Michael KeeganDolan put an Irish twist on Swan Lake to reclaim a story that existed long before the famous ballet. It comes to Cork for the Safe Harbour festival, writes Alan O’Riordan.

Cliona Maher recently moved home from France in recent years, and is the new artistic director of Clonmel Junction Arts Festival, which runs in the Co Tipperary town from July 1-7.

The actress returns to The Mai two decades after an early role in the play, writes Colette Sheridan.

Top theatre companies will “grasp the nettle” of gender discrimination by ensuring workers are fully protected from unwanted advances, and guaranteeing half of all new plays are written by women.

The woman who first spoke out against former Gate Theatre artistic director, Michael Colgan, says she is glad he is considering his past behaviour.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) has called for an independent investigation into allegations of harassment at the Gate Theatre, against its former director Michael Colgan.

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Alan O’Riordan reviews Ulysses and Tribes.

Des O’Driscoll shares the latest news from the world of entertainment.

Pigeon House, Poolbeg (Dublin Theatre Festival)

Frank Pig Says Hello and its sequel should make for fine viewing, writes Alan O’Riordan

The Suppliant Women at the Gaiety (Dublin Theatre Festival) - 4/5

Eugene McCabe’s 1964 tales of a rich farmer who encourages a neighbour to impregnate his wife was well ahead of its time, writes Alan O’Riordan.

The first recorded use of the word ‘democracy’ is in The Suppliant Women. Little wonder its tale of female refugees still feels so relevant, writes Ellie O’Byrne

Each night, Grace Dyas’s play features five male volunteers who react to various real-life scenarios, writes Colette Sheridan.

3/5

THE question mark says it all in Ireland Shed a Tear?, Michael Collins’s dramatic response to the Carrickmines fire last year, in which 10 people, including five children, lost their lives, writes Alan O’Riordan

A boom in ticket sales for works by Irish playwrights Brian Friel, Enda Walsh, and Conor McPherson contributed to the Dublin Theatre Festival last year recording a greater than threefold increase in profits to €107,626.

The makers of Bees! A Musical tell Ellie O’Byrne how the fun children’s play has a serious message

3/5

MUSIC NEWS: Quote of the week goes to Tim Commerford, bassist with Rage Against the Machine, who told Rolling Stone: “I do apologise for Limp Bizkit. I really do. I feel really bad that we inspired such bullshit.” 

We bring you a round up of all the latest news and reviews from the world of entertainment. 

In his Newcastlewest play, Kerry writer Dick Walsh is again pushing the ’post-dramatic’ boundaries, writes Padraic Killeen

The stage of The Curious Incident could be one of the highlights of the Dublin Theatre Festival, writes Padraic Killeen

MUSIC NEWS: Netflix subscribers now have access to two worthwhile music documentaries: Keith Richards: Under the Influence, in which the Rolling Stones guitarist talks about his new solo album and the sounds that have inspired him over the years; and Time Is Illmatic, the film that tells of Nas’s classic 1994 album, and his background in New York that gave rise to it. 

Everything you need to know from the world of entertainment this week.

Around €320,000 in funding has been announced for major festivals and events around Ireland this year.

Cash allocated to Irish arts organisations from the Arts Council remains relatively similar to 2014 — satisfying the majority of groups.

Magic Moment: For a very literal answer, I would look to a spellbinding sequence from Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, a show by Australia’s Back to Back Theatre company that was one of several from Down Under during the Dublin Theatre Festival.

Although their work could be mistaken for banal ‘postmodern’ parody, Irish theatre company Pan Pan have a seriousness that resists the jaded flippancy that often passes for subversion. So, while their bizarre take on Chekhov’s classic The Seagull is playful, daft, and ‘meta’, it’s also thrumming with something visceral and enigmatic, the sad, perhaps pointless passion of the human.

The fourth and final play depicting the notorious inner-city area is on Sunday, says Padraic Killeen

I’m a rational thinker. I don’t really believe in fate.

MUSIC NEWS:

*****

I’m alarmingly straight, a bit of a say what you think person.

An incredible coincidence inspired Eamon Morrissey’s show, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

Jonathan deBurca Butler asks five culture vultures to give their recommendations for the final weeks of the summer so you don’t miss the best of what’s on offer