Last October I read the book ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney over a period of two months. You might wonder why a book of 266 pages would take so long. It’s well written and quite easy to read after all. It tells the simple tale of a heterosexual couple who start a relationship in secondary school in the west of Ireland, before continuing an on-again, off-again friendship and relationship over their university days in Dublin. Continue reading ‘Normal people’ by Sally Rooney and Lenny Abrahamson
As the lockdown continues, I have developed a routine for my weekdays. The fact that I am doing a full week’s work from home necessitates this. I have to be ready, alert and active by 9am each day, and remain focused until 5pm every evening. As I have nothing else to talk about at the moment, it seemed like a good time to record this wash, rinse, repeat cycle, for posterity. Continue reading Day 25 The Coronavirus Diaries – my daily routine
In a different world, a long, long time ago I used to go to the theatre on a regular basis. I had a highly developed skill for sniffing out early bird tickets, deep discounts and freebies for shows. I look back on that distant time with nostalgia and vague melancholy. I am being sarcastic of course. That was only three weeks ago. However it’s like another time zone from a planet far, far away. Continue reading Day 19: Theatrical reminiscences – ‘Dirtbirds’
When lockdown was announced from midnight on Friday night, I panicked somewhat. Continue reading Day 18 – Coronavirus diaries. Lockdown
This past fortnight has seen me walking far more consistently than I have done previously. In addition however, I am spending far more time in my flat in the Dockalnds. I have noticed some things since I have started to socially and physically distance myself from other people. These are a few random observations that are probably not connected and they are certainly not important. But I’ll record them for posterity. Continue reading From a distance: The Coronavirus Diaries – Day 15.
Thursday, March 26th marks two weeks since the announcement that normal life was suspended, in an attempt to ward off the horrific consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic that have been witnessed in northern Italy. Since then, the restrictions have become tighter – now only essential businesses are allowed to remain open (although there is debate over what constitutes an ‘essential business’). Thankfully the supermarket and chemist shop are categorised thus – I do like a face to face encounter. Continue reading From a distance – The Coronavirus Diaries – day 14. The walks.
Thursday was the day that I had planned to travel to Latvia and Lithuania for the first time. With the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic running amok, my plans were altered last week as soon as Ryanair announced that it would not be charging passengers to rebook flights for later in the year. Here’s hoping that by August this incredibly weird, semi-lockdown experience might have passed. Continue reading From a distance – Day 8: The Coronavirus Diaries and a trip to the theatre
On Thursday an email was circulated at work, advising all staff that they would be required to work from home until April 1st at the earliest. It coincided with the request from the government for people to socially distance from each other; to avoid crowded places; for schools, creches, museums, theatres, sports events to close and for people to be extra diligent in washing their hands. All to combat the spread of the virus named after a Mexican beer. Continue reading From a distance, Day 3: The Coronavirus Diary
Judder Theatre’s latest production is Harold Pinter’s one act play ‘The Dumb Waiter’. It premiered in Chaplin’s Pub on Hawkins Street last night. I was in attendance.
Pub theatre – long a means of staging theatre in the UK – seems to be expanding in Ireland. It makes sense considering how prohibitively expensive theatre rental has become, coupled with the fact that most bars have an empty upstairs room that can house productions, and allows the audience to enjoy a few sociables after the show. Judder began life upstairs from Doyles on College Green. The new location in Chaplins is a more comfortable space and a pleasant place to catch a show. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Harold Pinter
‘The Fall of the Second Republic’ by the Corn Exchange officially opens on the main stage of the Abbey Theatre this Thursday. I have already seen it twice.
Late last year I purchased an ‘early bird’ preview ticket for a tenner for the Tuesday performance. On Monday however, as I was walking past the Abbey on my way home I noticed a queue winding its way down the street beside the theatre. That meant one thing only – the ‘first free preview’. The time was 6.15pm. Like a hot snot I darted across the road to inquire whether there were still free tickets available when they would be distributed shortly. The news was good. I had no plans that evening and watching the Monday performance would enable me to attend the ‘intimidating and bullying’ public meeting by Sinn Fein in Liberty Hall around the corner the following night. (This bizarre description of the Sinn Fein meeting was given by acting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who apparently believes that politicians and their parties must only engage with the public at very specific times before elections – maybe that’s why Fine Gael lost a quarter of its seats two weeks ago). Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Fall of the Second Republic’ at the Abbey Theatre
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