The Plough and the Stars review " wartime drama enters defamiliarised zone by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinIn this refreshed, high-energy restaging, Sean O'Casey's 1926 classic of political theatre still has insistent questions to ask about social justice Inclusion of Sean O'Casey's …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:40am on March 17, 2016[SHARE]

After Miss Julie review " a hint of Pinter in Marber's Strindberg by Helen Meany

Project Arts Centre, DublinThere's venom and sexual frankness in this reworking, but little sense of why Northern Ireland should be the location Related: Patrick Marber interview: 'Your hear…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:52am on March 14, 2016[SHARE]

Cyprus Avenue review " complex study of sectarian paranoia by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinStephen Rea is riveting as a troubled Ulster loyalist whose hatred of 'the Fenians' drives him to breakdown in this compelling Irish playThe therapist in David Ireland's latest …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:46am on February 18, 2016[SHARE]

You Never Can Tell review " Shaw's bumpy farce as relevant as ever by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinGeorge Bernard Shaw's early work rehearses trenchant social commentary about marriage and parenthood, and shows that compromise is no easy matterGeorge Bernard Shaw the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:58am on January 14, 2016[SHARE]

Through a Glass Darkly review " graceful vision lacks metaphysical heft by Helen Meany

Project, DublinThis stage version of Ingmar Bergman's film about a woman on the brink of madness swaps mystical intensity for dysfunctional family dynamicsIngmar Bergman referred to his film…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:40am on November 20, 2015[SHARE]

Irish theatre abounds with brilliant women " unlike the Abbey's programme by Helen Meany

The Abbey will commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising with work by nine men and one woman. But its incoming co-directors should champion a very different model of national theat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:43pm on November 9, 2015[SHARE]

By the Bog of Cats review " spirit of Medea haunts the Irish wilds by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinBlending Greek myth and Irish folklore, Marina Carr's bleak, surreal drama is undermined by too much shouting and a lack of pityA dead black swan, a blind seer, a visitor from t…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:52am on August 23, 2015[SHARE]

Happy Days: international Beckett festival review " exquisite Britten; comical, otherworldly drama by Helen Meany

Enniskillen, Co FermanaghMoving immersive performances of Britten's Phaedra and Beckett's All That Fall, along with his otherworldly Ohio Impromptu, starred in this year's lineupA woman is m…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:39pm on August 2, 2015[SHARE]

Luck Just Kissed You Hello review " a blistering exploration of masculinity by Helen Meany

Mick Lally theatre, GalwayPlaywright and actor Amy Conroy gives herself the best lines as a transgender man, in a work full of intense deathbed confrontations and family truth-telling A sex-…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:46am on July 20, 2015[SHARE]

The Shadow of a Gunman review " reinvigorates O'Casey's tragicomedy by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinWayne Jordan strips back Seán O'Casey's drama, set during the Irish war of independence, to deliver an impressive meditation on violence and reality that feels tellingly mode…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:21am on June 22, 2015[SHARE]

Krapp's Last Tape " review by Helen Meany

Ardhowen, EnniskillenWhite-faced, open-mouthed, and spattered with shards of white light, Robert Wilson's Krapp might already have passed over to the other side. His performance, in his own …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:15pm on June 19, 2015[SHARE]

Hedda Gabler review " Ibsen's drama is frozen in time by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinAnnabelle Comyn's staging of this drama of marital suffocation is so cool and controlled that it becomes almost inert Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:32am on April 22, 2015[SHARE]

Lally the Scut review " ferocious agitprop comedy by Helen Meany

The Mac, BelfastIn smalltown Northern Ireland, politicians, the media and the church all pursue self-serving agendas after a small boy is trapped in a bog hole Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:15am on April 20, 2015[SHARE]

A Midsummer Night's Dream review " Bard's comedy moves into a care home by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinTheseus is a doctor and Puck's potion is administered by drip in an inventive production that strikes a fine balance between comedy and pathos Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 6:56am on February 24, 2015[SHARE]

Everything Between Us " daughters of murdered Ulster loyalist reunite with explosive results by Helen Meany

Project arts centre, DublinWhen two sisters meet after an 11-year silence in David Ireland's play, the racist rants that ensue push at the limits of stage performance Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 1:27pm on February 18, 2015[SHARE]

The Walworth Farce review " Brendan Gleeson and sons are infectiously funny by Helen Meany

Olympia, DublinThe comedy is broad and the timing wild in Brendan, Domhnall and Brian's performance of Enda Walsh's play, but the ending loses its power to disturb Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:40am on January 15, 2015[SHARE]

She Stoops to Conquer review " panto performers drown out a class act by Helen Meany

Abbey, DublinConall Morrison's histrionic musical production treats Oliver Goldsmith's subtle social comedy with too heavy a hand Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:40am on January 5, 2015[SHARE]

Our Few and Evil Days review Cusack and Hinds shine through the darkness by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinSinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds superbly negotiate the emotional waves in Mark ORowes tense new play about a couple whose past comes back to haunt them Sinéad Cusack…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24am on October 7, 2014[SHARE]

Frequency 783 review death, loneliness and space travel at Dublin Theatre festival by Helen Meany

Project Arts Centre, DublinWhile this obtuse two-hander is cumulatively powerful, it is let down by a threadbare ending Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:17am on October 6, 2014[SHARE]

Brigit review portrait of a rural Irish artist by Helen Meany

Olympia theatre, DublinClassical and Celtic myth converge in this tale of an anticlerical craftsman, a prequel to Tom Murphys Bailegangaire Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 9:52am on October 3, 2014[SHARE]

Vardo review a graphic tour of Dublins desperate underbelly by Helen Meany

Oonagh Young Gallery, DublinThe final part of Anu Productions local-history cycle leads audience members through disturbing scenes featuring sex workers and stranded immigrants Continue read…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 8:08am on October 2, 2014[SHARE]

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing five-star review a courageously feminist production by Helen Meany

Samuel Beckett theatre, DublinEimear McBrides award-winning novel transitions perfectly to the stage in Corn Exchanges startling and upsetting Dublin theatre festival show about the impact o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:46am on September 30, 2014[SHARE]

Heartbreak House review George Bernard Shaw sails into surrealist waters by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinRóisín McBrinn's inventive production accelerates the pace and plays up the dreamlike quality of this nautically inspired farce Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:56am on August 26, 2014[SHARE]

Punk Rock review school exams unleash pent-up adolescent energy by Helen Meany

Lyric theatre, BelfastSimon Stephens' play of squabbling sixth-formers builds tensions to a striking climax in this finely tuned production Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 7:51am on August 25, 2014[SHARE]

Aristocrats review unsentimental snapshot of a family in decline by Helen Meany

Abbey theatre, DublinA sensitive revival of Brian Friel's play about a Catholic family in Donegal offers no easy answers to the problems of class and kinThe title of Brian Friel's play from …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12am on July 10, 2014[SHARE]