CQAF2026 - Wednesday 6 May Archives

The Turbulent Tale of Typhoid Mary, by Brenda Winter Palmer

Posted on 17th March 202631st March 2026 by site_admin

Written by Brenda Winter Palmer

This performed reading takes place in the magnificently transformed ‘A-Wing’ at the former Crumlin Road Gaol, now the home of the Belfast-born whisky.

In this historic site of incarceration, we tell the story of Mary Mallon, allegedly from Cookstown. In 1905 Mary was working as a high society cook in New York. What her employers did not know was that Cookie Mary was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid who had infected 57 people in high class kitchens from Oyster Bay to Fifth Avenue.

She was ordered to stop cooking. But this unruly, uncontrollable ‘microbe denier’ was not going down easy.

To fortify you before the performances McConnell’s offers you a ‘wee drap’ of their award-winning Irish Whisky.

Colin Graham: ‘Sensation’ and ‘I am the Border, so I am’

Posted on 25th March 20263rd April 2026 by site_admin

In this Q and A event, Colin Graham talks about his new book ’Sensation’ and reflects on his work as ’The Border’.

‘Sensation’ is an evocative autobiographical work by Graham that traces connections across his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Rooted in his experience growing up in 1980s Belfast, these personal essays each ask in a different way how the self is formed and how what we read and see makes us who we are. Interweaving politics, literature, music, and nature, Graham moves across memory and sense, examining the entangled elements of a life.

Following this, we delve into the satirical phenomenon I Am the Border, So I Am, published by HarperCollins. Originating from the viral anonymous Twitter account @BorderIrish, the book’s personification of the 310-mile boundary provides a profound look at the Irish border as both a physical reality and a cultural symbol.

Critic Fintan O’Toole called it “among the best satires of the Brexit era” in the Irish Times.

Biography

Colin Graham is a Professor of English at Maynooth University, where he has previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Philosophy. A leading scholar in Irish studies, his work interrogates the cultural and visual constructions of Irish identity. He is the author of several influential monographs, including Deconstructing Ireland (2001) and Northern Ireland: 30 Years of Photography (2013), which was named an Observer Photography Book of the Month.

Beyond academia, Graham is a significant contributor to public discourse on the island’s future. He hosts the “My Identity” podcast for the ARINS project and the Royal Irish Academy, interviewing prominent figures such as Leo Varadkar and Drew Harris. During the Brexit negotiations, he was the creative force behind the viral anonymous Twitter account @BorderIrish, later publishing the satirical book I Am the Border, So I Am with HarperCollins. He lives and farms in the Dublin mountains.

‘Sensation’ is published by PVA Books.

Great Silence

Posted on 25th March 202626th March 2026 by site_admin

“Because wherever he goes, the silence of death follows”

On an unforgiving, snow-swept, frontier a group of bloodthirsty bounty hunters, led by the vicious ‘Loco’, preys on a band of persecuted outlaws who have taken to the hills. As the price on each head is collected one-by-one, only a mute gunslinger named ‘Silence’ stands between the innocent refugees and the greed and corruption that the bounty hunters represent. But in this harsh, brutal world, the lines between right and wrong aren’t always clear, and good doesn’t always triumph.

Featuring one of Ennio Morricone’s most haunting and melancholic soundtracks, director Sergio Corbucci (Django,Navajo Joe) was in a dark place, and he poured his cynicism at the world around him into this groundbreaking film. Starring two icons of cinema, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski,The Great Silence is a classic anti-western that echoes the political paranoia of Europe of the time, as the revolutions of the 60s became bathed in bloodshed.

The Great Silence will be introduced by Des O’Rawe, reader in Film Studies at Queen’s University Belfast.

The Lonesome Dove Cinema Club is dedicated to the screening of the finest westerns and also to building a community of western lovers in Belfast. The Club screens every two months.

https://www.lonesomedove.uk/

Don’t Tell Dad About Diana

Posted on 6th February 20269th April 2026 by site_admin

Dublin, 1997. Two friends prepare to compete for the crown of Alternative Miss Ireland with their Princess Diana drag act, under the nose of their hardline nationalist families.

As they race through the city towards competition night, Diana’s death sparks the unravelling of their secret, their friendship and their plans to leave Ireland. A high-energy, fast-paced two-hander packed with comedy, courage and coming-of-age chaos.

Don’t Tell Dad About Diana comes to Belfast following sell-out runs at the Edinburgh and Dublin Fringe Festivals.

Named one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s ‘10 Stand-Out Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe’, as well as Theatre Weekly’s ‘Best LGBTQ+ Show of Ed Fringe’ and winner of both the Bewleys Little Gem and Fishamble New Writing Awards, this limited run is not to be missed.

PRESS QUOTES

★★★★★ Richard Theatre Reviews
‘’Even with its rich Irish humour and very specific cultural setting, the show translates effortlessly to an Edinburgh Fringe audience. This is proof that good storytelling, sharp writing, and genuine heart can work anywhere”.

★★★★★ Theatre and Tonic
‘’Hannah and Conor are powerhouses throughout the whole show, their energy bouncing off each other, making the audience feel like we’ve known them for years”.

★★★★★ The Real Chrisparkle
“One of those rare crazy Fringe shows that simply works on every level”.

★★★★★ Ed Fringe Review
‘’This concept is already absorbingly original, but it is the actors’ energetic performances that bring the plot to life with melodrama and flamboyance’’.

★★★★★ Corr Blimey
‘’Murray and Power’s play really feels like a divine, captivating shrine to friendship. Giving audiences an hour of constant cackling, coming-of-age charm, and cheerful chaos, Don’t Tell Dad About Diana is the absolute standout of this year’s Fringe Festival”.

★★★★ The Skinny
‘’Uplifting and unapologetically life-affirming, Don’t Tell Dad About Diana radiates from start to finish. Just as Diana lives on in the hearts of the people, Power and Murray stake their rightful claim at the beating heart of this year’s Fringe”.

★★★★ Reviews Hub
‘’A wonderful 60-minutes in the theatre that suggests there is far more to come from both performers”.

★★★★ Binge Fringe
‘’A delightfully personal and lively portrait of queer youth, friendship, and emerging into the world believing that your idols are watching over you”.

★★★★ Binge Fringe
‘’Two exciting new artists with an embarrassment of talent you’re sure to be hearing more of’’.

Rolling Stones – 10 Stand Out Shows of Edinburgh Fringe
“The script is drum tight and deadly. That said, the real star is the chemistry between the two leads”.

Written and Performed by Hannah Power & Conor Murray
Produced by Rua Barron,
Directed by Emma Finegan.

Lighting Design by Ferdy Emmet,
Sound Design by Theo Foley,
Set and Prop Design by Gabe Gilmour,
Dramaturgy by Austin Hughes

Junior Brother

Posted on 12th December 202526th March 2026 by site_admin

“One of the island’s all time songwriting greats” is how The Thin Air describes Co. Kerry singer-songwriter Junior Brother. Carefully pushing the boundaries of what modern Irish folk can look and sound like, Junior Brother is an idiosyncratic, challenging, and richly lyrical singer/songwriter from Co. Kerry.

His much-anticipated third album, The End was released this Autumn and is a defining release for the artist. The album is on Strap Originals, a label forged with love by Peter Doherty of The Libertines.

The End is a deeply instinctive yet carefully considered response to the chaos of modern life, with Junior Brother weaving the recent years of upheaval into the eerie folklore of Fairy Forts.

‘The sound of the album is supposed to take the organic instruments of Irish traditional music and lift them somewhere else,” Junior Brother explains, “like the otherworldly Irish music sometimes heard from Fairy Forts at twilight on country roads, impossible to recreate upon hearing.”

In these uncanny tales of displacement and confusion, he found striking parallels to the instability and distortion of contemporary life. Thematically, The End explores forces that work against nature (New Road, Welcome to My Mountain), the rise of the far-right (Small Violence, Today My Uncle Told Me), and confrontations with mortality (Old Bell, Start Digging).

Through the lens of rural Irish folklore, the album reflects the bewildering madness of the present moment.

“The title The End represents the moment after being led astray, when the grip of madness releases you and you suddenly see your way home,” says Junior Brother. “It may reflect the doom of a world gone mad, but it also represents the end of darkness, and the start of a new road.”

Tiff Stevenson – Post-Coital

Posted on 20th February 202626th March 2026 by site_admin

Everything you think about after the deed is done. Tiff believes that once sex is out the way, it’s easier to be clear headed. Maybe the UN should only meet after everyone’s had a good shag.

Five times best reviewed Edinburgh Show (British Comedy Guide)

An insightful and hilarious new show from ‘one of the best in the business’ ***** (Sunday Herald).

‘It’s punchy and political but in the best, most human sort of way’ ***** (Mirror).

‘Brilliant, life affirming show from one of the most underrated and funniest comedians in the UK today’ ***** (BroadwayBaby.com).

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Category: CQAF2026 – Wednesday 6 May