Ireland Reviews

Writer: Anne Washburn Director: Ronan Phelan Reviewer: Clíona O'Connell   "This is a cartoon. That's what we're doing. You keep trying to turn it into a drama." Indeed Anne Washburn's clever dark comedy set in a post-nuclear disaster America does just that. Set over the course of three acts, Washburn uses the dramatic structure to imagine the future of society ...

Writers: Eugene O’Brien and Gavin Quinn Directors: Aedin Cosgrove and Gavin Quinn Reviewer: Laura Marriott The Good House of Happiness is presented by Pan Pan Theatre Company at Smock Alley Theatre as a part of the 2017 Dublin Theatre Festival. The play is a modern retelling of Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, a parable set in China between the ...

Concept and Text: Tamara Saulwick Song Writer: Paddy Mann Reviewer: David Keane Grief and loss often act as a catalyst for artistic expression but in the case of Endings the impetus for creativity is the moment of life ending itself. A combination of analogue and digital technology mix with dramatic lighting in this docu-theatre performance piece by Tamara Saulwick.  Reel-to-reel ...

Writer: Eugene McCabe Director: Garry Hynes Reviewer: Laura Marriott There is always excitement in the air when Druid stage a new production. For the 2017 Dublin Theatre Festival they are presenting Eugene McCabe’s play King of the Castle at the Gaiety Theatre. Often described as an unsung Irish classic King of the Castle has the potential to be an excellent ...

Writer: James Joyce Adaption: Tara Breathnach and Petal Pilley Director: Petal Pilley A hot-bed of feminine power and sexuality, Tara Breathnach’s one-woman show is a vivid and timely adaption of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Focusing on the book’s final soliloquy, this powerhouse of female agency is a welcome contribution to the Town Hall Theatre programme. It is hard to tackle Joyce’s ...

Writer: Enda Walsh Director: Enda Walsh Reviewer: Sarah Hoover The Second Violinist produces a series of after-images both literal and figurative. Like a camera flash, it reappears for some time after its conclusion. In this contemporary opera written by Enda Walsh and composed by Donnacha Dennehy for Landmark Productions and Wide Open Opera, the life of a protagonist who tortures ...

Writer: Doireann Coady Director: Doireann Coady Reviewer: David Keane A vigil takes place but this is one like no other.  The ritual is repetitive, obsessive, and full of rumination.  A woman, Doireann, presides over the ceremony. It is witnessed by the stage manager, Gemma, and the audience. We are there. She is there. Her brother is not. I’m Not Here ...

Writer: Shane Mac an Bhaird Director: Lynne Parker Reviewer: Sarah Hoover Rough Magic’s latest production, Melt, twists and turns in a two-and-a-half hour journey that feels like 30 minutes. The tension never lets up and the strangeness just increases as Shane Mac an Bhaird’s “sophisticated fairytale” uncoils. With Owen Roe heading up the cast, the close-quarterted space of Smock Alley ...