way this autumnBaboró, Bualadh Bos, Dublin Theatre Festival and Dublin Fringe Festival have a packed programme of theatre for youngstersWed Sept 21 2022 - 05:00
Eugene O’Brien embraces the energy that working outside of his comfort zone offersThe writer discusses his debut novel, Going Back, a Pure Mule sequel, and two new playsSat Sept 17 2022 - 05:00
The Mothership review: A comic journey through parenthood, with two hilarious hostsDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Bright Club’s production is momcom with a little bit of science thrown inFri Sept 16 2022 - 11:24
The Perfect Immigrant review: Vibes and banter from an imperfect sonDublin Fringe Festival 2022: ‘Poem plays’ provide tonal interludes to one-man confessional structureWed Sept 14 2022 - 10:21
Animals at Dublin Theatre Festival: Putting a new skin on Orwell’s fableLouise White’s play takes Animal Farm as a starting point for examining contemporary privilege and powerTue Sept 13 2022 - 05:00
Hive City Legacy review: Full of raucous joyDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Women of colour ask ‘How Irish are you?’Mon Sept 12 2022 - 14:18
Beyond Survival School Bus review: Take a trip to the marginsDublin Fringe Festival 2022: All aboard for a live experiment for the endtimesMon Sept 12 2022 - 13:10
Accents review: From boy to man to fatherDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Conviction in tightly controlled chaosMon Sept 12 2022 - 11:31
Wake review: Thisispopbaby’s brilliant new show is like Riverdance for club queensDublin Fringe Festival 2022: Jennifer Jennings, Phillip McMahon and Niall Sweeney find new life in old traditionsMon Sept 12 2022 - 11:03
Dublin Theatre Festival 2022: 10 world-class shows to catchSara Keating on the shows to see at this year’s festival, from September 29th to October 16thMon Sept 12 2022 - 05:00
Mespil in the Dark Live: Pan Pan get meta with this play about theatreFirst shown as a film during the pandemic, this is terrific fun, though the effect is distancing rather than absorbingWed Sept 07 2022 - 19:12
Dark songs from the edge of the worldPerformance Corporation’s new site-specific work is inspired by tales of exile from MayoMon Aug 29 2022 - 08:20
The Tempest: rough magic in KilkennyLynne Parker has sculpted an easily digestible and streamlined story from Shakespeare’s notoriously convoluted plotWed Aug 10 2022 - 14:20
In Rhythms: an urbanly cool Kilkenny Arts Festival performance Review: Loosysmokes’ dance show feels at once nostalgic for the past and portentous of the futureWed Aug 10 2022 - 14:02
Tim Rice: How Andrew Lloyd Webber and I made Joseph a hit The musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is coming to Dublin, aged 50Sat Aug 06 2022 - 05:00
Children’s books: Which classic fairy tale hero are you?From Natalia O’Hara’s choose-your-own-adventure book to Claire Mulligan’s big-screen sense of adventureFri Jul 29 2022 - 05:00
Willie White: ‘We need the arts if Dublin is to thrive’Dublin Theatre Festival’s director reflects on the festival’s role in the capital’s culture during line-up revealWed Jul 27 2022 - 10:00
Dance that floats down the river as the world goes by Dancer Luke Murphy talks about the inspiration for and success of Volcano, and how his new show on a floating stage aims to change the way we interact with danceSat Jul 23 2022 - 06:00
Iron Annie review: Scuzzy, anarchic gig theatreStudy of youth, queer love, and two damaged young women in a border townFri Jul 22 2022 - 19:00
Poetry finds a superpower in the ordinary, everyday things of pandemic family life An inter-generational project of at Draíocht in Blanchardstown during lockdown tapped a nerveMon Jul 18 2022 - 06:00
Eleanor Methven: A sorcerer of the stageFor Methven, who stars as Prospero in Rough Magic’s The Tempest, the rehearsal room is the beating heart of a theatre productionSat Jul 16 2022 - 06:16
True West: The big surprise is how relevant Sam Shepard’s play still feelsGalway International Arts Festival review: Casting of Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood brings an immediate freshness to the workThu Jul 14 2022 - 09:51
The Last Return: Sonya Kelly has crafted a shocking and very funny playReview: It will make you think twice about what high culture means in the world outside the theatre buildingWed Jul 13 2022 - 11:16
