Scarlet Rivera’s violin on the album informed Mick Flannery’s approach to music

Events big and offbeat call for gender balance and celebrate achievements

An Irish rape case exposes a culture of victim-blaming in the stage adaptation of Louise O’Neill’s novel; repressed desires drive a boy’s own story from Kabul to San Francisco

Tara Flynn’s splendid one-woman show and Stephen Sondheim’s roll-call of political killers

Many performances around the country called off and festivals are severely curtailed

Some nicknames stick forever, just ask the stars of this week’s stage. Remember to wash your hands though

‘It’s one of our most basic instincts; to listen to a song, listen to a poem – even in this era when people have their noses stuck in their tablets, it still works’, says the poet Paul Muldoon

Ciaran Bermingham, actor currently starring in ‘Red Riding Hood’

‘I like Irish country music -- I wouldn’t be saying that to Keith, naturally’