Cinema Review - Edge of Darkness

Thu, Feb 04, 2010

It has been nearly eight years since Mel Gibson has been in front of the camera and his performance in Edge of Darkness is stellar, it’s just a pity that there were too many conspiracies and cover-ups squeezed in which were confusing and annoying at times.

Edge of Darkness, which is based on a rather successful BBC mini-series of the same name, is a thriller which is more about the characters and the drama than about the action, which is what I like. It is definitely gritty, but director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) should have taken a step back and, dare I say it, simplified the many weaving plots as there was just too much to keep track of. In saying that, the film was entertaining, with plenty of ‘edge of seat’ scenes.

Thank You JD

Thu, Feb 04, 2010

IT IS a story that has been told before but, given the recent news, is worth telling again. In the classroom of a Galway school during the winter of 1966, there was a French teacher of a somewhat volatile nature in that the pupils never knew what was coming next.

Homespun consolation and ecstatic utterances

Thu, Feb 04, 2010

ALICE TAYLOR is best known for her memoir To School Through The Fields which, on its publication in 1988, rapidly became the best selling book ever published in Ireland.

Tea’n’Turps booklaunch

Thu, Feb 04, 2010

TEA’N’TURPS, the new book by artist Lynda Cookson, featuring interviews with 12 artists on their life, work, and inspiration, will be launched this evening.

Zoe Lyons - comedy, controversy, and Elton John

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

SHE HAS earned the wrath of Germaine Greer, she is one of the most influential gay people in Britain, she is an award winning comedienne, and she plays Galway next week. She is Zoe Lyons.

The blacksmith’s song

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

STEPHAN GLEIßNER comes from a German family with a long tradition of blacksmithing, a tradition which Stephan has continued while living in Galway during the last 15 years. However he is also a classically trained singer, possessing a deep bass vocal.

Lisa Lashes @ GPO

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

SUPERSTAR DJ Lisa Lashes descends on the new GPO on Friday February 5 where she will be spinning the decks at the official Lashed 10th Release Party in association with Planetlove.

Second Age; illuminating Hamlet’s ambiguities

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

SECOND AGE Theatre Company comes to Galway next month with its new staging of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Alan Stanford.

Molly Bloom makes her Galway bow

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

MOLLY BLOOM’S soliloquy, which forms the concluding chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses, is one of the most famous passages in world literature.

Acting workshops with Max Hafler

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

THE THEATRE director, playwright, and teacher Max Hafler will give two intensive actors’ masterclasses and workshops in Galway Arts Centre in February and March.

‘Boundary-breaking’ guitarist Albert Niland returns

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

ALBERT NILAND, the Mountbellew born guitarist and songwriter, who shot to prominence with his cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, plays the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday February 2 at 9pm.

Go Out On A Limb at Strange Brew

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

STRANGE BREW at the Róisín Dubh will host the Out On A Limb Records night concert, featuring Windings, Hooray For Humans, and Ten Past Seven on Thursday February 4 at 9pm.

So Cow at Gigantic

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

The brilliant So Cow (aka Tuam’s Brian Kelly - pictured) will play Gigantic, at Kelly’s, Bridge Street, this Saturday at 10pm. Kelly’s quirky, left field, indie-pop has won many admirers with praise from Artrocker (“highly recommended”), Finest Kiss (“truly grade-A stuff”), and Pitchfork, which included him in its Unforgettable Concerts Of The Decade list. See www.myspace.com/socow

Major trad album to be launched at The Crane

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

AN COSÁN Draíochta - The Magic Path, the new album marking 25 years of the Connemara Bog Week and Sea Week, will be launched in The Crane Bar, Sea Road, this Saturday at 8.30pm.

The album is a double CD collection with CD1 featuring original music specially composed for the Connemara Environmental Education & Cultural Centre, Letterfrack as well as performances by by Liz Kane, Johnny Connolly, Sharon Shannon, Liam O’Maonlaí, Charlie McGettigan, The Hernon Family, Laoise Kelly, Sean Tyrrell, and Don Stiffe.

Men needed for The Mikado

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

THE PATRICIAN Musical Society is looking for male singers to take part in its forthcoming production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado.

The production will run from March 9 to 13 at the Town Hall Theatre. Male vocalists who would like to take part in this comic opera masterpiece should contact Valerie Egan on 087 - 6432728.

Major new collection of Máirtín Ó Direáin’s poetry to be launched

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

THIS YEAR marks the centenary of the birth of one of Ireland’s greatest poets, and arguably the greatest Irish language poet of the 20th century - Máirtín Ó Direáin from Inis Mór in the Aran Islands.

Kenneth Webb to give painting demonstration in Kenny’s

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

THE CELEBRATED artist Kenneth Webb will give a painting demonstration in Kennys’ Bookshop and Art Gallery, Liosbán, this Saturday at 2pm.

James Lisney pianist

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
British pianist Cyril Smith wrote that a pianist who works intensely for many hours each day can only expect to be happy for about 12 seconds each year. I hope I can bring at least a couple of those seconds to Galway in February.

Fundraiser for Haiti at Kelly’s

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

Little John Nee will be among the artists performing in Kelly’s, Bridge Street, tomorrow, for a fundraising concert and show for the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Joining Little John Nee will be acoustic band Mad Uncle Harry, DJ Mike Smalle, for a night of cabaret, dancing, and surprises. There will also be a raffle with prizes of hotel breaks, spa treatments, and dinners for two.

It’s Complicated

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

Every year, the emergence of rom-coms always gets me a bit worried, I mean they’re usually cut from the same cloth really, aren’t they? But It’s Complicated makes a valiant effort to steer into different territory and succeeds in providing quite a few laughs while at the same time asking questions about what is acceptable in the world of divorcees.

E-paper

Read this weeks E-paper. Past editions also available from within this weeks digital copy.