Our Own Correspondent: Arts/Culture writer Marjorie Brennan's picks of the year
It’s A Sin, Megan Nolan, and Alex Murphy in Philadelphia, Here I Come.
Sally Rooney stole the headlines but a wealth of new Irish talent hit the shelves. Megan Nolan’s Acts of Desperation stood out, a visceral and breathtaking debut, it left me eagerly anticipating what she does next. Austin Duffy’s Ten Days was an exquisitely-rendered meditation on memory and loss, deserving of more attention.
In non-fiction, The Disconnect by Róisín Kiberd was an entertaining and engaging take on our online lives. Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe was an absorbing and eye-opening exploration of the Sackler family and the opioid crisis in the US.
Beckett’s Happy Days was streamed live from the Olympia in February, in a production that eerily echoed the Groundhog Day nature of life in lockdown. The Approach was another streamed performance, a nerve-jangling triumph. Both were from Landmark Productions, which did an astounding job in staging online and live performances in such a difficult year.
It was strange but wonderful to see live theatre again in October with an accomplished, full-cast production of Philadelphia, Here I Come, at Cork Opera House.
It’s A Sin was a profoundly moving story about the impact of the AIDS epidemic on a group of friends in London. It was a tough watch at times but also joyful and life-affirming. Strictly Come Dancing delivered one of the most powerful TV moments of the year, if not ever, when Rose Ayling-Ellis, the show’s first deaf contestant, and her partner Giovanni Pernice, danced their couple’s choice, the music fading away to silence as we got a brief insight into what the whole experience was like for Rose, the eventual and deserved winner.
The release of Red (Taylor’s version) was an opportunity to once again marvel at La Swift’s talent and her tenacity in reclaiming her back catalogue. The frenzy surrounding the ten-minute video for fan favourite All Too Well was also very entertaining, though probably not for the subject of the song, actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
Peter Jackson’s Get Back made me a Beatles bore, and proud. It brought a whole new dimension to the band that I grew up listening to on cassette tapes in the car. In turns mundane, revelatory and heartbreaking, it was hypnotic viewing and cut through all the mythology to offer something completely new.
Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings was a highly entertaining romp from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and because it was standalone I didn’t have to watch 50 other MCU films beforehand. No Time to Die brought James Bond back when we needed him most and then gave us one of the most shocking endings in film history.
It was so heartening to see the crowds turn out for the fantastic Rembrandt in Print exhibition at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, an oasis in the city that has done all in its power to salve our weary, culture-starved souls.
Having to cancel a planned trip to the David Hockney exhibition in the Royal Academy, London.
The second series of the brilliantly weird and warped Russian Doll starring Natasha Lyonne.
