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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
Clarkson, Hammond and May Live!
Dazzling vehicular displays and topical 'bantz' from the former Top Gear trio can't help distract motor novice John Higgins from the feeling of watching 'Dave' in an ice rink
Donal Scullion
Though sonically on point, the folk singer's debut album is a game of two halves with middling lyricism revealing little of the artist himself
I Will Go There, Take Me Home
Curated by Derry's Gregory McCartney, The MAC’s latest group exhibition challenges visitors to consider the dangers of ignoring new political, social and economic realities
Lanciatore
Paul Kennedy's wonderfully realised morality tale reveals the plight of the 21st century artist and warns of a brain drain as artistic opportunities dry up in Northern Ireland
Rosewater
Satirist Jon Stewart's directorial debut tells the remarkable story of one journalist's interrogation at the hands of the Iranian government after appearing on The Daily Show
Enniskillen's Wilde Weekend
A magical, informative programme of events celebrates Oscar Wilde's dual nature – bohemian/academic – formed while attending Portora Royal School from 1864-71
My English Tongue, My Irish Heart
Martin Lynch tells a contemporary cross-border love story set against the backdrop of departure and based on the book The Literature of the Irish in Britain
Look Out Machines!
Duke Special goes electro on captivating new studio album, his most personal to date, propelled by synths and marked by a romantic, optimistic lyricism
The Survivalist
Stephen Fingleton’s tense, hypnotic and masterful debut, shot in and around Ballymoney, is a mesmerising dystopian tale
Ciaran Carson and Stephen Sexton
Teacher and pupil read from their work at the 2014 John Hewitt Society Spring Festival in Carnlough: 'Everything I do in English, there’s always the shadow of another language'
Lunch With Bowie
Writers and musicians pay tribute to the divisive, chameleonic rock icon at the Ulster Hall's latest Literary Lunchtime event. 'He was the human equivalent of a Google search'
Lally the Scut
Abbie Spallen creates a local Hell for local people in this powerful, hilarious, gruelling satire on post-conflict Northern Ireland currently running in The MAC
Cobain: Montage of Heck
Brett Morgen's artful documentary uses home movie footage and Kurt Cobain's extensive journals to reveal the man behind the music
Belfast Exposed Archive Prompts Complementary Exhibitions
Works by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin reveal how different artists interpret the photography archive in radically different ways
The Good Son
Belfast author Paul McVeigh’s debut novel may be set during the Troubles but is a charming coming-of-age story with a refreshingly complex young narrator at its heart
Disquiet
Therapy? release 'a sequel of sorts' to 1994's seminal Troublegum, a fearsome album that deals with addiction, ageing and expectation with typical vigour
One Sandwich Short of a Genius
Pending nuptials provide the perfect backdrop for Big Telly's chaotic farce featuring a cast of fine comic actors and an hilarious script by Zoë Seaton and Shelley Atkinson
Robot Overlords
Carrickfergus and Donaghadee provide the backdrop for this bland sci-fi that could yet find an audience as an inadvertent cult comedy
The Pillowman
Martin McDonagh pits the lowly writer against a totalitarian system suspicious of creativity in his finest play to date, currently running in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast
The Belonging Project
Photographer Laurence Gibson's staged portraits of migrants living in Northern Ireland are full of humanity but frustratingly inaccessible to anyone without a smartphone
Brilliant Corners Jazz Festival
Dublin City Jazz Orchestra, featuring trumpeter Linley Hamilton, get into the swing of things at the Crescent Arts Centre – find out what else is happening over the coming days
Cinderella
Director Kenneth Branagh's straight adaptation of the familiar fairy tale is a witty visual spectacle that will charm well beyond the stroke of midnight
Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing 2015
Community Arts Partnership reward Stephanie Conn for her poem 'Lavender Fields' at a busy evening in Belfast's Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts
The Squat Pen
Ballycastle Writers Group host the fortnightly showcase of poetry and music on tour from its usual home of Belfast's No Alibis Bookshop
Arrivals2
Months of workshops and interviews with ethnic minorities inform five short plays revealing how intercultural Northern Ireland is changing for the better and the worse
Duets: Re-working the Catalogue
Van Morrison celebrates his 70th birthday with a committed, joyous collection of vocal collaborations featuring Michael Buble, Bobby Womack and a whole lot of soul
Alternate State / Alternative States
Poets Colin Dardis and Geraldine O'Kane interpret the work of artist Brian Kielt in an exciting and refreshingly challenging exhibition at the Duncairn Centre
Rock'n'Roll Politics Election Special
Political columnist Steve Richards considers how the May 2015 general election might pan out at the inaugural Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics
Run All Night
Liam Neeson's latest action flick is an unexpectedly engaging take on the Irish-American mafia narrative in which he cements his position as this generation's Charles Bronson
BBC St Patrick's Day Concert
Ulster Orchestra support Soak, Paul Brady, Duke Special and a host of others as BBC Northern Ireland prerecord a Waterfront Hall concert to be broadcast on March 17
The Gift
Cahoots NI work with visually impaired children to create a tantalising sensory journey with the help of playwright Charles Way and composer Garth McConaghie
Boogaloo and Graham
Michael Lennox's BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated short took on the world and won the hearts and minds of millions – read our review ahead of two screenings at Queen's Film Theatre
Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival
Trevor Hodgett attends three gigs at the Empire and Holiday Inn as Cara Dillon, Foy Vance, Ken Haddock and others share stages with America's finest
Still Alice
When her mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease, our critic's life was turned upside down – she reviews the low-budget, Oscar-winning film that reflects her real world experience
It Follows
Fright fans, remember the name – David Robert Mitchell channels his inner John Carpenter in a gripping feature stalked by an unseen, unknown spectre
The Killer Instinct
Featuring former members of legendary rock group Thin Lizzy, Black Star Riders produce a hard rock album that is derivative but essential listening for any fan of the genre
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Group show in Derry's Centre for Contemporary Art, named after the 1994 Pavement album, features a range of works inspired by nature and marked by lush weirdness
The Imp
Having trained in Paris, physical performer Jude Quinn applies a European sensibility to his latest work confronting the events of January 7, 2015 and the Charlie Hebdo massacre
Voicebox
New comedy club in Belfast's Loft – artist's studio by day, platform for new comedy talent by night – is much more than a cheap and cheerful night out
Quartet for Fifteen Chairs
The kids love Maiden Voyage Dance's Chaplin-esque piece, marked by slapstick humour, enchanting choreography and a joyous score by Brian Irvine
Zombie Science
Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? Zombiologist Dr Ken Howe joins forces with the NI Science Festival to equip Northern Ireland for the inevitable
Belfast Music Society Festival
Philip Hammond takes in two concerts at the Great Hall at Queen's University, featuring new work by Derry composer Kevin O'Connell and a performance by Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov
Oils
Stephen Sexton is inspired by classic works of art in a captivating poetry collection that leaves the reader to 'create their own metaphorical trail of breadcrumbs'
Stitched Up
When an NHS surgeon leaves a pair of scissors inside a patient, his moral compass spins out of control in Rosemary Jenkinson's excellent play at the Lyric Theatre
John Gledhill and Samuel Irwin
Painter and poet collaborate on multimedia exhibition at Strule Arts Centre revealing a shared concern for natural history and conservation and fascination with City life
Birdman
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's satire on life for the 21st century artist is a complex, concentrated work that just might earn Michael Keaton a first Academy Award for Best Actor
Selma
Northern Ireland's own Bloody Sunday is foreshadowed in Ava DuVernay’s civil rights drama featuring an Oscar-worthy central performance by British actor David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr
Northern Noir
Three of Northern Ireland's finest crime authors, Brian McGilloway, Stuart Neville and Steve Cavanagh, share literary insights at Libraries NI Catch a Crime Writer event
Death of a Comedian
Owen McCafferty's Faustian play comments on the commercial corruption of art by focussing on one man's journey from gags to riches
God of Carnage
Prime Cut Productions' adaptation of the Yasmina Reza play is a breath of fresh air at The MAC in Belfast
Soak and Duke Special at McGrory's
Young starlet from Derry supports established artist from Belfast as guitar meets piano in a battle of the solo performers
The Fureys
Celtic roots music aristocracy attract tourists from across Europe to Belfast's Waterfront Hall for a rousing evening of laments and reels
Salome
Strauss, Oscar Wilde and Northern Ireland Opera combine in a sexy, dangerous and accessible production at Belfast's Grand Opera House
Night Music
Moving on Music and the Belfast Music Society prove there is a demand for unfamiliar, challenging classical music in Northern Ireland
Inherent Vice
Queen's Film Theatre screen Paul Thomas Anderson's trippy noir starring Joaquin Phoenix
Snaring Bewildered Birds
Graduate artist Mark Healy satirises world leaders on tracing paper at Enniskillen's Higher Bridges Gallery
The Fifth Province
Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre remake the rules of choreography for a daring work exploring Irish mythology at The MAC
A Most Violent Year
Passed up in every major category at the Academy Awards, JC Chandor's period drama is a powerful, complex picture
Goons
The remnants of Fighting With Fire and LaFaro incorporate synths in new supergroup but ultimately stay true to their alt-rock roots
Miniatures and Modulations
Philip Hammond's reimagining of ancient Irish songs originally transcribed by Edward Bunting are wonderfully entertaining