The Irish Times

Books in the bath, dancing from Dusk till dawn and other Kilkenny attractions

The Taming of the Shrew is a ghastly play but, like much else at Kilkenny Arts Festival, it’s handled with wit and made wonderful

Mon Aug 12 2013 - 18:19

Dawn Upshaw’s trajectory: no airs or graces

Dawn Upshaw has had a stellar opera career but she’s not in the business of making the music rarefied and is just as likely to be heard humming Beyoncé

Fri Aug 09 2013 - 01:00

Rattle in Seattle: Mark Yarm’s tales from when grunge was in bloom

Mark Yarm’s oral history of Seattle’s grunge scene has room for winners and losers

Thu Aug 08 2013 - 01:00

Sign us up: the world of Bob and Roberta

The visual art of Bob and Roberta Smith – aka Patrick Brill – is political, humorous and all about empowering the spectator

Thu Aug 08 2013 - 01:00

Ron Rash: Smoky Mountain darkness: ‘There’s that physical sense of not getting enough light’

The Appalachian writer Ron Rash brings his dark southern tales to the Kilkenny Arts Festival

Fri Aug 02 2013 - 01:00

A multitude of Roger Doyles but only one composer

The 62-year-old pioneered Irish electronic music, and it returned the favour by saving his life

Mon Jul 29 2013 - 01:00

Macnas: the show goes on, despite a Galway no-show

Change is ‘difficult and necessary’ at Macnas, as budget issues meant no arts festival parade

Mon Jul 29 2013 - 01:00

A Joycean stream of consciousness

Olwen Fouéré’s performance gives voice to the river in James Joyce’s unfathomable ‘Finnegans Wake’. It’s sink-or-swim time

Tue Jul 23 2013 - 18:00

The future of fashion?

Next month, Kilkenny’s National Craft Gallery is showcase work by designers striving to draw a line between fashion and art

Sat Jul 20 2013 - 00:00

Following the flow of the ‘Wake’ to its source

How can you capture the dark seam of energy and form at the heart of ‘Finnegans Wake’? By giving voice to the river that runs through James Joyce’s extraordinary book

Sat Jul 13 2013 - 01:00

Making a merry jest of Shrew’s misogyny

Shakespeare’s early ‘screwball’ comedy, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, is one of his most popular and controversial – so can an all-female cast take the edge of its sexism

Sat Jul 06 2013 - 01:00