Eye hosts classics of drama and ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet Live in HD – broadcasting from Moscow – will present The Taming of the Shrew in Galway’s Eye Cinema this Sunday, January 24, at 3pm.

French choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot adapted Shakespeare’s comedy specifically for the Bolshoi dancers, to create two hours of breath-taking dance that portrays the renowned company’s talents and energy in a new way.

Maillot’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s most politically incorrect and erotic play focuses on the central characters. There’s the ill-tempered Katherina — the shrew of the title — who frightens away potential husbands; her lovely and placid sister, Bianca; Petruchio, a young man from Verona who is intent on obtaining Katherina’s dowry as he shamelessly subdues her; and Lucentio, a rich, idle, rather dim man who eventually marries Bianca.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, January 28, it’s the turn of London’s National Theatre, when it broadcasts the Donmar Theatre’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses to the screens in the Eye Cinema. That’s live transmission is at 7pm.  Directed by the Donmar’s Artistic Director Josie Rourke, the cast includes Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Janet McTeer (The White Queen) and Dominic West (The Wire).