GALWAY MUST-SEES: OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

John Mahoney has been to Galway so many times, there’s a danger people will forget what he’s best known for. Mahoney for years played Marty Crane, the cranky father to two psychiatrists in sublime US sitcom Frasier-

He first appeared in Galway in a 2002 version of Long Day’s Journey into Night. This year, he’s starring in a new Christian O’Reilly play, Chapatti. Mahoney was given a draft of the play by O’Reilly, liked it, and was instrumental in its Chicago premiere. A tale of Dublin widower’s romance, it is having its homecoming at the festival.

Ballyturk: It all began when writer Enda Walsh’s daughter asked the kind of probing questions about death that only a six-year-old can ask. Ballyturk is Walsh’s answer, indirect of course. It’s a tale of lost innocence set in one of those the strange, yet eerily familiar worlds that Walsh creates. The writer also directs the play and is joined by regular collaborators Cillian Murphy and Mikel Murfi, together with a new member of the crew — Stephen Rea. Tickets are sold out in Galway, but still available for runs in Dublin and Cork.

Be Infants in Evil: Druid’s festival show brings a new voice to Irish theatre — that of long-time actor, first-time playwright Brian Martin.

His play casts the always excellent Marty Rea as Fr Patrick, a newly posted priest in Dublin.

Fr Patrick has his own problems to face, but he must first deal with those of a 21st-century city parish.

The play also stars Bailey Hayden, pictured above.

Billington Meets Hytner: This month has seen another unflattering report about Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey. The latest independent review has been critical of the lack of theatre professionals, designers, actors and artists among senior staff. By contrast, Nicholas Hytner left behind him a vibrant National Theatre in London, where commercial success and artistic vigour have been equally notable. He will be interviewed by the critic Michael Billington. Can Irish theatre learn from his experience?

Window into Gaza: What we see of Gaza is usually through the medium of news reports: flare-ups like this last week’s; crackdowns by the Israel Defence Force and their aftermath; the daily struggles of locals.

We see little of the cultural life of the besieged territory, its traditions of painting and photography.

This exhibition offers a rare glimpse beyond the headlines.