Denise O'Donoghue: Our arts/culture writers pick their highlights of the year
Denise O'Donoghue's arts and culture picks of the year include Wicked, Bambie Thug in Malmö, Donal Ryan, and Taylor Swift.
Concert-wise, it has to be the Eras Tour last June in Dublin. The hype was justified for Taylor Swift’s mammoth tour that is a love letter to each of her albums and to her devoted fans.
In the world of musical theatre, I got last-minute tickets to Cabaret on a recent trip to London and was blown away by the production and the cast.
And closer to home, Cork Midsummer’s production of Good Sex at the Everyman was an excellent evening.
I wasn’t one of the 1,200 people who saw Chappell Roan live in Dublin in September despite constant refreshing of Ticketmaster for the resale tickets that were like gold dust. The Hot To Go singer had a stratospheric rise to international stardom this year after many years of grafting in the industry and this gig’s planning predated that success. If she’s ever back in Ireland, the 3Arena is probably the smallest venue she’d consider now.
I was lucky enough to go to Malmö in May to cover Eurovision. It was an amazing year to be there: Bambie Thug had the best Irish result in decades and the contest dominated the news with concerns around Israel’s participation, Joost Klein’s disqualification and more. Being in the press area as all of this was unfolding was surreal and speaking with Bambie at 3am after the final to get their reaction to the contest was a moment I won’t forget: you could feel the tension rolling off them from the backstage drama and it seemed like the end of the contest came as a relief to the Macroom singer.
Donal Ryan’s writing has a special place in my heart, he just finds the perfect balance of capturing the essence of rural Ireland without it feeling twee. His return to the setting of his first novel, The Spinning Heart, came out earlier this year and Heart, Be At Peace was as beautiful as its predecessor.
Lots of decent films came out this year but one of the most recent releases cinches the title of best for me: Wicked. Part one of the hit musical was released last month and it’s like a love letter to fans of the genre. While Cynthia Arivo and Ariana Grande are stellar in their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, it’s Jonathan Bailey’s turn as heartthrob Fiyero that seals the deal for me. Give him all the awards, the man deserves an EGOT.
Agatha All Along was a joy this autumn on Disney Plus. Kathyn Hahn is excellent as the morally grey (very dark grey) witch who got her own spin-off after appearing in Wandavision, and Aubrey Plaza was an excellent addition.
However, it was Patti LuPone who stole the show. The musical theatre veteran has earned a new generation of fans and it was great to hear her iconic vocals on the show’s song, The Witches Road. An inspired casting choice.
I can sit for hours and read but sometimes I don’t have the focus to listen to an audiobook but a recent return journey to Dublin had me pressing play on Graham Norton’s latest novel Frankie, on Spotify.
Narrated by the Cork author, it was an immersive experience and I was reluctant leaving the car at the halfway point after I’d reached my destination. The sign of a good book and a good narrator.
Staying up late in March to see a Cork man win an Oscar was undoubtedly a high. I was covering live updates for our website and it was such a surge of adrenaline to see Cillian Murphy win his well-deserved award and deliver a few cúpla focail in his acceptance speech.
I spotted Paris Paloma announcing a date in Dublin next summer and I snapped up tickets as quickly as I could. Her song ‘Labour’ has been a viral anthem on TikTok and she recently wrote and performed ‘The Rider’, the credit song for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Roherrim animated film released this month.
