Something For The Weekend: Edel Coffey's Cultural Picks

Veteran journalist Edel Coffey has just published her debut novel, hot-button thriller Breaking Point, to rave reviews - read an extract here.

We asked Edel for her choice cultural picks...

FILM

I'm looking forward to seeing Licorice Pizza. I’m a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson’s work and this film has the added attraction of Cooper Hoffman, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son. (Seymour Hoffman acted brilliantly in Anderson’s film The Master). It also sounds like it might be a little lighter than some of Anderson’s recent work, which can be tough-going.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

MUSIC

I’ve been listening to Irish singer CMAT’s music with interest for a while now and can’t wait to hear her debut album, which is due out in March. I think she’s one of the most exciting Irish artists around at the moment, with insanely catchy pop melodies and an edgy vocal reminiscent of Kate Bush.

I’m also looking forward to the Joni Mitchell - Archives Volume 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971). I love listening to an artist’s music in order and seeing the progression in their work.

BOOK

I’ve been a big fan of Louise Kennedy’s short stories ever since I came across her in Winter Papers. Her collection of stories The End Of The World Is A Cul de Sac was a brilliant appetizer for her debut novel, Trespasses, which will be out in April, published by Bloomsbury. Set in a small town near Belfast, it tells the story of a destructive affair.

PLAY

I think Marina Carr is a visionary writer and certainly one of our greatest living playwrights. The Abbey will show a new production of her 1996 play Portia Coughlan from 11th February. It looks at themes of motherhood and identity and is typically haunting and questioning.

I love any programme that portrays a newsroom and I particularly loved Apple+ TV’s The Morning Show, which showed all the pace and stress of a daily news show as well as all of the egos, politics, betrayals and jockeying for position that are part and parcel of a glitzy high-profile show.

I’m also in the process of watching Yellowjackets through my fingers from behind the couch.

GIG

Was there really a time when we used to go to gigs? Will we ever go again? The last ticket I bought was for Weyes Blood in July 2020, but that was cancelled due to Covid. I’m looking forward to getting back to gigs. I used to play in a band so I really love live music. I might be tempted to buy tickets for Lucius at The Button Factory on Saturday 17th September. I saw them in the Workman’s Club many years ago and they were great performers, who really wanted to put on a show for the audience and for their encore they got down into the crowd and sang a cappella.

ART

It’s January so it has to be Turner in the National Gallery… these paintings are only exhibited once a year because of the low light in January. You can do a virtual tour on the national gallery’s website but there is nothing quite like seeing a work like the translucent A Ship Off Hastings in person. Also, go see The Map, an extraordinary work by Alice Maher and Rachel Fallon. It runs until March 12th in Dublin's Rua Red.

PODCAST

I’m really enjoying Now You’re Asking with Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn for BBC Radio 4. It’s a kind of agony aunt podcast but with all of the personality, intelligence and wit that Keyes and Flynn bring to a show. Fans of their previous shows on BBC will love it.

We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

I was also completely gripped by Sweet Bobby, a mystery about a catfish. It brought me right back to my early days of binging podcasts like Serial. It’s a real mindbender of a story and got me through piles of laundry and ironing.

TECH

For now it’s Wordle… I can’t get enough of this word game – I describe it as sudoku with letters. I’m just glad there is a one-a-day limit on it or I would never get anything done.

THE NEXT BIG THING...

I am hoping the next big thing will be reconnection with human beings in pubs and bars and houses and theatres. I can’t wait to sit in a huge cinema again, I’m thinking of Screen One in the Savoy on the release night of a big blockbuster and just having a communal experience once more.

Breaking Point by Edel Coffey is published by Sphere Books.

Something For The Weekend: Edel Coffey's Cultural Picks

More stories on

Read Next

More stories on

Breaking Point by Edel Coffey - read an extract

Read Next