Coldplay couple are nobody's business
Why has the world vilified these two people, mocked them and humiliated them?
What do we know about who they are, and why they make the choices they make? We are all human.
The social media interest that fuelled the virality of the clip intruded in what should have been nobody's business but their own. – Yours, etc,
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LEONOR BETHENCOURT,
Drimnagh,
Dublin.
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Irish Times
29 minutes ago
- Irish Times
In Extremis review: Intriguing footnote from Oscar Wilde's final days of freedom
In Extremis Bewley's Cafe Theatre, Dublin ★★★☆☆ The London apartment of Bewley's Cafe Theatre's latest production, with its windows blocked by drapes and its furniture concealed beneath sheets, seems to have gone untouched for decades. We see a woman passing the threshold, lifting the cloths off ornate furnishings – and teasing long-awaited answers to an old mystery. The society palmist Mrs Robinson, 'the Sibyl of Mortimer Street' (neatly played by Gene Rooney), may have been popular with the divination-curious scenesters of Victorian London, but she also left behind a nagging curiosity for biographers of Oscar Wilde . 'He had his hand read by a fortune-teller,' the writer Vincent O'Sullivan relayed. 'They told him, 'I see a very brilliant life for you up to a certain point. Then I see a wall. Beyond the wall I see nothing.'' Among those who have interpreted this forecast is the playwright Neil Bartlett, who, as the Latin of his play's title suggests, presents ghostly versions of the Londoners – 'Both of us are 100 years dead' – re-enacting their meeting while addressing modern audiences. READ MORE Mrs Robinson gives an introduction to palmistry – insisted to be a real science, but not one without trade secrets on how best to interact with customers. That's intriguing but instructive; there's far more grit to watching two performers fluent in artifice trying to outsmart each other. 'I should warn you I'm not unaccustomed with the ways of charlatans,' Wilde says, in a well-considered delivery by Conor Hanratty. 'I regularly provide employment for some of the most accomplished charlatans in London.' Bartlett, a studied interpreter of Wilde – he conceived and directed the Abbey Theatre's 2012 production of The Picture of Dorian Gray – rolls out his own epigrams. 'These are the hands of a very charming man,' Mrs Robinson says, relying on Wilde's well-known tabloid celebrity. 'Charm, like wit, is a myth invented by handsome people to account for the peculiar social success of the ugly,' he responds. Yeesh! Joan Sheehy's production impressively folds such comedy-of-manners swipes within the otherworldly ambience of a ghost story. It becomes increasingly difficult to believe, however, as Bartlett's characterisation turns fuzzy, and Mrs Robinson begins to resemble a court witness changing their story. 'I had no idea what was going to happen,' she explains, trying to judge how best to give Wilde a prediction while he's dreading his trial. Yet Bartlett does give her a premonition, interpreting the 'future hitting a wall' comment as a vision of the playwright seen declining in sickness and misery in Reading Gaol. She re-examines her actions, looking for answers by turning to the audience, turning to Wilde: 'Did I lie?' (Don't ask me!) There's a sense Bartlett's motive lies more in the joyride romance between Wilde and Alfred Douglas. The links between Mrs Robinson's assessment and the playwright's declarations of love are tenuous, but there's no denying the impressive beauty. 'I can you see you in the morning with the sun behind you, making you all a glory of gilt and ivory,' Wilde says. Swoon. In Extremis is at Bewley's Cafe Theatre , Dublin, until Saturday, August 16th
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Rosie O'Donnell's Dublin world premiere review: Head-scratching stand-up set has a weirdly rose-tinted view of Ireland
Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin ★★☆☆☆ Rosie O'Donnell 's new show opens not with jokes but with a long, sad story. It's St Patrick's Day 1973, and young Rosie is called home from a play date to find her Irish-American Catholic family gathered with devastating news: her mother has died. 'I know what you're thinking,' the actor and comedian quips to the audience at 3Olympia Theatre on Sunday night, where the set is getting its world premiere. 'Did I buy tickets to the wrong show?' It's a good opener, but it's a question I find myself asking in earnest as the show goes on. O'Donnell is an assured presence on stage, and the production is polished: sound effects, well-timed slide shows, family photographs, archival footage. Her comic timing and rhetorical skill are considerable, even when the content veers more towards memoir than comedy. READ MORE The show is structured around her fifth child, adopted later in life, whom O'Donnell presents as a nonbinary, autistic, truth-speaking prodigy. Photographs of this undeniably cute kid accompany her anecdotes, which she delivers with warmth and reverence. The show's title, Common Knowledge, comes from a line O'Donnell's child uses whenever correcting their mother with bemused exasperation: 'It's common knowledge, Mom.' It's touching stuff, though not side-splitting. If the show were reframed not as stand-up but as an autobiographical monologue by a witty, charismatic performer, the expectations would land more fairly. Rosie O'Donnell at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Rosie O'Donnell at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Eventually, O'Donnell moves to the show's emotional core: her loathing of Donald Trump . Here the tone shifts. A slide show features paintings of the US president, his face rendered demon-red, words such as 'TRAITOR' and 'HYPOCRITE' etched across them. These are paintings O'Donnell began to make during his first term; they now apparently number in the hundreds. There's a comic opportunity here to say something about the quality of the art, but she doesn't rise to it. [ Rosie O'Donnell: 'People say, you moved to Ireland, just forget about Trump. I can't. The crimes are endless' Opens in new window ] Given recent, more interesting reckonings on the left about how liberal discourse may have helped fuel Trump's re-election, this section feels not only dated but counterproductive. O'Donnell's rage and disbelief, however sincere, feel lazy. Rosie O'Donnell at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Rosie O'Donnell at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Rosie O'Donnell at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill What's missing is a deeper confrontation with the possibility that such disdain might not only fail to persuade but also, in fact, deepen the fractures it claims to lament. Admittedly, it would be difficult to craft a comedy capable of confronting these tensions but not, you'd like to think, impossible. Perhaps a less complacent-seeming comedian might attempt it, or at least gesture toward complexity, rather than defaulting to familiar material that flatters the audience but challenges nothing. [ Are we really going to pass up the chance to do the most hilarious thing in the history of world leaders? Opens in new window ] O'Donnell's vision of Ireland, meanwhile, is ridiculous. She praises the lollipop lady, the kindly pharmacist, the atmosphere of 'calm and peace', the country's incredible 'hospitality'. Has she read the news? 'I think Sandymount is amazing. We ended up buying a home there,' she says. Her joy at no longer paying $78,000 a year for her child's US education also rankles. It's easy to sentimentalise from within a bubble. O'Donnell closes the evening with a little homily on how we must get through the hard times with endurance and laughter. Then Angels, by Robbie Williams, booms from the speakers as a slide show shows her kid hugging a dog in their nice Sandymount home. It's the most I laugh all night.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
David Clifford profile: All you need to know about Kerry's star forward
On Sunday afternoon David Clifford strengthened his case to be recognised as the greatest Gaelic footballer player of all time. On Sunday afternoon, David Clifford kicked nine points in total to help Kerry claim their 39th All Ireland Senior Football title with a ten-point victory over Donegal at Croke Park. But what else do we know about the great David Clifford. Here we take a closer look at his career on the football pitch, as well as his life away from the limelight. Who is David Clifford? Well, he is certainly one of the greatest Gaelic Footballer ever. Whether he is THE greatest of all time or not is up for discussion. But the scary thing for other counties is he still has plenty of years left to enhance his legacy. He may not have even reached his peak yet. What age is David Clifford? David Clifford was born on the 22nd of January 1999, making him 26 years old. What club does David Clifford play for? David plays for Fossa and the divisional side East Kerry. What has David Clifford won at club level? He helped Fossa win the Kerry Premier Junior Football and Munster Junior club football titles in 2022 before winning the All-Ireland Junior Club football championship in 2023. He has also won four Kerry senior football titles with East Kerry. David Clifford is congratulated by family after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile. Is David Clifford married? No but David has been with his long-term partner Shauna O'Connor since they were teenagers. Does David Clifford have kids? Yes. David and Shauna have a son named Ógie, who will turn four in September. What does David Clifford do for work? David graduated from the University of Limerick with a Masters in Education before becoming a Physical Education teacher at his former school St Brendan's College in Killarney. How many All-Ireland football titles has David Clifford won? On Sunday afternoon, David Clifford won his second All-Ireland Senior Football title with the Kingdom. He has also won seven Munster titles, four league titles, as well as two minor All-Ireland and Munster titles. How many All-Stars and Footballer of the Year awards has David Clifford won? David Clifford has won five All-Stars at the time of writing, but that will surely become six in the near future. He has also been named footballer of the year twice, but a third may also be on the way. Earlier in his career he won the young footballer of the year and minor star footballer of the year.
