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Late Night Art Digest: August 2016
John Higgins takes a tour of studios and spaces across Belfast to drink in some of the key exhibitions currently on display -
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Royal Shakespeare Company recruit Belfast's Belvoir Players for a frothy but 'bags of fun' take on the timeless comedy -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Fireworks Young Writers Programme
John Higgins takes an introductory look at Tinderbox Theatre Company's flagship developmental scheme for emerging playwrights -
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 -
This Place
Felix Gonzalez-Torres' mournful works find a new context while encouraging public participation in The MAC's posthumous exhibition -
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 Night Alive
Minor character inconsistencies aside, Conor McPherson's play is a furiously paced hacky sack of humour full of exceptional stage performances -
Dancing at Lughnasa
The Lyric's first production of Friel's layered masterwork is as rich and rewarding as theatre gets -
Earth to Alice McCullough
The spoken word artist on finding her way with the medium and how poetry keeps her grounded ahead of new one-woman show -
Macha Productions Empowers Women with Righteous Theatre
John Higgins lifts the lid on former Kabosh writers Jo Egan and Fionnuala Kennedy's new joint venture, named after the ancient goddess of Armagh -
The Goblin Market
Belfast-based collective Shadowtide Arts adapt Christina Rossetti's 19th century gothic poem to the screen with startling results -
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 -
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 -
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 -
The Prints of Things to Come
Artist Leo Boyd predicts the fate of mankind in new retro-futurist graphic exhibition at the Belfast Print Workshop -
Giving Spamalot the full Monty at Belfast's Grand Opera House
Rather than try to recreate the Pythons on Broadway, Neil Keery wants to ramp up the relentless musical theatre in his directing debut with the Ulster Operatic Company -
Watch This R-Space
Co-director Robert Martin on how the personable Lisburn gallery came to be and carrying forward the city's linen-based legacy -
In Defence of The Reviewer
Art critics get a bad rap – here's why bringing informed opinions to the public is a tougher gig than most would imagine -
Wilde Boys
Bruiser and the MAC might be a match made in heaven on The Importance of Being Earnest, with an all-male cast looking at marriage through a modern lens -
MAC International Returns
The biannual exhibition centered around Ireland's richest arts prize is back in Belfast, with Slovenia's Jasmina Cibic its newly-named winner -
David Hockney: I draw, I do
Ireland's first exhibition of the influential artist's work is a fascinating insight into his life-long consistency and passion for getting the world down on paper -
Closer
With its imaginative direction and competent cast, this modest adaptation has the charm to see past its lack of Hollywood gloss -
The Draw of David Hockney
Senior Curator at the MAC, Hugh Mulholland, on the enduring artist's widespread appeal and bringing his works to Belfast in a fascinating new exhibition -
Gerard Dillon: Painter, Dreamer, Clown
The great Belfast artist's centenary retrospective will have you leaving the Ulster Museum with a spring in your step, expecting to fly -
Theatre at Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
Ambitious adaptations, fearless drama and a play packed into a Belfast bathroom; we sift through another sprawling array of events for the on-stage highlights -
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 -
Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015)
Towering icon of cinema passes away aged 93, leaving an acting legacy more formidable than his best known roles -
Arts Sector Etiquette: The Private View
If you're lucky enough to be invited, and given access to the free booze, you should be aware of the dress code and the unusual art of Working the Room -
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 -
Unsung Superheroes
As DC's Suicide Squad arrive on the big screen, John Higgins makes a case for some of the lesser famed crime fighters deserving of the blockbuster treatment -
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 -
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 -
'Culture NI Was My Lifeline'
Critic John Higgins on how writing for Culture NI provided solace following a bereavement and indirectly led to the foundation of a now thriving fledgling theatre company -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Martina Devlin
Out To Lunch festival goers come out in force to hear the story of Ireland's final conviction for witchcraft -
Agloe
Sara Morrison creates a visual history of a dead town at the new Framewerk gallery -
Piaf
Christine Bovill's emotional tribute to the famous French chanteuse leaves the Black Box in tears -
An Evening with CS Lewis
David Payne's play is heavy on anecdote but light on the good stuff – the books -
Unhome
Jim McAleavey's house of horrors bulges with invention and endless witty subversions at The MAC -
Jacques Brel is Alive...
Blunt Fringe reanimate the husky Belgian songwriter and 'matador of emotion' -
Outburst Queer Arts Festival
Ruth McCarthy revels in the transgressive nature of this year's diverse programme -
New Book Tours Weird Belfast
Reggie Chamberlain-King's new book, published by Blackstaff Press, is chock-a-block with odd adverts, sensational songs and all manner of ghosts -
Female Gothic
Rebecca Vaughan's medley of classic ghoulish tales is a tricky treat at The MAC -
An Enemy of the People
Schaubühne Berlin get Belfast fired up for change -
Doppelgänger
Peter Liversidge's Symbolist exhibition at The MAC is a psychosexual Where's Wally? -
Pentecost
Lyric Theatre's latest production is beautifully written, directed with brio and perfectly performed -
Cabaret
Bruiser's confident, sassy and perfectly judged musical is a must see show at The MAC -
Beckett Trilogy
Lisa Dwan is ghostly and ghastly in this extraordinary production at The MAC -
A Fiend in the Furrows Folk Horror Conference
Queen's University hosts three-day event exploring perspectives on folk horror in literature, film and music
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