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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 -
The Way We Were
Dublin author Sinéad Moriarty gives shelter to fiction fans in Bangor with an intimate discussion around her latest novel and writing career -
The Faerie Thorn on Stage
Big Telly Theatre Company hooks Open House Festival audience with scratch performance of their latest production -
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 -
The Devil is a Songbird
Ports' long-awaited debut album is one to fall into and appreciate in full, placing them amongst the modern masters of sophisticated and heart-breaking alt rock -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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
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