I’m a shit blogger. Feel free to agree in comments.

I’ve had so much to do here and writing anything of substance seems like an impossible hill of keys to climb. Youtubes? Links? I’m yer man. Anything proper and more than 100 words? Maybe not.

It’s not like I don’t have things to talk about, so in the time I have available to me now I’m going to throw some words together about things I’ve seen recently…

The Last Days Of A Reluctant Tyrant at The Abbey Theatre

Lots of other bloggers have already written about this so I’ll keep this one particularly brief. I was thoroughly taken in by the play, the world it’s set in and the principal performances. The cast are sharp all round, the set design is epic, the lighting really adds to the atmosphere and Marie Mullen’s performance is a force of nature at times.

Yes, it’s long and complex and Russian and agrarian and deals with hard topics that cover lifetimes but it’s thoroughly engrossing and very much worth your time.

Anything For Her at The Lighthouse Cinema

Just brilliant. A story of a man whose wife is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit and just how far he goes to save their marriage, their family and her sanity. You genuinely believe the detail it’s told in, the reality of what he has to go through and where the story ends up. If it were American I’m absolutely sure it would be a completely different beast but it’s not – an absolute must see.

Rent at The Olympia Theatre

Overall? You really should go. The main cast are nothing short of pros through and through and it’s hard to believe they are what they are – amateurs. The band are great and the energy they put into it is infectious. Now the downside. I went last night and the lighting guys were all over the shop. These things happen but I’m sure it should have totally thrown the performers – it didn’t.

My main beef with Rent is unfortunately the musical itself. It has some very catchy songs but is impossibly cornball in parts and I lost interest a few times. But again I want to emphasise the cast are genuinely brilliant and on a par with professional outfits I’ve seen and the production is carried off and worth seeing because of them alone.

Tomorrow? Transformers 2…