Three Short Comedies review " Seán O'Casey's rebels kick up a farce by Helen Meany

Pavilion, DublinDruid theatre's cast go all out for the ridiculous in this rarely performed triple bill, delivered with music hall flair Druid theatre company's triple bill by Seán O'Case…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:24am on December 13, 2021[SHARE]

Faith Healer review " Aidan Gillen is mercurial and mysterious in Brian Friel's classic by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinGillen, Niamh Cusack and Nigel Lindsay deliver haunting monologues in director Joe Dowling's production Frank Hardy, faith healer, was too brainy to be a true artist, hi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:42pm on December 9, 2021[SHARE]

Dublin theatre festival review " compelling, exciting drama by Helen Meany

Various venues, DublinImmersive Irish history, unacknowledged Aids deaths and post-coital chats " this year's festival is challenging and entertaining Returning to live performance with a f…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42am on October 12, 2021[SHARE]

The Border Game review " wit and wisdom on Ireland's schism by Helen Meany

Lyric, BelfastEx-lovers attempt to rebuild a fence in Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney's play marking the centenary of the partition of Ireland An invisible line bisecting a boggy field …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:12am on October 11, 2021[SHARE]

Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks review " bold mix of sacred and profane by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinSarah Hanly embodies a range of characters in her punchy debut play that explores the pressures on teenagers "It's a holy show," Saoirse declares, as she comes round in hospital…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:12pm on October 4, 2021[SHARE]

Demon twins and sci-fi raves at Galway's gobsmacking arts fest by Helen Meany

With theatre for an audience of one, a whirlwind set of Kevin Barry stories and sparky songs, the Irish festival is in fine form Adapting to Covid-19 restrictions with ingenuity, Galway inte…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:32pm on September 9, 2021[SHARE]

Walls and Windows review " a moving, unsentimental Travellers' tale by Helen Meany

Abbey, Dublin and available onlineRosaleen McDonagh's play, an unsettling love story set in a Traveller community, has the ring of truthfulness A love story shines through a mass of societal…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:24am on September 6, 2021[SHARE]

The Saviour review " gripping two-hander tackles lifelong effects of abuse by Helen Meany

Edinburgh festival fringe, onlineDeirdre Kinahan's play explores how culpable Máire can be for acts of cruelty, when she was brutalised as a young woman in a church-run institution Deirdr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:03am on August 15, 2021[SHARE]

The Seagull review " the setting is the star as Chekhov comes to Galway by Helen Meany

Coole Park, GalwayLady Augusta Gregory's former home is an apt backdrop for this transposition of the play to 1880s Ireland Druid Theatre Company's outdoor setting of Thomas Kilroy's Chekhov…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:48am on August 12, 2021[SHARE]

To the Lighthouse review " fierce and comic thoughts spoken out loud by Helen Meany

Cork Midsummer festival onlineVirginia Woolf's novel, centring on an Edwardian marriage and the rupture of war, is richly adapted and beautifully staged with a strong ensemble cast Shadow a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:18am on June 27, 2021[SHARE]

One Good Turn review " everyday questions of love and mortality by Helen Meany

Abbey, Dublin, and onlineUna McKevitt's droll domestic drama shows us a day in the life of a family dealing with the ill health of an ageing father Reopening to live audiences for the first …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 4:36pm on June 24, 2021[SHARE]

The Visiting Hour review " Frank McGuinness's moving care-home drama by Helen Meany

Available onlineStephen Rea and Judith Roddy give beautifully nuanced performances as a father and daughter meeting during the Covid-19 pandemic A pane of glass is not the only thing keeping…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12pm on April 23, 2021[SHARE]

Father the Father review " confronting a legacy of shame by Helen Meany

Available onlineGilly Campbell's autobiographical play about searching for her absent father may be a monologue, but it tells a story much larger than one person's How to make sense of an a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:18pm on April 9, 2021[SHARE]

Once Upon a Bridge review " three worlds collide in near-death drama by Helen Meany

Available onlineInspired by a real incident where a woman was barged into the path of an oncoming bus, Sonya Kelly's play explores proximity and distance Three lives intersect for just an in…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:33am on February 12, 2021[SHARE]

Dublin theatre festival review " city's players adapt to age of Covid by Helen Meany

With productions staged live outdoors, livestreamed, or available online, this year's festival fused the past with the present, and engaged an audience both present and remote "You see me, r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24am on October 9, 2020[SHARE]

The Cherry Orchard review " pungent and urgent Irish take on Chekhov by Helen Meany

Black Box, GalwayContemporary themes resonate throughout Garry Hynes's production about a debt-ridden aristocratic family on the brink of losing their estate Something in the sombre mood of …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:12pm on February 28, 2020[SHARE]

Watergate meets His Girl Friday: Irish news caper The Fall of the Second Republic by Helen Meany

A vaudeville thriller set around a Dublin newspaper in 1973 uses knockabout humour to parallel modern-day geopolitics 'General swearing and delight" is playwright Michael West's winning stag…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:54pm on February 25, 2020[SHARE]

'We're playing to the world': Galway's European capital of culture year kicks off by Helen Meany

Galway 2020 promises everything from Margaret Atwood to art with local asylum-seekers. Its organisers and artists talk about building bridges and creating a lasting legacy for Irish artists …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:12pm on February 12, 2020[SHARE]

Flights review " lads' drinking game ends in grief and regret by Helen Meany

Project Arts Centre, DublinCracking male banter gives way to seeping sadness in John O'Donovan's play about three men grieving for their friend Tripping on drugs, 17-year-old Liam lies down …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:54am on January 28, 2020[SHARE]

Pale Sister review " Colm Tóibín and Lisa Dwan's twist on Antigone by Helen Meany

Gate, DublinThe acclaimed writer's version of the Greek tragedy focuses on her sister Ismene, with plenty of modern relevances Colm Tóibín's new version of the Greek tragedy Antigone d…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 3:18pm on November 7, 2019[SHARE]

Dublin theatre festival review " gay clubs, glass houses and Greek tragedy by Helen Meany

Marina Carr's Hecuba probes a mother's grief, family secrets unravel in The Beacon and audiences are immersed in 80s LGBT+ Dublin in Faultline Questions of interpretation drive Nancy Harris'…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36am on October 7, 2019[SHARE]

This Beautiful Village review " sexist graffiti sparks power games by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinOnly those with the most righteous anger will triumph, in this small-town play about wider societal issues. Sexist graffiti on a suburban wall provokes blazing confrontation in …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:03am on September 7, 2019[SHARE]

Epiphany review " the meaning of ritual in a post-religious world by Helen Meany

Town Hall theatre, Galway There are echoes of Joyce and Beckett as guests gather at a dinner party and grapple with their own disconnectedness A highly strung dinner-party host looks set for…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:12am on July 22, 2019[SHARE]

Cork Midsummer festival review " theatre for all … and one by Helen Meany

Various venues, CorkMini plays performed for solo festivalgoers are a hit " plus there's a bluffer's guide to the suburbs and a Tom Waits-esque concept album come to life The multi-disciplin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 5:12pm on June 21, 2019[SHARE]

Citysong review " Dublin shimmers in poetic celebration of the cycle of life by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinA versatile cast and evocative setting bring to life Dylan Coburn Gray's award-winning script, which follows a taxi driver's journey through an eclectic Dublin family In Dylan C…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 3:12pm on May 31, 2019[SHARE]