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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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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
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