The two funniest moments in the history of Monty Python were also two of the darkest, and both were thanks to Graham Chapman’s death. Chapman, who played King Arthur in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Brian in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, died of cancer in 1989, aged 48. His friends… read more +

As the media and political system obsessed with the question of Irish sovereignty, late last year, in one area at least we were still in control of affairs, and running them well. Irish theatre had a good year, one of the best in my time covering it. Theatre companies responded to more difficult circumstances with… read more +

It was a Dickensian night in Dublin as we hustled towards the Grand Canal Theatre, skating under the shadows of empty buildings, and reeling from the austerity of the budget and the winter. Rarely can the story of A Christmas Carol have been told in more auspicious a context. As poor Bob Cratchit (Morgan Crowley)… read more +

A great, but tragic, Irish leader struggles with his fate. He is the foremost Irishman of his day, though he divides the country. He is confronted by treachery, and distracted by beautiful women. And as chaos threatens to consume his world, he replies… with a song. Plays dealing with Irish politicians are rare, and Irish… read more +

Steve Fickinger was sitting in his office on 42nd Street when he got a call from someone at the Disney Channel “We’ve got a new film coming up,” said the colleague. “We thought you might like to do a stage version of it.” “Send it over,” said Steve Fickinger. Fickinger works for Disney’s theatrical group…. read more +

Review by Colin, Aifric & Maeve About 2,500 years ago, in Ancient Greece, a lone actor stepped out of the chorus and spoke back to them, and invented modern theatre. After about 2,400 years, people were getting bored of that, and one day an actor found himself humming on stage. The chorus hummed back, and… read more +