Ireland Reviews

Writer: Dion Boucicault Director: Clare Maguire Reviewer: Laura Marriott The Shaughraun is a melodrama by Irish playwright and actor Dion Boucicault. In the small village of Suil-a-beg, County Sligo, mystery, intrigue and drama unfold as a vast range of absurd, exciting and interconnected events set the scene for a night of fun and frivolity. It is difficult to introduce the ...

Come On Home is a play steeped in tradition. At first glance, this is yet another naturalistic 'state of the nation' play.  However, writer Phillip McMahon uses this tradition to write previously marginalised stories back into Ireland's theatrical canon. Michael, played by Billy Carter, returns to his rural home-town after years of absence for his mother's funeral. His arrival at the family ...

Scríbhneoir/Writer: Darach Mac Con Iomaire Stiúrthóir/Director: Darach Mac Con Iomaire Léirmheastóir/Reviewer: Ciara L. Murphy Historically speaking, theatre and literature in the Irish language has been an artistic tool of subversion. A challenge to the status quo. A means of expressing those stories that remain hidden. Darach Mac Con Iomaire's co-production between An Taibhdhearc and the Abbey Theatre actively draws on this ...

Writer: Marina Carr Director: Caitriona McLaughlin Reviewer: Ciara L. Murphy On Raftery's Hill premiered to Irish and British audiences in the year 2000, and has been seldom produced since. In 2018, it makes its debut on the Abbey Theatre stage. The Abbey Theatre’s decision to stage Carr’s most controversial play is interestingly framed by the current discourse in Irish society ...

Two Truths is an interactive theatre game, created by Sarah Hoover, and will be running in the 2018 Galway Theatre Festival at the start of May. Ciara Murphy caught up with the production's creator to get a sense of what the show is about. What is Two Truths? It’s theatre you can win. It’s theatre disguised as a game. There ...

Creators: Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver Reviewer: Saoirse Anton Split Britches have been making feminist, politically engaged theatre for three decades at this point; early in their career they made work responding to Thatcher and Regan, and now they are responding to the current political situation with the same level of urgency as before. They write that their “purpose has ...

Writer: Ali Hardman Director: Clare Maguire Reviewer: Laura Marriott On balance it is fair to argue that the opening night of Ali Hardman’s new play Electric, is more enjoyable than a trip to Electric Picnic. Although this may say something about the lack of shower facilities at most festivals, it also highlights how fun and entertaining Electric is. One of ...

Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book:  John Weidman Director: Selina Cartmell What does one expect from a Sondheim musical? Irish and international audiences alike have been thrilled for many years by the dynamic musical compositions and quirky lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. As such, this production of Assassins has a lot to live up to, and something about this production falls ...