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OUR WRITERS
The Ugly Stepsister: This Cinderella story is gruesome, hilarious and definitely not for children
By Tara Brady
April review: This five-star film is difficult and abrasive, but it’s also cinematic poetry
ALL CULTURE
Behind the scenes at Luail as Ireland’s national dance company prepares to open Dublin Dance Festival
Artistic director Liz Roche has programmed Chora, a triple bill. ‘The dancers are constantly shifting focus and vocabularies, which really requires agility’
The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by Fawaz A Gerges – engaging read for seasoned observers
The scope is perhaps too broad, and the prose a little dry, for this book to appeal to the general reader
The Guide: Kilkenny Roots Festival, The Flaming Lips and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end
April 26th-May 2nd: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week
Life in Spite of Everything by Victoria Donovan: A sad and angry history of Donbas
The University of St Andrews professor explores this resource-rich region of Ukraine through the agonising lived experiences of local friends and acquaintances
Becoming Irish American: The Making and Remaking of a People from Roanoke to JFK
Timothy J Meagher’s study of an identity born in Ireland but made in the US is exhaustively sourced and fact filled
Books in brief: Hermit; Flower; Spring is the only Season
Reviews of new works from writer and spoken art performer Chris McQueer, contemporary artist Ed Atkins and sports and wildlife writer Simon Barnes
The Brightening Air at the Old Vic review: Conor McPherson’s outstanding new play turns convention on its head
Theatre: Chris O’Dowd, Brian Gleeson, Seán McGinley and Derbhle Crotty star in the Irish writer’s new drama
Jane Casey and Stuart Neville shortlisted
Books newsletter: a preview of Saturday’s pages and a wrap of the latest news
Ghost: Skeletá review – Hair-metal tribute pop minus the killer tunes
The rare moment of magic can’t compensate for the carnival of cringe on the Swedish band’s sixth album
Why the ‘shock’ Last of Us exit doesn’t technically count as a shock TV death
Pulling off surprises in television drama is harder than ever in an era of on-demand viewing, online chatter and pre-existing IP
The Movie Quiz: How many times have DiCaprio and Scorsese worked together?
Plus: Who’s playing Ringo in the upcoming Beatles tetralogy?
Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane: An intense single-mindedness
This is a book of fiction explaining why he has stopped writing fiction. How very Murnane
Death of Pope Francis: Derek Mooney leads RTÉ’s coverage to intermittently jaw-dropping effect
Radio: The shocked host sounds vaguely peeved at the disruption to his wildlife special
Careless People: The controversial book is shocking and reveals Facebook is far worse than we could have suspected
Sarah Wynn-Williams’ shocking Meta exposure is a scream-fest for anyone who cares about democracy
