I blinked and another year disappeared. I’ll remember 2018 though for the fantastic artistic riches in books, theatre, art, film, dance and music. Our stellar quiz setter Alison Walsh has cast her net back over the cultural calendar and cooked up an absorbing test of wits and memory. So instead of tidying up, put your feet up, fill up a glass with something festive and let your brain do the walking. As always, there’s a super prize: this year we’ve a sumptuous two-night break for two in the gorgeous five-star Muckross Park Hotel in vibrant Killarney for the first all-correct entry out of the bag. A very happy Christmas and a serene 2019 to readers, writers, artists and lovers of the arts everywhere. Madeleine Keane, Literary Editor
Books
1 Eugene McCabe’s Death and Nightingales was adapted by RTE1 and BBC2 in November this year. Where was McCabe born?
2 This inventive and daring novel featured Somebody McSomebody, maybe-boyfriend, middle sister and third brother-in-law among others. Name it and its author.
3 The International Dublin Literary Award was won by which Mayo man in June this year?
4 Which rapturously received novel featured Connell and Marianne as its central characters?
5 The KerryGroup Irish Novel of the Year 2018, was won by Paul Lynch, for which ‘profound and unusual coming-of-age story’?
6 ‘That path of education would take me to these great places… Harvard, Cambridge, but it would also take me away from my family.’ Educated, the memoir of a young woman’s entry into the outside world caused a storm this year. Who wrote it?
7 ‘Let me tell you something about trees. They talk to each other.’ These lines come from which Booker-longlisted and Costa-shortlisted novel?
8 David Park’s ‘brave and exhilarating’ Travelling in a Strange Land takes central character Tom on a journey to Sunderland, and through parenthood, in heavy snow. What does Tom do for a living?
9 Who puts slippers for her boyfriend’s mammy under the Christmas tree and buys ‘sandal-toe’ American tan tights for special occasions?
10 100 Poems, chosen by his family, celebrates the work of which iconic Irish poet?
Music
1 ‘I believe in an afterlife. The main evidence for which is nature… It is ridiculous to think there isn’t a presence behind it.’ This acclaimed Irish composer sadly passed away this autumn. Who is he?
2 Dublin rap and RnB artist Rejjie Snow released Dear Annie to great acclaim this year. What’s this performer’s real name?
3 ‘Each of the planets has a different style of orchestration and that’s why it stays interesting all the time for the ear.’ Sakari Oramo, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra said this of the centenary of which Holst suite in seven sections?
4 The world of pop music suffered a huge blow when Dolores O’Riordan died suddenly in January this year. What was the Cranberries’ debut full-length album, released in 1993, called?
5 Deutsche Grammophon released a sumptuous 26-CD limited edition collection of this American composer and conductor’s work this year to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Who is he?
6 Irish group Wild Youth had a big summer hit this year with which song?
7 Which unavoidable recording superstar outdid the Beatles’ 1964 record of having five songs in the Billboard top 10, with a whopping seven?
8 Who did Cardi B duet with on the woke hit Girls Like You?
9 Wyvern Lingo are an Irish trio whose album of the same name attracted great praise this year. From where do they hail?
10 This is America with its coruscating commentary on life in the USA, broke the internet earlier this year. What’s actor/singer Donald Glover’s alter ego called?
Film
1 Which director replaced Bryan Singer on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody after ‘creative differences’ emerged during filming?
2 ‘I felt like there was a curse over the thing,’ said the director of this Irish epic, starring Barry Keoghan and Stephen Rea. Name it.
3 Widows is the latest outing from acclaimed director Steve McQueen, based on the novel and TV show by which best-selling British writer?
4 Proclaimed as ‘ruthlessly intelligent’ and a ‘horror classic’, A Quiet Place was directed by which American actor?
5 Camino Voyage, a ‘modern-day Celtic odyssey’ directed by Donal O Ceilleachair took Glen Hansard and his fellow rowers on an epic journey to which Spanish city?
6 Lady Gaga stunned audiences with her performance in Bradley Cooper’s remake of the timeless A Star is Born. How many versions of this story have been filmed in total?
7 BlaKkKlansman marked something of a comeback for director Spike Lee. Who played Ron Stallworth, the African-American who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the retelling of a true story?
8 Cold War by Pawel Pawlikowski won critical acclaim this summer for its portrait of doomed love during Communist-era Poland. For which film did the director win an Oscar in 2015?
9 The ‘beautifully shot and structurally innovative’ Citizen Lane, directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, written by Mark O’Halloran, starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor commemorated the life of which Irish arts icon?
10 Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old, famously used what technique to bring the soldier’s experiences alive?
Art
1 Which David Hockney painting sold for the record sum of $90m in November 2018?
2 ‘All Hail the New Queens of Venice,’ declared the Observer of the news that this Irish architecture practice would curate this year’s architecture Venice Biennale. Name the practice.
3 This anonymous street artist caused a furore when his painting, Girl with Balloon ‘shredded’ moments after it was sold at Sotheby’s in October 2018. Who is he?
4 Roderic O’Connor was the subject of a retrospective at the National Gallery this year. With which Breton artists’ colony is he associated?
5 Martin Galbavy’s The Haunting Soldier created huge interest when it went on display in St Stephen’s Green in November. How tall is the soldier?
6 Vox Materia, a ‘multi-part installation of sculpture and works on paper’ took place at the Crawford Art Gallery and the Source Arts Centre in Thurles this year. Which Irish artist was responsible?
7 Norman Foster’s proposed new building for the city of London has been compared to a ‘cocktail cornichon’, a Q-tip and a tadpole. For which other pickle-based building is he famous?
8 The Hunt Museum in Limerick celebrated the work of this ‘one woman fashion industry of Ireland’ in summer this year. Who is she?
9 Which Irish architecture firm was responsible for the restoration of 14 Henrietta Street, or the Tenement Museum, which opened this autumn?
10 The Royal Hibernian Academy appointed its first ever female president this year. Which woman artist will now lead this august institution?
Theatre
1 The doors of the Gate Theatre in Dublin have been thrown open once more to welcome The Great Gatsby, an immersive performance of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Who has the honour of creating the stunning costumes?
2 Two Irish ballet shows were shortlisted for the inaugural 2018 Fedora-Van Cleef and Arpels Prize, Katie’s Dream-Titanic by Ballet Ireland and Here Be Dragons, featuring ‘eight dancers, five children and a choir’.
Who choreographed the latter?
3 Which Irish actor interpreted Paul Muldoon’s Incantata, his poem of grief and loss at the Galway Arts Festival this summer?
4 Bluebeard’s Castle by Irish National Opera, featuring Joshua Bloom and Paula Murrihy, was directed by which Irish director and writer for the 2018 Dublin Theatre Festival?
5 ‘Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York.’ This Druid Shakespeare production of which play by The Bard debuted in September at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway?
6 In a busy year for Shakespeare, acting superstar Ruth Negga played which Shakespeare character at the Gate Theatre this year?
7 Asking for It, the adaptation of Louise O’Neill’s novel of the same name, premiered at the Cork Midsummer Festival this summer. Who took the starring role of Emma in the searing drama?
8 Rathmines Road, by Deirdre Kinahan, also took an unflinching look at assault in a production by which theatre company?
9 Not a Funny Word was a personal response to the 8th Amendment debate, by which Irish comedian and actress?
10 Irish actor Aidan Turner starred in Michael Grandage’s Lieutenant of Inishmore in London’s West End this summer. For what romantic role is Aidan Turner also known?
Win a wonderful break at Muckross Park in Killarney
To reward all your hard work, we’ve a superb prize for the winner of the 2018 Great Arts Quiz. Our winner will enjoy a two-night stay for two people at the stunning Muckross Park Hotel & Spa.
In the heart of Killarney’s National Park, just four kilometres from Killarney’s vibrant town centre, the five-star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa is a landmark stop on the Ring of Kerry and a destination full of character, luxury and history, making it the perfect escape for a winter break.
Muckross Park Hotel & Spa are giving one lucky reader the chance to win an amazing break away for two. You and your guest will enjoy breakfast each morning, dinner for two on an evening of your choice in the award-winning Yew Tree Restaurant with menus featuring the best of the Wild Atlantic Way and a spa treatment each in the luxurious The Spa at Muckross – a sojourn filled with relaxed Irish hospitality in a truly breathtaking setting.
To be in with a chance to win, answer all the questions (or as many as possible) and send the answers, clearly categorised, along with your name, address and contact details below. Please send it to The Great Arts Quiz 2018, Sunday Independent, 27-32 Talbot Street, Dublin 1 by Friday, January 18, 2019.
NAME: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
ADDRESS: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….EMAIL: …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
PHONE: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Terms and conditions apply. Subject to availability, non-transferable. Prize is for two people and not valid on bank holiday weekends, Easter and August. No cash alternative. www.muckrosspark.com
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