I went to a show recently as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival that reduced me to a heaving, sobbing mess; unstoppable tears making my face wet and my eyes puffy and my nose run. It was only afterwards I fully realised why I became theatre roadkill. This was a play unique in excavating the realities of a rarely acknowledged but serious social issue - parental alcoholism, and its lifelong legacy. Tadhg Hickey's In One Eye Out The Other is a one-man show in which he plays Feargal, an adult child of alcoholics who has followed the only path he was shown. He lives in the surreal, nostalgic, alternative universe of the alcoholic; a place of arrested development. He jacknifes from jollity to anguish: laughing off those who ask about the effects of a childhood where his mother was so drunk she didn't know who he was on his Communion day. "'Did it affect ya? Did it affect ya?'" he mimics them. "I'm actually grand. A kind of 'Oh My God I can't take this anymore' Auschwitzian hopelessness … [Read more...] about Legacy of pain, love and loss for the children scarred by drink
Entertainment
Mark Grist insists that being a poet can be a real job
0 Post a comment Sunday, 22 September 2019 - Entertainment Celebrating a love of all things to do with the written word, the eighth Manx Litfest gets under way next week. The first event is the eagerly-anticipated poetry slam, which takes place on Tuesday, September 24, from 7.30pm, at Port St Mary Town Hall.The compere for the evening will be visiting poet Mark Grist, who will be returning to the festival after a successful appearance in 2014.He has just finished a month of daily performances of the show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is looking forward to returning to the island.’I loved my time here, although I can’t quite believe it was five years ago,’ said Mark.’I did my show Rogue Teacher, which was all about how I went from being a high school English teacher to taking part in a rap battle. ’It was held in a pub, and I just remember that it was absolutely rammed. ’There were people who came to see the show, but loads of people … [Read more...] about Mark Grist insists that being a poet can be a real job
Harry eats seven hot dogs in five minutes
0 Post a comment Sunday, 22 September 2019 - Entertainment Contestants with eyes bigger than their bellies sat down for a feast at the recent Isle of Man Food and Drink festival, held last weekend. Eight people took part in the hot dog-eating competition, held on the Saturday night of the festival, with the top prize awarded to the champion eater who could devour the most hot dogs in five minutes.The competition was fiercely contested, and for a while it looked as if the reigning champion, Greg Cowell, competing on behalf of Douglas snooker club, was on track to reclaim the mustard-coloured champions belt.However, a determined push saw Harry Craig, from the Douglas-based Gourmet Shakes and Snacks, saw him lift the title, finishing off an impressive seven hot dogs, walking away slowly with the belt and the top prize of an American-style barbecue for 100 people.Greg came in second place, just behind Harry, having managed to wolf down six and a half hot dogs.The competition is now a … [Read more...] about Harry eats seven hot dogs in five minutes
Painter Tony Hewson revels in the detail
0 Post a comment Sunday, 22 September 2019 - Entertainment An island-based painter has put his life’s work on display on the walls of a Laxey art gallery. Tony Hewson recently opened his first solo exhibition, entitled ’It’s All in the Detail’, at the Hodgson Loom Gallery, at the Laxey Woollen Mills.Revelling in finely captured landscapes, still-life and Celtic knot work, the exhibition covers the time-span of Tony’s forays into the art world.Altogether there are 90 different original paintings in the collection, and they range from Tony’s first paintings, through to several completed and on-going projects he has undertaken, one of which is to paint each of the Scottish Munro hills.Tony, a retired English teacher, admits that he is just a hobby painter, and that he has always painted for the pleasure of it.’I have painted all my life, on-and-off, but I suppose I have got more into it recently and, over the past 30 years, my standard has … [Read more...] about Painter Tony Hewson revels in the detail
New display by wildlife painter
0 Post a comment Sunday, 22 September 2019 - Entertainment A world-renowned wildlife painter from the Isle of Man will open his latest exhibition next weekend. Dr Jeremy Paul will unveil his latest collection, entitled ’Wildlife-An Artist’s View’, featuring more than 30 new paintings of animal and bird life, from a wide variety of settings, including the Arctic, the savannah, the Isle of Man and around the UK, at the Isle Contemporary gallery, Tynwald Mills, on Sunday, September 29, from 2pm.More details are available from jeremypaulwildlifeartist.co.uk Add Comment … [Read more...] about New display by wildlife painter