Culture & Entertainment News | The Irish Times

Brain boxed: Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in Booksmart

Six of the best films to see in cinemas this weekend

Film
Donald Clarke
May 23, 2019, 21:24

New this weekend: Teen drama-comedy Booksmart, and Elton John biopic Rocketman

Eurovision 2019: Turns out Ireland didn’t come last after all

Eurovision 2019: Turns out Ireland didn’t come last after all

Music
Liam Stebbing
May 23, 2019, 21:20

Dismissal of the Belarusian jury over a rules breach means the UK now has lowest points

Hannibal Lecter’s creator cooks up something new (no fava beans or Chianti)

Hannibal Lecter’s creator cooks up something new (no fava beans or Chianti)

Books
Alexandra Alter
May 23, 2019, 08:30

But, whether it’s Cari Mora or The Silence of the Lambs, the author says he invents nothing

Cannes 2019: Days without Elle Fanning fainting? Two

Cannes 2019: Days without Elle Fanning fainting? Two

Film
Tara Brady
May 23, 2019, 14:03

Cannes diary: Vivarium, Tarantino, Oh Mercy, Seven Beauties, Matthias & Maxime

Natalie Portman criticises ‘creepy’ Moby over ‘disturbing’ account of friendship

Natalie Portman criticises ‘creepy’ Moby over ‘disturbing’ account of friendship

Music
Ben Beaumont-Thomas
May 23, 2019, 09:59

Musician says pair dated, but actor ‘recalls a much older man being creepy with me’

Is virtue ethics making a comeback, 2,400 years after Aristotle?

Is virtue ethics making a comeback, 2,400 years after Aristotle?

Culture
Joe Humphreys
May 23, 2019, 05:00

Unthinkable: We must find ‘middle way’, says Ireland’s new young philosopher of the year

Good Omens: All the signs are pointing to a great TV series

Good Omens: All the signs are pointing to a great TV series

TV, Radio, Web
Shilpa Ganatra
May 23, 2019, 05:00

Neil Gaiman has adapted his and Terry Pratchett’s beloved joint novel for an Amazon Prime series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. Will the gods smile on this one?

Body & Soul music and arts festival unveils spoken-word line-up

Body & Soul music and arts festival unveils spoken-word line-up

Books
May 23, 2019, 10:36

Ailbhe Smyth, Emma Dabiri, Mary Lou McDonald and Ivor Browne among guests

Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood: There’ll be fighting in the aisles

Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood: There’ll be fighting in the aisles

Film
Donald Clarke
May 22, 2019, 09:36

Cannes 2019: Quentin Tarantino reviewed, early Oscar buzz, plus Isabelle Huppert in Frankie

The problem with Game of Thrones is it almost became bigger than life

The problem with Game of Thrones is it almost became bigger than life

TV, Radio, Web
Peter Crawley
May 22, 2019, 09:33

As with The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or the King James Bible, you could lose yourself in it

Latest Film

Brain boxed: Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in Booksmart

Six of the best films to see in cinemas this weekend

Film Reviews

Mena Massoud and Will Smith in Aladdin. Photograph: Daniel Smith/Disney

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman. Photograph: Paramount

Derren Nesbitt and Jordan Stephensin Tucked, directed by Jamie Patterson

Carmiña Martínez in Birds of Passage

Birds of Passage

TV & Radio

David Tennant and Michael Sheen in Good Omens

Good Omens: All the signs are pointing to a great TV series

Neil Gaiman has adapted his and Terry Pratchett’s beloved joint novel for an Amazon Prime series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. Will the gods smile on this one?

Latest Music

Eurovision 2019: Sarah McTernan performs 22 for Ireland in Israel last Thursday. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty

Eurovision 2019: Turns out Ireland didn’t come last after all

Dismissal of the Belarusian jury over a rules breach means the UK now has lowest points

Album Reviews

The Waterboys: Where The Action Is

Junior Brother: Pull the Right Rope

Morrissey: California Son

The Pale: Merciful Hour

Flying Lotus: Flamagra

The National: I Am Easy to Find

Latest Books

Last Stories by William Trevor is this week’s Irish Times Eason book offer

A sneak preview of this Saturday’s books pages

Book Reviews

Live While You Can by Fr Tony Coote: eloquent and painfully insightful

The Last Leonardo review: Making an argument for value of art

Saltwater review: A coming-of-age novel and a fluid and crisp love note to a mother

Once More We Saw Stars review: painfully intimate truths of grief laid bare

Stage

Director Caitríona McLaughlin and writer Dylan Coburn Gray: ‘I’m always struck by how many people say the city comes through in the play,’ says Coburn Gray. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times

Citysong: Epic drama that gets deep into the Dublin groove

The past is always present in the award-winning new play by Dylan Coburn Gray. Told in verse, it’s like a record of the modern city in which the needle jumps around

Art & Design

Detail from Lamont Cranston (2018) by Larry Poons

Larry Poons and John Gibbons: An unusual pairing that works

The master of American modern painting and sculptor have little in common, except spirit

Unthinkable

Unlike both utilitarianism and rights-based theories, virtue theory assumes human beings and the planet Earth have intrinsic purpose, from which moral commandments flow.

Is virtue ethics making a comeback, 2,400 years after Aristotle?

Unthinkable: We must find ‘middle way’, says Ireland’s new young philosopher of the year

Michael Viney's Another Life

Illustration: Michael Viney

Poisoned and preyless: obstacles to rewilding Ireland with eagles

Restoring the golden eagle to the west has found the limits to bringing back a carnivore

Heritage

The ‘back lane of no importance’ in Dublin that excelled in the 1970s

The Times We Lived In: Published Thursday, September 9th, 1971

Tuarascáil

An Coimisinéir Teanga Rónán Ó Domhnaill. Grianghraf: Seán Ó Mainnín

Coiste chun tuarascáil an Choimisinéara Teanga a phlé

Tiocfaidh Rónán Ó Domhnaill os comhair Chomhchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus na nOileán

Sponsored

Digitalisation: making it a real force in Ireland

Digitalisation: making it a real force in Ireland

Industry experts met in Dublin in April to discuss the power of digitalisation to transform society and provide opportunities for Ireland

Chernobyl: more than a historical drama, it's a cautionary tale for our times

Chernobyl: more than a historical drama, it's a cautionary tale for our times

On the 30th anniversary of the tragedy Sky Atlantic presents a five-part miniseries that unlocks the story behind the worst nuclear disaster in hist

Game of Thrones: The epic fantasy’s final season News, reviews, recaps and interviews as the series comes to an end

Cannes film festival Donald Clarke brings you the best from Promenade de la Croisette

Most Read in Culture

Eurovision 2019: Sarah McTernan performs 22 for Ireland in Israel last Thursday. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty

Eurovision 2019: Turns out Ireland didn’t come last after all

Keanu Reeves: ‘We’re only getting to tell these stories because of the audience.’ Photograph: Emma McIntyre/Getty

Keanu Reeves: ‘Grief and loss are things that don’t ever go away’

Umbrellas, alcohol, garden furniture, selfie sticks, flares, glasses or cans will not be permitted at the event.

The Spice Girls at Croke Park: Everything you need to know

Unlike both utilitarianism and rights-based theories, virtue theory assumes human beings and the planet Earth have intrinsic purpose, from which moral commandments flow.

Is virtue ethics making a comeback, 2,400 years after Aristotle?

Mariah Carey: Charming and playful, and just the right amount of shady. Photograph: John Shearer/Getty Images

Mariah Carey ‘smashes every goddamn note’ at a glass-breaking gig in Dublin

Dispute: Moby and Natalie Portman disagree about the nature of their friendship. Photographs: Scott Dudelson/Getty and James Devaney/GC/Getty

Natalie Portman criticises ‘creepy’ Moby over ‘disturbing’ account of friendship

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino’s new film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a vast improvement on the exhausting The Hateful Eight

Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood: There’ll be fighting in the aisles

Jan Carson: has written a thoroughly captivating and well-paced novel that should hopefully earn her the international recognition she deserves. Photograph: Alan Betson

Jan Carson wins EU Prize for Literature Ireland 2019 for The Firestarters

How come he didn’t catch fire?

Where did Arya jump from? The Game of Thrones battle was riddled with problems

Morrissey: California Son review – Covers album for fans only, and Moz himself

Real news has value

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Vote 100 Celebrating a century since Irish women won the right to vote

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On My Culture Radar

Bill Bailey: On My Culture Radar

Bill Bailey: On My Culture Radar

The funnyman on immersive one-man show The Encounter and odd Swedish film Border

Lisa Harding: “handles a profoundly difficult issue with absolute care and multitudes of heart”

The Book Club Click to join in the discussion about this month's book, Harvesting by Lisa Harding

Shelved: a selection of books by Irish women writers. Might some of these names figure in the final 12?

Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture

Culture Videos

Galleries

Doris Day in costume on the set of Calamity Jane. Photograph: Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Doris Day: A life in pictures

Red electrical tape marks out our playing space on the timber floor. One side of this line denotes the stage; outside of this line is known as the wings. Here, bits of costume and props line up, ready to be brought on stage.
Among these props – suitcases, wine bottles, letters – lies a digital camera, very much out of place in this world of 1940s Galway.
We’re in the Lab on Foley Street in Dublin. It’s week three of rehearsals for Light a Penny Candle. Maeve Binchy’s heartfelt story, adapted wisely for stage by Shay Linehan, is taking shape. I’ve brought my camera with me this week; I leave it off to the side as we work through the text.

Light a Penny Candle: The rehearsal room laid bare

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