The Arts Review​

Conleth Hill in Faith Healer. Image, Carrie Davenport ***** When it first premiered in 1979, Brian Friel’s enduring Faith Healer wasn’t regarded as one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. It wasn’t regarded as one of the greatest plays of that week. Acclaim came slow and late, as did classic status. Almost half a century on, as we conclude the first quarter of the 21st century, the question of Faith Healer’s status bears revisiting. Friel’s storytelling memory play bui

Rex Ryan in The Witness. Image by Kate Glynn ***** Rex Ryan likes crime. Which is not to accuse him of committing any, just to recognise his proclivity towards stories of true-life Irish crime. He also enjoys one-man shows in which he directs himself. The triple threat of writer, performer, and director once again looking at the Dublin criminal landscape from the late nineties in his latest offering The Witness. Based on Nicola Tallant’s book, The Witness: The Story of Joey T

High Society. Image by Pamela Raith **** It’s almost impossible to convey how popular High Society was when it premiered in 1956. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Arthur Kopit, based on the play The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry (made into a hugely popular movie in 1940), its star power of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly was enough to guarantee success. The nearest modern equivalent would be if Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, with both having the musica