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
From a Low and Quiet Sea: A reckoning of sins, secrets and sacrificeReview: Galway International Arts Festival premieres staging of Donal Ryan’s novelTue Jul 12 2022 - 15:52
Ghostly echoes as The Steward of Christendom finally returns to the stagePlaywright Sebastian Barry and star Owen Roe can feel the presence of the late Donal McCann as they bring a masterpiece back to lifeSat Jul 09 2022 - 06:00
I Poured the Tea: A sometimes confusing but ambitious debutTheatre review: The script is full of red herrings and late-stage exposition that have little bearing on the narrativeFri Jul 08 2022 - 10:17
