LEO BOIX recommends a ravishing, full-bodied drama about the intensely demanding and emotional art of Kabuki theatre
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Attila the Stockbroker Diary: March 21, 2024
A eulogy from the itinerant troubadour to the city of Belfast, local music venues, the wit of the North Stand Kollective, and the indefatigable Joe Solo
On the day of the election, MARTIN GOLLAN reflects on the perennial relationship between the far-right and the back-hander
MARY CONWAY is gripped by the powerful emotional journeys portrayed by the parents of the perpetrator and victims of a mass shooting
LEO BOIX reviews a novel where shadows deceive and mortality looms, and a poetry collection that refuses to dim
ROBIN STYLES welcomes a boundary pushing work of fiction exploring the life and ideas of the godmother of modernism
PAUL DONOVAN recommends an energetic adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel, that emphasises how psychiatry is a tool in the hands of a racist agenda
GREETINGS from Belfast, where I wrote today’s column. It’s so wonderful to be back!
I have a long history here, having gigged in this vibrant, welcoming city for 40 years. I started in the ’80s, during the worst of the Troubles, at Queen’s University and the legendary Errigle Inn, then the pioneering cross-denominational school Lagan College, then the late lamented Warzone Centre — where I recorded a live album, imaginatively entitled Live in Belfast, in 2004 — followed by the Rotterdam Bar and most recently at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and, last Wednesday, at the Black Box as part of Imagine Belfast Festival.
It has been so good to see the city blossom in recent times as the desperate days of the past recede into the background. Also wonderful to come in on the ferry from Cairnryan in Scotland for the first time, following a long drive to Dumfries and a gig there last Tuesday.
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