The Arts Review​

Niamh O'Sullivan in Carmen. Image, Ros Kavanagh. ***** It feels like déjà vu. A faint foreboding that you've seen this before. You'd be partially right. Irish National Opera's latest version of Bizet’s Carmen (1875) repurposing much of their 2022 version, in which the impressive Paula Murrihy played the eponymous heroine. Director Paul Curran's Fifties-themed fantasy, framed by Gary McCann's distinctive set and costumes, retro-illuminated by Paul Hackenmueller's majestic ligh

Physical Landscape. Image, Ewa Figaszewska *** T. S. Eliot claimed there is more to the poem than the poet knows themselves. Including elements they may not intend to be there. Which might be the case with choreographer John Scott’s Physical Landscape. Irish Modern Dance Theatre’s latest offering falling loosely into three sections. Working backwards, the third is a predominantly collective exercise built on a heft of found movement. The second an intriguing conversation betw

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