Circle Mirror Transformation review – Annie Baker’s drama class is a lesson in power-play
Directed by Róisín McBrinn, this 2009 play is an absorbing study of group dynamics, deepened by intricate dialogue and superb acting
April 2024
The Pull of the Stars review – Emma Donoghue adapts her Spanish flu novel for an all-female cast
Set in a 1918 maternity ward, the play offers moments of tenderness amid its commentary on political and social upheaval
October 2023
Dublin theatre festival goes from Quaker reflections to high-speed romance
This year’s shows include a meditative new play from Janet Moran and an ironic variation on the romcom by Nancy Harris
December 2022
Piaf review – Camille O’Sullivan fully inhabits the doomed chanteuse
Pam Gems’ play may have dated, but the tragic arc of Édith Piaf from street urchin to torch singer is still compelling, told through music that rings with drama
July 2022
The Steward of Christendom review – shattering portrait of a scarred man
Owen Roe is riveting in Sebastian Barry’s deconstruction of a family set against the tensions of Irish independence
May 2022
Constellations review – a stirring love story with infinite possibilities
This intricate production of Nick Payne’s high-concept romance poses existential questions with elegance and levity
April 2021
Lockdown culture
The Visiting Hour review – Frank McGuinness’s moving care-home drama
Stephen Rea and Judith Roddy give beautifully nuanced performances as a father and daughter meeting during the Covid-19 pandemic
November 2019
Pale Sister review – Colm Tóibín and Lisa Dwan's twist on Antigone
The acclaimed writer’s version of the Greek tragedy focuses on her sister Ismene, with plenty of modern relevances
October 2019
The week in theatre: Mephisto [A Rhapsody]; A Day in the Death of Joe Egg; The Man in the White Suit – review
A stirring Faustian tale put actors under the moral spotlight; a Joe Egg revival is brave but bleak, and The Man in the White Suit fades fast
March 2019
The Children review – Lucy Kirkwood's taut tale of human and atomic meltdown
Three nuclear physicists are reunited in this engrossing drama about ageing, marriage and sexual rivalry, directed by Oonagh Murphy
January 2019
The week in theatre: When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other and more – review
Cate Blanchett and Stephen Dillane can’t save a clunky S&M study of sexual politics
October 2018
Hamlet/Richard III review – Ruth Negga plays the Prince with priceless precision
The Lost O’Casey review – unflinching look at Dublin's housing crisis
June 2018
The Snapper review – Roddy Doyle's baby banter brought to vivid life
The author’s adaptation of his comic novel about an unplanned pregnancy is filled with nostalgic touches and noisy energy
May 2018
The week in theatre: Red; Effigies of Wickedness – review
'Fearless' Irish playwright Tom Murphy dies aged 83
January 2018
Doreen Keogh obituary
Waking the Feminists: the campaign that revolutionised Irish theatre
September 2016
Lisa Dwan: ‘Beckett made these wounds universal’
As her new play No’s Knife, adapted from a number of Samuel Beckett’s prose pieces, opens at the Old Vic, Lisa Dwan talks to Belinda McKeon about the danger of politicising work for your own ends
