Marita Conlon-McKenna: ‘I didn’t think I would write another Famine novel’Thirty years after Under the Hawthorn Tree, the author has written a Famine story for adultsSat Jan 18 2020 - 06:00
The best plays to go to in Ireland this weekRonan Fitzgibbon’s Blackwater Babble and Irene Kelleher’s Gone Full HavishamSat Jan 18 2020 - 05:00
Are we ready for Martin McDonagh’s satirical look at sectarian violence?In the 1990s Druid passed on The Lieutenant of Inishmore – the political temperature is different nowSat Jan 18 2020 - 05:00
Teenage dreams turned to Stardust: This week’s theatre highlightGemma Kane’s debut play 48 sees the human side of the 1981 Stardust nightclub fireSat Jan 11 2020 - 05:00
Children’s books: Brighten up January with these new titlesStories of a lost cat, a lost bird and friendships in moments of hardship and difficultySat Jan 04 2020 - 06:00
First Fortnight Festival: National programme includes more than 60 eventsShows include mass physical therapy to theatrical portraits of minds under siegeSat Jan 04 2020 - 05:00
This week’s best theatre shows suitable for the whole familyRoom on the Broom and Buddy the Elf aim to please over the holiday seasonSat Dec 28 2019 - 05:00
Theatre 2020: The best shows to catch in the coming yearChekhov, McDonagh and O’Casey to be staged, along with newcomers to Irish sceneSat Dec 28 2019 - 05:00
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: Magic in the mundaneAbbey Theatre play’s spiritual undertones feel appropriate to Christmas timeSat Dec 21 2019 - 05:00
Different class and musical sass: This week’s theatre highlightsWell That’s What I Heard explores class divisions; Mamma Mia! explores Abba hitsSat Dec 14 2019 - 05:00
Cinderella review: Like being slapped in the face by a rainbowPlus our reviews of all the best Christmas pantos – and the ones to avoidWed Dec 11 2019 - 11:45
‘It’s above you’: How the Gaiety made Aladdin’s magic carpet flyMeet Daryn Crosbie and the colourful crew behind the Gaiety pantoTue Dec 10 2019 - 05:00
Children’s books round-up: A picturebook which is the perfect Christmas giftPlus new titles from Abi Elphinstone, Shirley Hughes and Natasha Mac a’BháirdSat Dec 07 2019 - 06:00
The week’s best plays: Christmas with Orson Welles and stuck in the pubA ‘radio play within a play’ production; and an annual tradition at the Lyric in BelfastSat Dec 07 2019 - 05:00
Christmas events 2019: Your guide to pantos, concerts, festivals and moreOur selection of festive events around Ireland right through to the new yearFri Dec 06 2019 - 06:00
‘For me my mouth is my hand, it’s second nature for me to hold a brush’Disabled artist Ian Parker has just illustrated a children’s book about a disabled characterTue Dec 03 2019 - 06:01
The best theatre this week: From Beckett to a female-centred festivalDes Keogh and Rosaleen Linehan stage a reunion; and SoloSirens comes to TallaghtSat Nov 30 2019 - 05:00
The best theatre shows to see this weekRory Gleeson’s Blood in the Dirt, and the Bockety World of Henry BucketSat Nov 23 2019 - 05:00
Drama at Inish gets the ‘funny fixer’ treatmentCal McCrystal has worked as a comedy adviser – from Paddington to One Man, Two Guvnors – and now comes to Dublin to direct Lennox Robinson’s 1933 play at the AbbeySat Nov 23 2019 - 05:00
A Christmas Carol review: Only a Scrooge wouldn’t enjoy itSelina Cartmell’s ambitious Gate production is both intimate and involvingFri Nov 22 2019 - 13:05
Children’s books round-up: What Greta Thunberg can teach kidsPlus new books on children who changed the world, the art of protest and time zone travel talesSat Nov 09 2019 - 06:00
Colm Tóibín is an ‘extraordinary’ writer of women ... ‘in the 1950s’Lisa Dwan and Colm Tóibín discuss working together on 'Pale Sister' a new piece of theatre based on the story of AntigoneThu Oct 24 2019 - 05:00
‘If they’ve made it, they’ll eat it’: Smart ways to get kids cooking – and eating less fussilyPicture recipe book offers an imaginative way to explore world cuisines with kidsSat Oct 19 2019 - 06:00
‘Totally different to creating work for adults’: Theatre makers on working with childrenBaboró arts festival in Galway will bring 14 theatre companies to perform for childrenTue Oct 15 2019 - 05:00
The Haircut! review: King Labhraidh Loingseach gets a makeoverDublin Theatre Festival: This perfectly paced production for ages eight and up retells the Irish folk tale for a new audienceMon Oct 14 2019 - 12:14
Children’s books: In the Key of Code breaks new groundThe Children of Lir , The Fate of Fausto , Scúnc Agus Smúirín, The Ghouls of HowlfairSat Oct 12 2019 - 06:00
Philip Pullman: ‘I don’t think anyone could have predicted the ruin’The author on His Dark Materials, its follow-up trilogy, and the ‘total failure’ that is BrexitSat Oct 12 2019 - 05:00
Us/Them review: A story for children that no child should ever have to hearDublin Theatre Festival: Bronks stages a powerful, politically charged account of the Beslan massacreWed Oct 09 2019 - 11:53
Pike St review: A storm threatens Manhattan – and a familyDublin Theatre Festival: Nilaja Sun plays three generations of characters with easeThu Oct 03 2019 - 11:50
Walking to Jerusalem review: A personal and political one-man travelogueDublin Theatre Festival: Justin Butcher serves as an energetic guide along the Roman roads out of EuropeWed Oct 02 2019 - 14:40
Mám review: Stirring, sensuous showcase of the physical formDublin Theatre Festival: Michael Keegan-Dolan’s new dance production is 90 minutes of ritualised ecstasyMon Sept 30 2019 - 10:50
Last Orders at the Dockside review: Celebration of a way of life no longer with usDublin Theatre Festival: Dermot Bolger’s social drama offers a window into history, but may struggle with contemporary audiencesFri Sept 27 2019 - 11:30
Some Names Were Changed review: Noble purpose obscured by theatrical indulgenceDublin Fringe Festival: The parodic format is entertaining but tests an audience’s patienceThu Sept 19 2019 - 15:13
Afloat review: Bickering and biscuits as Dublin drownsDublin Fringe Festival: The capital is underwater in this enlightening and confronting look at climate changeThu Sept 19 2019 - 13:09
Stories for young readers: The best folktales for childrenCatherine O’Flynn has a debut children’s novel called Lori and MaxSun Sept 15 2019 - 06:00
Making a Mark review: A life worthy of celebrationDublin Fringe Festival: The victories and tragedies of Mark Smith recounted through interview and performanceFri Sept 13 2019 - 11:52
Gym Swim Party review: An epic battle on a contemporary stageDublin Fringe Festival: Much to enjoy in this ambitious production, which merges ancient myth with modern lifeFri Sept 13 2019 - 11:14
GAA MAAD review: Gaelic games go GAAYDublin Fringe Festival: Vickey Curtis and Áine O’Hara practice their own version of inclusivityWed Sept 11 2019 - 10:51
Sauce review: A really funny (and very saucy) showDublin Fringe Festival: This love letter to sauce delights in innuendo and provokes hystericsWed Sept 11 2019 - 10:47
Moop review: Neon-popped and quirky celebration of the possibilities of playDublin Fringe Festival: Playful encounters with bowler hats, water wings and a stick bring hilarious resultsMon Sept 09 2019 - 11:23
Mother of God review: Alison Spittle on feminism, sexuality and the joys of rural IrelandDublin Fringe Festival: Spittle takes to the pulpit with confidence as she rakes over her pastMon Sept 09 2019 - 11:12
Marina Carr: ‘There’s a whole world of women’s work that isn’t being seen’The playwright comes full circle with the Irish premiere of Hecuba at Project Arts CentreSat Sept 07 2019 - 05:00
The incredible but true stories of Mark SmithMaking documentary theatre about his life has given the actor his first opportunity to tell his own storySat Aug 24 2019 - 05:00
Children’s books round-up: Grandparents get adventurousPlus a visual treat that doubles as an accessible parable about anxietySat Aug 17 2019 - 06:00
Design and Destroy: Ireland’s entry at the Prague QuadrennialAn expressionistic form-bending film, giving an insight into the process and product of stage designThu Jul 25 2019 - 05:00
Wobblers and warriors: the latest in children’s booksHumorous story gives an entirely different perspective on the much-maligned spiderSat Jul 20 2019 - 06:00
Liz Pichon: Probably the most famous author you have never heard ofFor the creator of the Tom Gates character, reader’s imagination is as important as her own in the booksSat Jun 29 2019 - 05:00
The best new children’s books: Scary sea monsters and school creepsNarwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton, Thomas Taylor’s Malamander, Abi Elphinstone’s Rumblestar and A Girl Called Justice by Elly GriffithsSat Jun 22 2019 - 06:00
Kaleidoscope: Putting family at the heart of the festivalRichard Seabrooke, the man behind the upcoming three-day Kaleidoscope festival, believes that cultural experiences can fire young imaginationsSat Jun 22 2019 - 05:00
What happens when you ask children to design their own playground?Swings and roundabouts are not as important as freedom to experiment and take risksSat Jun 15 2019 - 06:01
