Arts picks: Gerard Smith

Highlights of 2023

Gerard Smith,

WordSmith

Best Arts Event: 'Ages and Stages', written and performed by members of Cavan older people’s Council, facilitated by Maura Williamson. A theatrical experience that engaged from its opening scene. Witty, warm, poignant and oh so relevant. Deserves a wider audience.

One to watch: Grace Gillick, performed in the Hackler’s production of Greg Delanty’s poetry. Grace showed herself to be an actress of considerable range, from winsome to malevolent in her performance of ‘Rafflesia Arnoldii’ (The Corpse Flower).

Best film: 'Rustin', a gripping triumph over adversity biopic of Bayard Rustin, the architect of the 1963 civil rights march on Washington. Superb central performance from Colman Domingo.

Book: Edith, by Martina Devlin. A fictionalised account of Edith Sommerville, set against a backdrop of Irish Independence 1921-22.

Devlin’s first-person, present-tense narrative puts you right into the period and place.

Best theatre: Loophole, by John McManus. A fast paced comedy full of colour and character. Hugely enjoyable.

Best podcast: My journey home, Vanda Brady for Shannonside Northern Sound. I love listening to the stories of people who’ve made Cavan and its environs their home.