A Bank Holiday Special - revisit some of our cultural highlights from the year to date...
BOOK: CTRL
In this fascinating (and illuminating) anthology, writers turn their focus to one of the most influential – and persistently misunderstood – art forms of the modern era. Through memoir, criticism, and choice narrative digressions, these eclectic essays explore the miriad of ways video games intersect with the complicated business of being human. Contributors include Sheila Armstrong, Úna-Minh Kavanagh, Darragh McCausland, Lisa McInerney, John Patrick McHugh, Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan and Stephen Sexton, writing about games like Final Fantasy IX, Fallout: New Vegas, Pokémon, Doom, Tomb Raider and Red Dead Redemption. It's a book that captures the emotional and cultural force of video games, and the stories we carry with us when we finally put the controller down - RTÉ Arena takes a deeper dive below (Out now, Lilliput Press)
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VISUAL ART: SALON
Curated by Matthew Higgs, the new show at Lismore Castle Arts features forty paintings, made by an intergenerational group of artists, staged throughout Lismore's galleries in a 'theatrical mise-en-scène' that aludes to the idea of the gallery as a social space: literally a 'salon', a place where people might come together. Featuring an eclectic mix of artists ranging from homegrown heroes Pádraig Timoney and Elizabeth Magill to UK cult legends Billy Childish and Caroline Coon, the paintings are accompanied by an informal gathering of chairs, which visitors are encouraged to make use full of (Lismore Castle Arts, Co. Waterford, until 25 Oct)
TV: THE DRY
The acclaimed Irish dramedy returns for its third and final season, once again delving headfirst into the trials and tribulations of the Sheridan family; this time out a huge family secret in unearthed, throwing everyone off kilter. Will this shocking revelation upend already fragile relations for good, or could this be the missing piece that will finally fix the Sheridans' broken puzzle? Major buladh bós to a whipsmart ensemble that includes Róisín Gallagher, Siobhán Cullen, Ciarán Hinds, Pom Boyd and perennial scene-stealer Janet Moran (Thursdays on RTÉ One, with the whole series available now via RTÉ Player)
MUSIC: PHOENO
Vocalist Adam Matthews and composer Liam Corbett began writing together while running through a quiet Phoenix Park during lockdown, turning isolation into creative fuel. Comfort in the Knowing, the Dublin duo's debut album, is a synth-driven alt-pop record crafted over six years in a bare-bones studio nicknamed "The Fridge". Exploring grief, hope, friendship and renewal, it pairs intimate storytelling with a widescreen sound (Now streaming)
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FILM: MAN ON THE RUN
After the break-up of the biggest band in the world, what comes next? Mixing previously unseen footage and rare archival materials, the new documentary from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) takes a journey through Paul McCartney's life following the break-up of The Beatles and the formation of Wings with his wife, Linda, capturing McCartney's transformative post-Fab Four era through an intimate lens (Prime Video, now streaming)
BONUS: KATHY BURKE ON THE TOMMY TIERNAN SHOW
One of our favourite TV moments of the year to date had to be Tommy's chats with the incomparable Kathy Burke, a conversation by turns illuminating, moving and hilarious - watch in full here.
