Digital can distract both writer and readerAuthors David Nicholls and Zadie Smith have both had to fight temptations of internetSat Nov 01 2014 - 00:26
David Mitchell: ‘Who cares if a book is highbrow or lowbrow. Is it any good or not?’The writer’s labyrinthine novels marry experimental narrative techniques with plot twists drawn from sci-fi and fantasy. In person, the writer is as restless as his literary styleMon Oct 27 2014 - 01:00
The Julia Donaldson roadshow: grit, a guitar and a GruffaloLive performance is an integral part of the work of the former children’s laureate, who tours with her stories and songs as part of an almost evangelical drive to spread a love of reading among childrenThu Oct 23 2014 - 01:00
Easy as ABC: how Oliver Jeffers hops between physics, picture books and fine artThe Belfast writer and artist’s well-loved picture books have given him a public profile that has aided his success in fine-art circles. Now a show based on one of his books is at Baboró in GalwayTue Oct 14 2014 - 10:50
Baboró and beyond: Irish kids’ theatre comes of ageIt’s not unusual to find our best theatrical talent working in children’s theatre, and given the calibre of the work there’s little wonder whyTue Oct 14 2014 - 01:00
DTF review: The Tragical Life of CheeseboyIn this rite-of-passage play, a boy made of cheese becomes a manWed Oct 08 2014 - 16:35
Can technology cure weighty problem of too many schoolbooks?Official e-textbooks are working out pretty heavy on the pocket, too. But alternatives are evolving both here and in BritainMon Oct 06 2014 - 11:42
Review: The Way Back HomeOliver Jeffers’ book jumps off the page and into space in this beautiful stage adaptationThu Oct 02 2014 - 15:53
Review: A ManoThis children’s show creates a concentrated beauty from almost nothingMon Sept 29 2014 - 12:13
A fresh spotlight on Irish language theatreIs there a future beyond the local community for plays in Irish? A new generation of theatremakers are finding outSat Sept 27 2014 - 01:00
Mark O’Rowe on the power to shock – and feelThe plays of the ‘Howie the Rookie’ writer are dark, complex affairs. With his new work, ‘Our Few and Evil Days’, about to open at the Abbey Theatre, even he admits he doesn’t fully know what makes them tickSat Sept 20 2014 - 01:00
‘I might as well have my existential crisis in Edinburgh’Ross Dungan had success in the Edinburgh Fringe as a performer but hated every moment – the switch to writing hasn’t harmed his career one bitFri Sept 12 2014 - 01:00
In the bag: from tiny shows to world toursThe Show in a Bag series is one of the strongest facets in the Tiger Dublin Fringe. So what’s the secret of its theatrical success?Thu Sept 11 2014 - 01:00
Ebooks: Can’t decide what to read? Let somebody else choose for youThere is something pleasingly arbitrary about the subscription approach to literature in translationSat Sept 06 2014 - 01:00
Reared by the Abbey, empowered by its stageThe theatre’s outreach programme made Shaun Dunne an actor at 11. Now he’s back with his own playSat Sept 06 2014 - 01:00
It’s a Shaw thing as McBrinn picks up the baton of political theatreDirector Róisín McBrinn believes, like Shaw, that theatre changes livesMon Aug 25 2014 - 01:00
Don’t touch? Actually, please doImma’s touchy-feely retrospective of the work of Hélio Oiticica is an ideal place to introduce curious toddlers to the world of artSat Aug 16 2014 - 01:00
Billy Collins: ‘When I start a poem, I assume the indifference of readers’The former US poet laureate believes in bringing poetry to the widest possible audience. Some critics have found his poetry to be lacking in complexity, but he’ll take that over wilful obscurity any dayMon Aug 11 2014 - 01:00
Stark ebook choice for writers: publish and be damned anywayAccording to Harper Lee 'some things should happen on soft pages not cold metal'. Her dissenting voice is one of many as digitisation proceeds in its ungainly fashionSat Aug 09 2014 - 01:00
Even the miniature world’s a stageSeeing a doll’s house in Amsterdam prompted Jessie Burton to examine, in her novel ‘The Miniaturist’, the confined circumstances of a young 17th-century wifeSat Aug 09 2014 - 01:00
Physician, heal thyselfHerman Koch specialises in vile characters. The protagonist of ‘The Dinner’ revealed his depravity over a gourmet meal. His new novel features a doctor who may need some medical attention himselfSat Jul 26 2014 - 01:00
Experience and precocity on the Poetry Now shortlistContemporary Irish poetry is doing well, as the breadth of work up for the Irish Times Poetry Now award demonstratesTue Jul 22 2014 - 01:00
Artistic licence for children with autismTheatres and cinemas have responded to the call for special screenings and relaxed performancesTue Jul 01 2014 - 01:00
No summer stasis: seasonal schools for adultsSchools that focus on trad music, Irish dance, Beckett, Joyce, Parnell, Yeats and public policy should keep adults of all stripes busyFri Jun 27 2014 - 01:00
Friel life: Aristocrats haunted by the ghosts of shows pastJohn Kavanagh played Casimir in the first production of Aristocrats in 1979, a role Tadhg Murphy now inherits. They discuss the role, their craft and changing timesWed Jun 25 2014 - 01:00
The monster success of the HugglewugsNiamh Sharkey’s delightful picture book ‘I’m a Happy Hugglewug’ has led to the hit Disney series ‘Henry Hugglemonster’ – and to a careful consideration of her responsibility to her young audienceSat Nov 16 2013 - 01:00
Ebooks: What does Wattpad offer established authors like Margaret Atwood?Those doomsayers predicting the death of the book need look no further than Wattpad for confirmation of the power of fiction in the digital ageSat Nov 16 2013 - 01:00
West Side StoryThere are some breathtaking moments in the choreographed fight scenes but vocal performances are nowhere near as strongMon Nov 04 2013 - 17:50
A True Tall TaleA dark Danish fairy tale for ages eight and up that reveals its inner workingsFri Oct 11 2013 - 15:10
The rape of LucreceCamille O’Sullivan gives the wronged Lucrece a powerful voice as Shakespeare’s text is condensed into 12 songsFri Oct 11 2013 - 15:05
The Hanging GardensFrank McGuinness’s new play gives a glimpse of the pathology of the Irish patriarch and how its roots thrive despite the poisonThu Oct 10 2013 - 12:00
BeastieThis show for children keeps adult meddling to a minimum by keeping them out of the showSun Oct 06 2013 - 11:58
The CriticIt has terrific comic performances, put a number of competing angles bring confusion rather than clarity to this showSat Oct 05 2013 - 21:47
I’ve to Mind HerThis emotionally affecting portrait of a teenage carer uses a single story to tell a devastating broader truthThu Oct 03 2013 - 12:51
Feast of BonesIf they pay attention, this show will satisfy even the hungriest of audiencesThu Oct 03 2013 - 12:48
The EventsThe Events is complex study of how a mass shooting affects a community and individualsWed Oct 02 2013 - 11:39
Little StepsA calm, gentle performance delivers an exquisite production that puts its young audience firstMon Sept 30 2013 - 16:13
Maeve’s HouseEamon Morrissey’s New York encounter with Maeve Brennan forms the basis of this show, and it struggles to escape its source materialFri Sept 27 2013 - 13:14
The Curious Case: Horrible, hidden historiesA fascinating, if underdeveloped glimpse into one of Dublin’s many secretsFri Sept 20 2013 - 12:01
Animus: The sound of horrorAnimus brings a cinematic type of Gothic horror on to the stageFri Sept 20 2013 - 11:22
Bringing some welcome chaos to the streetsMacnas parades its wares at the heart of the FringeMon Sept 16 2013 - 14:27
Beauty in derelictionBeckett’s words sing with contemporary relevance in this new productionMon Sept 16 2013 - 11:22
Refusing to follow the scriptThis detective story refuses any neat endings – to great effectWed Sept 11 2013 - 12:15
Ambitious Birthday plansGonzo Theatre’s production is sharp and committed but can’t match the scale of its ambitionSun Sept 08 2013 - 14:25
My Holiday Reading: Susan CahillThe book show presenter likes to take a spiritual journeySat Aug 24 2013 - 01:00
My Holiday Reading: Louisa CameronDriving to Maine, the bookseller was captivated by Stephen King’s new novelSat Aug 17 2013 - 01:00
