Author: The Reviews Hub - Ireland

Director and Choreographer: Laura Murphy As part of Dublin’s Dance Festival 2024, The Irish Film Institute presents the premiere of Laura Murphy’s compilation of short films portraying 8 “fierce” women born to dance.  A mesmerising collaboration, each individual and diverse segment expounds uniquely and distinctly.   In a veritable dance of expostulation and reply, a vertical black line on a white background responds animatedly to Kathleen O’Malley’s voiceover. It expands, bends, swirls and sways as she describes wanting “to bust out” of her body in “a hulk moment”.  For her, “improvisation is almost like meditation – outside, in”. We watch Alicia Christofi…

Choreography: Emma Martin As we sat down in our seats, the crowd was naturally hushed by the presence of a large grey stallion in the centre of the stage. Atop him sat a solemn women veiled like a bride, their duel presence reflected in the light of the stage creating a ghostly cast. A few moments after everyone had sat the horse and rider sauntered off the stage and we began an emotional journey through movement, sound and light. The first dancer moves across the stage with brilliant prowess, but to music that seems only to be coming from within.…

Choregraphy: Cheng Tsung-lung Company: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre As the Dublin Dance Festival kicked off, I found myself at the mercy of 13 Tongues by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. The show, which graced the festival on the 14th of May was as enigmatic as its title suggests. From the moment the lights dimmed, 13 Tongues whisked its spectators away to the bustling streets of Taipei’s Bangka district. The performance showcased both the culture and the dancers in a rich tapestry of light and dance, with the stage a canvas broadcasting the bright hues of Taiwan’s historic street life and…

Writer: Claudio Macor Director:  Robert McWhir Claudio Macor’s tale of pre-war Hollywood homophobia The Tailor-Made Man had its first stage outing close to 30 years ago. Since then, the piece, inspired by tales from Kenneth Anger’s dubiously researched book Hollywood Babylon, has been workshopped for a TV production that never happened and spawned a radio version starring Judd Hirsch. Numerous US and UK revivals have followed as has a well-received 2013 Arts Theatre musical version. The story of how out queer movie star William ‘Billy’ Haines fell foul of silver screen hypocrisy, embodied in the grotesque form of movie mogul…

Writer: Roman Vai and Catie Grainger Director: Joy Nesbitt The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is a wonderfully inclusive event, but it stands to reason that not every play will be a knock-out show; as was the case for The Caoining. Had one not read the synopsis, you would have been sorely lost during the performance.  The Caoining is a queer love tale of infatuation and intrusive thoughts. Two incel men, Patrick (Richard Neville) and Pete (Donnagh Mayock) find themselves locked in an online love affair over the idea of killing Patrick’s roommate, ‘The Banshee’ (Enya Donogue). An ambiguous spirit…

Writer: Anne Gildea Director: Paul Farren  Walking up to The Solstice Arts Centre for tonight’s performance of How to Get the Menopause and Enjoy it, in a merry procession of pairs and groups of women, I am reminded of the bicycles going ‘by in twos and threes’ on the night of a dance in the poem Inniskeen Road.  Just as Patrick Kavanagh’s revellers shared in “..the half-talk code of mysteries” and “..the wink-and-elbow language of delight” so too is our sisterhood of fifty-somethings united in the enigmatic vernacular of “Pausos Menos”.   We take our seats to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will…

Writer: Nuala McKeever Director: Dan Gordon On the surface Truth, Love or Promise is a sweet story about three women who develop an unlikely friendship at a creative writing class in Belfast, but there’s a surprising amount of depth in this short one woman show. Exploring themes of bereavement, miscarriage, sexuality, and Northern Irish identity it packs a lot in. While that could easily prove an overload in only an hour and five minutes, it doesn’t feel like that at all; perhaps thanks to the infectious good nature of the leading lady and writer of the play – Nuala McKeever.…

Writer: Hilary Fannin after Maxim Gorky Director: Lynn Parker You won’t leave satisfied by neat resolutions to life’s dilemmas but you will leave thinking.  Children of the Sun centres on a dysfunctional household living in a rural area in an indeterminate past.  The play opens on a superb set by Sarah Bacon. She incorporates four separate spaces into a unified whole, and an eclectic assemblage of items conveying a sense of genteel mayhem with hints of impending disequilibrium. Hilary Fannin’s lyrical writing immerses the audience within an eccentric family with her superb word painting and laugh aloud one liners. Under…