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Book Review: The Skelper and Me
Tony Doherty completes his trilogy of Troubles memoirs with more accessible and authentic storytelling, spanning his time as an IRA prisoner to his long journey for justice after his father's death on Bloody Sunday
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'Absorbing' Troubles Art exhibition reflects decades of tension and turmoil
Over 40 works from National Museums NI's collections create an account of the conflict that's heartbreaking and hard to forget
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Peter Pan given a dazzling Derry makeover at the Millennium Forum
Big musical numbers, pyrotechnics and pixie dust-like sprinklings of the city's trademark sense of humour takes the age-old panto to a magical new place
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Derry: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23
Historian Adrian Grant delves a century into the city's past and, with new facts and parallels to today, manages to makes a gripping read from events we already know the outcomes of
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Myra's Story
A play so good they named it twice, Fionna Hewitt-Twamley not only fills Carmel McCafferty's shoes comfortably, but is bewitching as the rock bottom title character once known as Maire
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Hear My Voice: film inspired by Colin Davidson exhibition 'offers a tribute to the human spirit'
Brendan J Byrne manages to further enrich the moving source material of Silent Testimony while extending the experience for those unable to see its portraits in person
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Her Name Was Rose
Claire Allan leaves 'Chick Lit' behind in favour of a dark thriller which, for the Derry-based author, signals a bright new chapter
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The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee
While his wasted sporting potential is a source of frustration, the ex-world champion boxer's remarkable, still unfinished story makes for an absorbing read with as much tragedy as it has triumph
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Hansel and Gretel
Featuring a role call of fictional favourites, the MAC's fairytale production places a feast of Northern Irish theatre talent firmly in the (sweet) shop window
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WICCA
The fifth Echo Echo Festival of Dance and Movement bows out with an entrancing multinational exploration of the female bond
Blues On The Bay
Van Morrison's appeal remains undiminished in his third year headlining, but elsewhere the Warrenpoint festival seems restrained by contemporary preconceptions
Here Comes the Night
There's no time like the present as Rosemary Jenkinson's clever and well-acted culture comedy finds firmer footing in the more modern of its two narratives
The Zombies
It's the time of the season as the sixties pop survivors kick off the summer festival calendar under the twinkling lights at CQAF
Collected Works at Castle Coole
Spring showcase at the Fermanagh estate's unique new basement exhibition space highlights the area's breadth of artistic talent
Pr!ck
Shot Glass Theatre's love letter to cinema's comedy-romps of old offers an ambitious commentary on contemporary arts coverage disguised in seventies sleaze
Two Door Cinema Club
There's no sign of new songs, but under the tongue-in-cheek guise of a tribute act the Bangor boys make a long-awaited reconnection with their roots
Bag for Life
Colin Bateman takes a darker direction with his gripping second play, exploring our inherent inability to let go of the past in the digital age
The Sessions
Beatlemania returns to Belfast as the Fab Four's kaleidoscopic catalogue comes to life in a joyous re-staging of their Abbey Road exploits
Edge of Reflection
The Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble use Easter as the entry point for contemporary classical with an accessible programme of evocative compositions
TOST
Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre's latest work is a vibrant essay on silence, exploring humanity's misfires in the age of mass communication
Gordon Osràm's Funeral
Though not always subtle, this interactive swan song is a multi-layered and undeniably fun piece of theatre which puts every inch of its surroundings to use
Pause and Effect
Eleesha Drennan cuts loose with a colourful blend of playground antics and precision in this specially commissioned Maiden Voyage Dance performance
Beyond Maps and Atlases
Bertien Van Manen unearths the spectral beauty of rural Ireland in a collection of photographs offering something new with every viewing
Annie - The Musical
Forty years after first taking to the stage, the world's most beloved orphan shows little sign of her age in this riot of colour and movement at the Millennium Forum
Spring Exhibitions at The MAC
Emma Patterson takes in a triumvirate of international collections the Belfast arts venue has brought to Northern Ireland for the first time
Vintage Cinema Club
Michael McAlinden takes a bus back to film's golden age for a special showing of John Ford's The Quiet Man
Twinsome Minds
Renewed understanding and contemporary relevance is brought to the events of 1916 in this novel fusion of spoken performance and image projection
MASKparade
Vincent McDonnell's unusual exhibition re-writes Enniskillen's past from under the guise of a biblical discovery
Transatlantic Sessions
The revolving folk ensemble leave little to be desired in a showcase proving them to be the crown jewel of the first Derry International Irish Music Festival
Food and Folksong
Award-winning chef Emmett McCourt brings out the forward-thinking flavours of Derry's new music festival in a night where the menu matches the performances
Educating Rita
Emma Jordan tactfully transposes Willy Russell's play to Belfast with help from two extraordinary leads in this fine start to the year for the Lyric Theatre
The Musical Life of Nineteenth-Century Belfast
Roy Johnston's posthumous chronicle of the formative period is an unprecedented work. Claire Savage reports from its launch at the Linen Hall Library
Attila the Stockbroker
The firebrand poet exemplifies the rejuvenating power of punk in a razor-sharp and surprisingly poignant Out to Lunch performance
Mi Mundo
The third instalment of Terra Nova's Arrivals project immerses audiences in the domestic hardships of the UK immigration system
Once Upon a Time in the North West
Garbhan Downey's transatlantic newsroom thriller characterises the resilient role of Derry through some of the last century's darkest days
Opera, Literature and Lunch
Out to Lunch continue to brighten the dark days of January with a no frills fix of book-based works from NI Opera's fabulous young artists
The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio and the makers of Birdman combine for the visceral, awe-inspiring culmination of their cinematic careers
Mydidae
Martin Byrne's instrumental score for the harrowing Prime Cut theatre production stands strong even when removed from its dramatic visual context
Troubles Over the Bridge
James Ellis's memoir raises questions of the times that deprived the late actor of his true off-stage potential as well as the wider barriers art must often overcome
All Through The House
Though drawn out, a superb cast and an intricate plot help Judith King's festive farce break with tradition, making it the feel-good hit of the winter
Belfast Christmas Market
Culture NI sends its resident Scrooge to the grounds of City Hall to see if the seasonal staple is enough to get him in the holiday spirit
An Evening with Ian Rankin
The acclaimed author on why his latest release isn't 'really a Rebus novel', as the retired detective moves out on his own in the Scottish capital
Sam Burnside Book Launch
Playwright Frank McGuinness and more mark the release of the poet's newest publications with recitals tinged with the significance of recent world events
U2
For all their waning studio powers, Bono and his merry band still hit the mark on a politically poignant return to Belfast
This Place
Felix Gonzalez-Torres' mournful works find a new context while encouraging public participation in The MAC's posthumous exhibition
Turandot
NI Opera's contemporary co-production of Puccini’s visceral last work leaves no one on the fence in fulfilling the composer's modern vision
Mabel
Castlewellan Castle provides the backdrop for Maria Connolly's new heartwarming portrayal of one of its most remarkable residents
Brian McGilloway and John Connolly
Two of Ireland's most accomplished crime authors trade literary lessons to mark the double launch of their latest books
The Kitchen
Roysten Abel's hypnotic fusion of culinary and performance art is a sumptuous metaphor for human experience that will inflame the senses
The Wheels of the World: 300 Years of Uilleann Pipers
From the Famine to the Fureys, Colin Harper leaves few stones unturned in his quest to trace the fortunes of Ireland's 'only' true indigenous instrument
Pan
Despite an occasionally turgid narrative, Neverland's potential to thrill remains undeniable in Cinemagic's film festival opener
The Night Alive
Minor character inconsistencies aside, Conor McPherson's play is a furiously paced hacky sack of humour full of exceptional stage performances
My Writing Life; Why Bother?
Authors Carlo Gébler and Ian Sansom share their views and experiences of the literary world with a sold-out crowd at Aspects Festival
Beat Root
Robyn G Shiels and Richard Dawson turn folk on its head as Moving On Music's weekend takeover at the Crescent Arts Centre concludes
Dancing at Lughnasa
The Lyric's first production of Friel's layered masterwork is as rich and rewarding as theatre gets
Miss Julie
Fermanagh's Castle Coole stands tall in Colin Farrell's simmering Victorian drama, despite the stage-to-film adaptation's big screen shortcomings
Dancing Across the Peace Wall
Masters of traditional global rhythms and west Belfast communities come together to strut their stuff and point towards changing times in Northern Ireland
13 Minutes
David Holmes reunites with Oliver Hirschbiegel as the Downfall director returns to familiar ground, albeit with more mixed results
Out There, Thataway
Derry's Centre for Contemporary Art blurs the line between the physical and mental and the difficult and playful in Star Trek-inspired group show
Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival
Transforming everyday places into magical worlds, the fourth annual celebration portrays the Nobel Prize-winning writer in all his colours
House of Small Absences
Anne-Marie Fyfe reflects on places past and present in her fifth poetry collection
Disappear Hear
A sell-out crowd gathers in No Alibis Bookstore for an evening of musical and literary entertainment in support of the Alzheimer’s Society
Shooting for Socrates
We may not be Brazil, but with its see-through 'period setting' and wafer-thin plot James Erskine's chronicle of Northern Ireland's 1986 World Cup fails to even suspend disbelief
Matthew Whiteside - Dichroic Light
Melding chamber aesthetics with electronic minimalism, the Lisburn-born composer's debut strikes a rewarding balance of abstract subtlety and melodic power
Timbuktu
As far removed from the mainstream as its setting, Abderrahmane Sissako’s unflinching picture is rich in its portrayal of totalitarian rule in Africa but not without its glimmers of hope
Kathryn Stott & Martin Roscoe
Seventh annual Walled City Music Festival off to a thunderous start with two of the UK's finest pianists at University of Ulster Magee's Great Hall
David Sedaris
The celebrated American humorist delivers an evening of interlacing tales and outrageous material disguised in a performance akin to catching up with an old friend
Ash - Kablammo!
By no means a perfect comeback, but there is much to admire about Downpatrick's most famous sons' 'back to basics' first album in almost a decade
Crazy
Without enough plot or pizazz to sustain its run-time, Brenda Murphy's country-tinged comedy unravels despite fizzing performances from its cast of three
I Am Here
David Holmes' directorial debut is a personal, poetic film born of bereavement following the death of his brother – watch the full film now