From Teresa Deevey and Lady Gregory to Waking the Feminists and Mothers Artists Makers, theatre in Ireland has always had capable, talented women at its heart, even in times where they have been overlooked and undervalued.

What is your must-see theatre recommendation for someone visiting Ireland?

With the Grand Stretch still a distant hope, it can be hard to muster the motivation for jogging on a cold morning, or replacing cosy festive evenings with night classes, so I’m here to liven things up and add a theatrical spin to your resolutions.

However you choose to spend your Christmas, I hope it is a warm and loving time, filled with family, food, rest and maybe a bit of theatre. Nollaig Shona Daoibh!

It might be the month of All Souls’ Day, of lengthening nights and crisp falling leaves, but it’s also a time to look forward and so this month I suggest you hunt out some new writing and fresh work to keep the wintry days bright.

Take your seat, have your heart broken, then have it mended again, all in three acts. You’ll feel better for it, I promise.

As the sun shines lazily over long summer evenings, we can enjoy getting involved with artistic events, both indoors and outdoors! 

It’s that time of year again, programmes are landing through letter boxes, theatre companies are hunting down the holy grail of affordable accommodation in Edinburgh, sales of glitter have spiked…it’s festival season.

Whatever catches your attention, be it a local amateur production, the long-awaited run of Hamilton at the Bord Gáis, or an obscure surrealist musical you found running in a basement venue somewhere, give the genre a go and maybe you’ll find a new favourite.

Theatre and the arts in general are fuelled by creativity, innovation and generosity, so celebrate World Creativity and Innovation day by taking yourself to the theatre and discovering something new. 

Read on for some ideas of how to celebrate our national holiday with a whole host of Irish artists, whether you’re on home turf or in some other corner of the globe.

 This February, take the spirit of our new bank holiday to heart and find ways to support women, amplify their voices, and rebalance the scales.

I’m going to play the theatrical devil on your shoulder and tell you to rethink your resolutions, at least a little bit.

If you are looking to escape the stage management of everyday life this festive season and enjoy some time to drift into the Christmas spirit, then what better way than enjoying some more contained theatrics on stage?

Whatever you choose to experience and explore this month, prick up your ears and listen to a voice you haven’t listened to before. With almost 8 billion people on this planet, there are a lot of stories and perspectives to be heard.

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, it’s pretty easy to see how ghost stories easily spring up around theatres. Generations of performers treading each others’ footsteps across the boards, speaking the same scripts, telling the same stories, high emotions onstage and off, the outside world suspended as a crowd of people gathers in a dark room to experience some magic…

Whatever it is that lights a fire in your imagination, kindle it.

No matter what corner of the globe you find yourself in, a taste of home is never too far away.

It is fantastic how many free arts events and experiences are available, but it’s vital that we make their value known.

Between now and the last week of August, you have more festivals to choose from than any one person could possibly attend. Not only is there a festival happening in some part of the country every week of the summer, there are multiple festivals running simultaneously in most of those! With so much choice facing us, I have taken on the role of official programme sifter, and here are my top tips for some of the most eagerly anticipated festivals to see you through the summer.

Grab a programme instead of a guidebook, sample the local cuisine of interval drinks and ice-cream, adventure through new worlds crafted from scripts and sets, and treat yourself to a mini-holiday at the theatre this month

If you are booking yourself a ticket to see something this month, make space for delight.

Reach out to others with open arms and share what you have in whatever way you can.

There’s a whole back catalogue of missed theatrical love affairs. However, if I dive into them all now, I’ll find myself half-way through a tub of ice-cream, gently weeping over a copy of Endgame as I think of the Old Vic run I never got to see, while All By Myself plays in the background á la Bridget Jones.

We’re facing into another uncertain Christmas, another Christmas where things aren’t quite normal, but Christmas is a time for generosity, caring and connection. Once again it is time for us to draw together as a community and support each other in whatever ways we can.

The theatre industry, and the audiences that support it, are a local and global community, and with solidarity and collective effort, we can do our bit to make a difference we not only want to make, but need to make.

This Halloween, brave the púca, witches, rustling sweet-wrappers and other horrors that may be lurking in the shadows, and take yourself to the theatre.

I’m not asking you to learn indices through Ibsen or trigonometry through Tchaikovsky, but just take a small step into the unknown and see what you discover.

As the world converges on Edinburgh, both digitally and in-person, Ireland is bringing a host of delectable treats to the theatrical banquet. If you’re struggling to pick what you’re going to see, then read on for my picks of Irish work at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Now, as we navigate this awkward breach between lockdown and resumption of normal service, find the things that get you through.