7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Puppeteer Raymond Keane: ‘Summer ain't summer without the Galway International Arts Festival. If I'm not in it, I'm at it'
BOOK: The Heart in Winter
In preparation for The Abbey Theatre's recent production of The Cave by Kevin Barry, I read his novel The Heart in Winter. It's hard to describe the effect if left on me, but it felt like I was reading Sebastian Barry in a sweat lodge.
I am a massive fan of Liz Nugent's Strange Sally Diamond, so I wait in high anticipation for her The Truth About Ruby Cooper, scheduled to be released March 12, 2026. My son, Mel, recently gave me a copy of Chess by Stefan Zweig. He tells me it will blow my mind. Bring it on.
TV: Leathered
John Downes's documentary Leathered is not for the faint-hearted, but an absolute must-watch for men of my age and background. What kind of sick minds employed and promoted brutality as a method of imparting knowledge to little boys, a system that either broke us or turned us into brutes or, maybe worst of all, both.
Federico Fellini's La Strada is my all-time favourite film. Its trinity of characters; The Brut, The Fool and Clown Angel, continue to inspire me. And Nationwide for continuing to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.
MUSIC: Martha Wainwright
I'm more than slightly obsessed with Martha Wainwright and caught her recent show at The Button Factory. Anybody that writes a song with the words 'Bloody Mother F**king Asshole' gets my vote.
Sofia Isella is blowing my socks off these days. On the radio, I can't go without a daily dose of the brilliant Sarah McInerney.
FESTIVAL: GIAF
Summer ain't summer without Galway International Arts Festival. If I'm not in it, I'm at it. But look out Galway, because Lorraine Maye's Cork Midsummer Festival is chomping at your heels with its edginess.
And I can't go home without giving a shout out to my home county Waterford's Spraoi, making its growing indelible mark on the Irish cultural landscape.
