ULSTER ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES 60TH BIRTHDAY WITH NEW CHIEF CONDUCTOR

The Ulster Orchestra is celebrating its 60th birthday and Beethoven’s 200th anniversary, with an exciting new chief conductor and a programme full of popular favourites and new discoveries

A BETTER LOCKSMITH

The only authored piece on this blog announces my book A Better Locksmith, recording 40 years of coverage of theatre in Northern Ireland, 1984 to 2025.

REMEMBERING JAMSHID MIRFENDERESKY

Belfast gallery proprietor, artist and friend to other artists has left an unfillable gap in the cultural life of his adopted city.

HAMNET

Chloé Zhao’s emotional, visually arresting adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel is unflinching in its examination of the marriage of a mystical woman with the world’s greatest playwright.

THREE SISTERS

Alchemy Theatre presents its full production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters to sell-out audiences in Paris, in a fresh new version by company member Hannah Coyle.

RSC’s MEASURE FOR MEASURE

The RSC’s sleek production of Measure for Measure results in a play about sexual exploitation, political expediency and religious hypocrisy that could have been written last week.

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT

A classic children’s book for bedtime is given an updated stage adaptation, complete with a pithy script and some seriously clever songs.

WAR HORSE

The National Theatre’s War Horse has lost none of its power to astonish but has gained relevance in its depiction of the horrors of war.

DOM MARTIN: virtuoso blues musician

Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and now Dom Martin, a virtuoso Belfast blues guitarist, whose life story fuels his powerful songs.

IMPASSE & the gate house

Two impressive dance initiatives, based on personal experiences, light up the second week of the Belfast International Arts Festival.