The musician’s death adds a layer of grief to this autobiographical drama, in which Kirwan is an expectant father exploring what it means to be a parent

Theatre: Two pairs of sisters visited by a moment of reflective clarity gain a new understanding of family

Theatre: Play is a devastating retelling of the injustice suffered by Armstrong and the Guildford Four

Alan Hughes and Karl Broderick’s interactive pantomime, directed by Simon Delaney, features the promising Caoileann Woodcock as Belle

Theatre: This thrilling Cameron Mackintosh-Disney show capitalises on PL Travers’s original story, which has so much more to offer than the films

Theatre: Cathal Cleary’s lucid production features a pleasingly young cast, including an impressively fluid Eavan Gaffney as Blanche DuBois

Theatre: Grace O’Halloran, the production’s 11-year-old star, has an immediate, unforced rapport with the young audience

Theatre: Megan Pottinger brings distinction of style to tile role

Theatre: Ericka Roe is note perfect in Thommas Kane Byrne’s fabulous version of Dublin’s inner city

Irish National Opera’s production of Verdi, featuring Michael Chioldi, Soraya Mafi and Bekhzod Davronov, is hampered on opening night

Theatre: Toni O’Rourke plays Emma with gusto, and Hannah Mamalis is hilarious as Harriet. Despite some narrative overreaching, you’ll probably leave happy

Theatre: The annual extravaganza, written, choreographed and directed by Daryn Crosbie, features terrific performances from the Billie Barry Kids

Theatre: Marty Rea and Maeve Fitzgerald star as Gabriel and Gretta Conroy in Louise Lowe’s promenade staging of the beloved Dubliners story

Theatre: There are no special effects, no grand coup-du-theatre, but there are oodles of old-fashioned charm

Theatre: Staged in a vintage Ulsterbus, Raphaël Amahl Khouri’s high-concept play chronicles Creith’s difficult transition as she found her true self

Theatre: Shaun Dunne and Brokentalkers’ collaboration portrays the challenges of looking after a partner with a long-term illness

Michael Patric’s play misses the opportunity to pull the drama of the end of Ireland’s sugar industry into the story of its craic-loving factory worker

Mary Norton’s story will entertain children while adults can convince themselves of its literary status

Theatre: Sandra O Malley delivers a career-defining performance in Blue Raincoat’s meticulous production of Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 play

Theatre: Al Dalton directs Ciaran Bermingham in The Cure. Leon Danza directs Niall Holland, Simon McKeon and Mike O’Dowd in After Luke