The Arts Review​

Soft God by Emma Martin. Image, Ros Kavanagh. ***** The stage is in need of sweeping. Upstage, a prop cloud rests against the wall, a little distance from the costume rail. In the middle of the space a circle of chairs is placed as if to facilitate a Dancers Anonymous meeting. Alone, Jessie Thompson sits, delicately munching her crisps, dressed like sin in Katie Davenport’s shoulder-less, short black dress. Grey bearded, Wayne Jordan enters and sits next to the cloud. The bac

The Fifth Sun. Image, Luca Truffarelli *** Seen in preview, The Fifth Sun describes itself in Artspeak terms that could mean anything or nothing. Humanity’s past confronting our turbulent present leaning cautiously toward an uncertain future. Trading in grief, hope and ancestors, dancers move to mourn, to honour, to listen and, perhaps, to heal, keening our world and ourselves in a collective act of dance. Choreographer Mufutau Yusuf striving for primal connections. The audit

Caitríona Ennis and Matthew Malone in The Ideal Husband. Image, Ros Kavanagh **** When it comes to Oscar Wilde’s The Ideal Husband, director Mark Atkinson Borrull takes the Heston Blumenthal approach. Concocting a furious fusion from curious ingredients. Take 20 ounces of Bridgerton, 12 ounces of pantomime and 6 ounces of camp. Add one Cruella Deville and one open shirted, Jason Statham lookalike. Toss in a healthy smattering of bodices, bustles and bosoms encased in James Mc