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Renovation
fromIrish Independent
1 hour ago

Self-build story: 'It awakened something in me; I probably did it in a past life. But I've finally found a really creative career that I love'

A West Cork bungalow combines Irish and French design elements, focusing on light and texture to create a Mediterranean-inspired family home.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
23 hours ago

Walking Shadow by Greg Doran review Shakespeare's healing power

The book combines Antony Sher's dying diaries and Greg Doran's quest to find Shakespeare's First Folio copies, reflecting on love and loss.
Arts
fromThe New Yorker
1 day ago

Douglas Stuart on the Push and Pull of an Old Life Versus a New One

The story 'A Private View' explores themes of class, art, and personal identity through a museum setting.
US Elections
fromIndependent
2 days ago

Colum McCann: Never in my 40 years in the US have I felt an atmosphere as poisonous as this

Donald Trump is likened to a carnival barker, enticing people with promises and taking their money.
Europe politics
fromIndependent
2 days ago

Shane Ross: Micheal Martin's mudslinging hasn't worked - it's time to try talking things out

A government failed to address peaceful protests, opting for confrontation instead of conciliation.
Independent films
fromThe Independent
4 days ago

James McAvoy makes Scotland proud in his directorial debut - review

James McAvoy's directorial debut California Schemin' explores themes of authenticity and deception through the true story of Dundee rappers posing as Americans.
fromInverse
4 days ago

25 Years Later, Shakespeare's Most Popular Revenge Epic Gets An Intoxicating Makeover

A big issue with how we understand Shakespeare and how we're introduced to it is we sit down and read it. But Shakespeare's plays, like any play, are meant to be heard, to be experienced.
London music
SOMA, SF
fromArtforum
5 days ago

Fecal Matters: On Derek McCormack's country-fried coprophilia

The Shithole Opry Collector's Guide blends surrealism and punk aesthetics through a fictional narrative involving Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.
World politics
fromIrish Independent
5 days ago

Former President Michael D Higgins hits out at militarism and 'outrageous' political language

Militarization and rhetoric of war threaten global security and social progress, emphasizing the need for quality education and positive discourse.
Film
fromVulture
1 week ago

The Drama Is Too Cowardly to Commit to Its Provocative Premise

The film presents a dark romantic comedy featuring complex characters and a central premise that challenges audience expectations.
Television
fromThe Atlantic
1 week ago

TV's Failing Cure For Middle-Aged Malaise

Imperfect Women exemplifies the decline of the 'messy-mom thriller' genre despite initial viewership success.
Books
fromIndependent
1 week ago

My husband died suddenly. One final task remained: to publish the book he'd spent 25 years of his life working on

Editing a book on James Joyce took over two decades of research and writing, followed by three and a half years of editing.
fromDefector
2 weeks ago

For Now, ABS Makes Good Theater | Defector

Under the ABS challenge system, a team begins each game with two challenges. If a player gets an umpire's call overturned, their team retains the challenge. In effect, this means a team has unlimited challenges until they get two wrong.
Boston Red Sox
Cancer
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

'Writing allows me to face what is happening now. And what is happening now is that I'm dying'

Gabriel Rosenstock faces mortality with peace, relying on poetry and philosophy for support during his battle with terminal cancer.
Film
fromVulture
1 week ago

The Twist in The Drama Is Not the Problem

The film features a controversial plot twist involving a character's past plan for a school shooting, sparking significant online speculation and backlash.
fromBrooklyn Paper
2 weeks ago

Bronx-born, Brooklyn-based Pulitzer winner John Patrick Shanley debuts new play in NYC * Brooklyn Paper

His writing is incredible. The characters are real. There's so much for actors to dig into. To be able to write that way and to connect with people, you're operating on a higher plane.
NYC music
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

Daniel McDonnell: Pain in Prague as an Ireland team that did so much right gets the ending wrong

Prague will become a byword for misery now, the scene of a collapse from a position that seemed almost too good to be true.
Europe news
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

Bryan Dobson: 'I have a wonderful letter written by my father to his mother-in-law when my parents got married'

Bryan Dobson stated, 'After nearly four decades at RTÉ, I found retirement to be a new chapter, filled with family time and personal projects.'
Media industry
Arts
fromHyperallergic
2 weeks ago

A Drama of Two Masters

A documentary dramatizes the rivalry between British landscape painters Turner and Constable while exploring survival strategies in the age of AI.
London music
fromIndependent
2 weeks ago

'Now it's almost trendy, but it used to be something I was so ashamed of. I would never talk about it in a work setting'

Thommas Kane Byrne emphasizes the importance of authentic working-class voices in theater and discusses his journey with ADHD and hard work.
#zendaya
fromThe New Yorker
1 week ago
Film

The Drama Surrounding "The Drama"

Fans gathered for the New York premiere of 'The Drama' starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, showcasing excitement and anticipation despite the cold weather.
fromVulture
1 week ago
Film

Critics Aren't Sure Whether to Marry The Drama

Zendaya's performance in the controversial film is widely praised, while critics are divided on the film's originality and execution.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
1 week ago

The Drama Surrounding "The Drama"

Fans gathered for the New York premiere of 'The Drama' starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, showcasing excitement and anticipation despite the cold weather.
Film
fromVulture
1 week ago

Critics Aren't Sure Whether to Marry The Drama

Zendaya's performance in the controversial film is widely praised, while critics are divided on the film's originality and execution.
Books
fromAnOther
1 week ago

Djamel White's Novel Is Irish Fiction's Gangland Answer to Heated Rivalry

Djamel White's debut novel, All Them Dogs, blends crime fiction, romance, and tragedy, featuring a complex protagonist navigating the criminal underworld.
London politics
fromIndependent
3 weeks ago

Shane Ross: My father almost completely cut me out of his will as he felt I had lost the run of myself and become utterly obnoxious

Government actions are targeting savings set aside by parents for their children.
#immigration
Writing
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

I've learned first-hand how evil is tolerated': Colm Toibin on living in the US under Trump

A character's decision to return home is influenced by political climate and personal connections.
Film
fromJezebel
1 week ago

'The Drama' Is Worth the Secrecy

Kristoffer Borgli's film explores dark human impulses through a pre-wedding gathering that reveals unsettling secrets among friends.
fromIndependent
3 weeks ago

'You need to probably prepare yourself for the notion that you'll be broke': Mick Flannery on his parents' reaction to his career choice

"I haven't heard him sing yet," Flannery confesses, in answer to the burning question, when we sit down after a rehearsal in Nuns Island theatre in Galway.
London music
fromIndependent
4 weeks ago

Kirsty Blake Knox: Is Harry Styles' Riverdance sketch really offensive to the Irish? I quite liked him as Lord of the Dance

This weekend such a moment occurred. I never knew I wanted to see Harry Styles channel Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley in a silk blouson shirt and headband and canter around a stage.
Television
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 weeks ago

The News from Dublin by Colm Toibin review subtle short stories about being far from home

The stories in Colm Toibin's collection explore themes of displacement and the emotional complexities of living away from home and loved ones.
Podcast
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Doireann Garrihy: 'I did drama and theatre studies in Trinity and often just didn't feel smart enough for the theory of it'

Doireann Garrihy discusses motherhood experiences, challenges with post-baby recovery expectations, and advocates for banning social media access for children under 16.
Independent films
fromPitchfork
3 weeks ago

Watch Tom Waits in the Trailer for Martin McDonagh's New Film Wild Horse Nine

Tom Waits stars in Martin McDonagh's 1970s-set thriller Wild Horse Nine alongside John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Parker Posey, marking his second collaboration with McDonagh after 2012's Seven Psychopaths.
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

It's got real sass!' Irvine Welsh chooses new life for Trainspotting as a stage musical

Irvine Welsh stated that Trainspotting was not the most obvious book to be successful, nor was it the most obvious movie or stage play. It has confounded expectations, especially his own.
London music
Beer
fromTasting Table
1 month ago

13 Haunted Irish Pubs From Around The World - Tasting Table

Irish pubs are reputed to be haunted by spirits and ghosts, with establishments like Kyteler's Inn and Grace Neill's featuring documented paranormal activity and historical tragic events.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
1 month ago

'Derry Girls' creator returns with a gleeful riff on the murder mystery

Netflix's How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is a tonally complex crime comedy that prioritizes character and atmosphere over traditional plot mechanics, following three middle-aged Belfast women investigating their estranged friend's suspicious death.
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Paul Mescal's Starter Pack of Cultural Essentials

I remember seeing it in drama school. I remember being so profoundly moved by it. I remember being so frightened by the performances in terms of seeing both sides to the thing that I think for most of us is, the most alive thing in our life, which is these, like, romantic relationships and the kind of inception of those things and the death of those things.
Film
NYC LGBT
fromQueerty
1 month ago

Colman Domingo on the beautiful reason his stepfather fired him from his summer job - Queerty

Colman Domingo received the President's Award at the 57th NAACP Image Awards, honoring his achievements and crediting his parents' influence on his success and values.
London music
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Peter Flanagan: Someone shouts 'potatoes' at me during a comedy gig - it's something the Irish living in Britain have become used to

Audience members who heckle with historical references but lack understanding of that history demonstrate ignorance alongside rudeness.
Miscellaneous
fromThe Mercury News
1 month ago

Actor, director establish 'Trust' going into TheatreWorks production

Director Jeffrey Lo and actor William Thomas Hodgson collaborate effectively through intentional exploration, detailed character work, and a shared commitment to avoiding conventional theatrical choices.
#irish-film-industry
fromIndependent
1 month ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard, it makes me proud,' says Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
1 month ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard,' says 'Harry Potter' star Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
1 month ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard, it makes me proud,' says Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

fromIndependent
1 month ago
Film

'Culturally, we've always punched pretty hard,' says 'Harry Potter' star Gleeson as Oscar Wildes' 'Irish' rally behind Jessie Buckley

Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Plan to turn Irish borderlands into Unesco region of literature'

A literary heritage initiative aims to rebrand the Ireland-Northern Ireland border as a Unesco region of literature, creating nine guided routes through 11 counties associated with major writers like Yeats, Beckett, and Heaney.
#murder-mystery
Television
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

"How to Get to Heaven from Belfast" Is an Ode to Middle-Aged Friendship

Lisa McGee's new murder mystery series treats a death investigation as a buddy comedy, shifting from the ambient violence backdrop of her previous show to a more cartoonish, front-and-center crime narrative.
Television
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

"How to Get to Heaven from Belfast" Is an Ode to Middle-Aged Friendship

Lisa McGee's new murder mystery series treats a death investigation as a buddy comedy, shifting from the ambient violence backdrop of her previous show to a more cartoonish, front-and-center crime narrative.
Wellness
fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago

Quote of the day by George Bernard Shaw: 'We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing - Silicon Canals

Maintaining playfulness as an adult reduces stress, boosts creativity, strengthens relationships, and promotes youthfulness and overall well-being.
Humor
fromIndependent
2 months ago

Comedian Shane Daniel Byrne: 'I think, like loads of gay men, I have lots of issues with my body'

Shane Daniel Byrne is a Dublin-based comedian and actor who co-hosts the Young Hot Guys Podcast and performs live shows facing ticketing concerns.
Relationships
fromIndependent
1 month ago

'Love never dies' - what Irish psychiatrist learned from reading 20 medical romance novels

Hospitals, including emergency departments, are depicted as fertile settings for passionate romantic and sexual relationships in medical romance novels.
London music
fromTime Out London
1 month ago

Review: 'Our Town' starring Michael Sheen at the Rose Theatre Kingston

Michael Sheen's Welsh National Theatre production of Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town' infuses the American classic with Welsh warmth and charm, transforming its intentionally cold cerebral style into a heartfelt, emotionally resonant experience.
Health
fromIndependent
1 month ago

'I'm nothing if not resilient' - author Cathy Kelly on overcoming sexual assault, bulimia, divorce and cancer

Cathy Kelly, nearing 60, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2023 but is recovering well and feels relieved after a recent health scare.
US politics
fromwww.independent.co.uk
2 months ago

Brendan Gleeson: I am tired of the trope of the toxic father'

The Independent operates paywall-free, on-the-ground journalism funded by donations to support investigations, documentaries, and reporting across political spectrums.
Fundraising
fromDefector
2 months ago

A Message From Dan McQuade's Mom | Defector

Dan was remembered as kind; widespread support and generous memorial contributions will help his son Simon while his parents try to live more like him.
UK politics
fromIndependent
2 months ago

Fionnan Sheahan: Morgan McSweeney was the only Irishman to buy into the Mandelson myth - and he has paid the price

A 2000 dinner at Iveagh House between Irish and British ministers erupted into a heated dispute between Brian Cowen and Peter Mandelson.
#gerry-hutch
fromIndependent
2 months ago
Miscellaneous

Liam Collins: Don't fall for The Monk's 'ordinary decent criminal' sideshow in the Ambassador, it's simply cynical political theatre

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Miscellaneous

Don't fall for The Monk's 'ordinary decent criminal' sideshow in the Ambassador, it's simply cynical political theatre

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Miscellaneous

Liam Collins: Don't fall for The Monk's 'ordinary decent criminal' sideshow in the Ambassador, it's simply cynical political theatre

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Miscellaneous

Don't fall for The Monk's 'ordinary decent criminal' sideshow in the Ambassador, it's simply cynical political theatre

Writing
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

I paid people with pints and chips': Georgina Duncan on the prize-winning play she tapped out on her phone

Sapling won the Women's playwriting prize; the Belfast-set drama examines teenage grief and the long, community-defining scars left by past violence.
Film
fromVulture
1 month ago

After Love, Sex, and Death: What We Did Before Our Moth Days

People pursue affairs seeking false security and predictability, while long-term relationships' genuine unpredictability terrifies them into seeking escape through infidelity.
fromHyperallergic
1 month ago

The Irish Do It Best

The Irish government will give 2,000 artists unrestricted weekly stipends in a program officials described as a "recognition, at government level, of the important role of the arts in Irish society." After a successful three-year pilot, the Irish government made its basic income program for artists permanent. Similar pilots have been launched here in the United States, but they're supported primarily by the nonprofit sector.
Arts
Miscellaneous
fromIrish Independent
2 months ago

Bin 'scavengers' in search of Re-turn bottles are leaving Dublin 'like a bomb site', says council chief Richard Shakespeare

Dublin is investing in cleaning staff and machinery and tackling Re-turn–linked bin scavenging to eliminate the 'dirty old Dublin' reputation.
from48 hills
2 months ago

Live Shots: 'Finnegan's Wake' summons Irish ghosts to SF Mint - 48 hills

Finnegan's Wake: An Immersive Ghost Story, presented by 13th Floor Theater, plunges audience members into the beautiful, dysfunctional Finnegan-Plurabelle family. Scenic designer Treigh Buchet, lighting designer Meghan Schultz, and ephemera designer Michelle Josette Crashette transfigure the San Francisco Mint into an Irish family home on the banks of a mystical river. Audience members are free to explore the spaces before the show begins with libation in hand. When the dinner bell rings, the show commences.
Arts
#tom-vaughan-lawlor
fromIndependent
2 months ago
Television

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor: 'I could never work with my wife - the idea of being mean or cruel to her, I couldn't do it'

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Television

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor: 'I think I came out of the womb sensitive. The irony is, I can play a lot of tough people'

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Television

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor: 'I could never work with my wife - the idea of being mean or cruel to her, I couldn't do it'

fromIndependent
2 months ago
Television

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor: 'I think I came out of the womb sensitive. The irony is, I can play a lot of tough people'

Books
fromIndependent
2 months ago

'I don't see there is any point retrospectively criticising people for the way that they behaved' - 'Butcher Boy' novelist Patrick McCabe

Patrick McCabe remains rooted in Irish counter-culture while engaging with communal rituals and symbols.
#gerry-the-monk-hutch
Arts
fromIndependent
1 month ago

Paul Williams: 'The Monk' play would have been so much better without thing - Gerry Hutch himself

Rex Ryan's one-man show The Monk reveals exceptional multi-role theatrical talent despite a bizarre criminal appearance in the prologue.
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Cameo by Rob Doyle review a fantasy of literary celebrity in the culture war era

Perky, satirical portrait centred on a globe-trotting Dublin figure whose sensational life—crime, drugs, sex, espionage—and pettiness lampoon contemporary literary culture and celebrity.
Books
fromwww.newyorker.com
2 months ago

Tessa Hadley Reads John McGahern

Tessa Hadley reads John McGahern’s 'Gold Watch'; she has published thirteen books including Bad Dreams and After the Funeral, and won the 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize.
Arts
fromLondon Unattached
2 months ago

Man and Boy at the Dorfman, National Theatre - Review

Man and Boy's high-profile revivals and new National Theatre staging have revived interest in Rattigan's exploration of moral corruption, damaged families, and upper-middle-class repression.
Arts
fromwww.eastbaytimes.com
1 month ago

Curtain Calls: Unfinished stories come to life in light-hearted comedy Improbable Fiction'

Masquers Playhouse presents Alan Ayckbourn's Improbable Fiction with strong direction, versatile performances, and outstanding costumes that bring imagined stories vividly to life.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

More heartache than Hamnet?: Maggie O'Farrell's best books ranked!

The ghost of a previous lover is always a challenge, particularly if you (mistakenly) believe that she's actually dead. This is the unenviable situation for Lily, the protagonist of O'Farrell's second novel, who is swept off her feet by dashing architect Marcus and in short order moves in with him. Lily takes his assurances that her predecessor Sinead is no longer with us to mark a more permanent absence;
Books
fromIndependent
2 months ago

Sarah Breen: Is 'Hamnet' grief porn or great art? As I sobbed silently in the cinema, I was in no doubt

Seeing this remarkable movie reminded me that we cannot look away from real-life tragedies
Books
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Utterly hilarious': Simon McBurney on how the great clown Philippe Gaulier changed his life

He would refer to his father as ce salaud bourgeois (that bourgeois arsehole) and he delighted in telling me the story of being thrown out of school aged eight because he punched the gymnastics teacher who was trying to instil discipline into young boys by turning them into military martinets. Of the professions and attitudes that merited his ire the military, the church, hypocrisy, sham, inauthenticity, politicians, academics and fascists collaborateurs had a special place in his heart.
Arts
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