Things to do in Dublin: Art and Theatre
Things to do in Dublin: Art and Theatre. A full list is can be found here
For over 20 years, nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of Riverdance. The worldwide phenomenon which is Riverdance began its journey as the interval act in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, produced for television by Moya Doherty. This electrifying and innovative seven minute dance piece was then developed into a full-length stage show by Producer Moya Doherty, Composer Bill Whelan and Director John McColgan. With its fusion of Irish and International music and dance, the show broke all box office records during its world première run in Dublin and has continued to set new records in packed theatres and arenas throughout the world.
A ripping yarn about a gang of Irish rebels taking on the Chicago underworld Chicago, 1923. After a failed assassination attempt on Eamon de Valera, a rogue Cumann na mBán unit flee across the Atlantic to escape the law. With Prohibition in full swing, they earn their keep by making bootleg poitín and selling it on to the Chicago mob. From Devious Theatre, the Kilkenny company behind the 2016 smash hit The Hellfire Squad, comes the second blood-soaked, blackly-comic installment of the Ripping Yarn Trilogy. Written by: Peter McGann + John Morton Directed by: Sarah Baxter Produced by: Clara Purcell About the company: Devious Theatre were founded in Kilkenny in 2006. We perform different works in different spaces for different audiences using different methods. Our work hops genre but stays rooted in a style of comedy we have honed over the years. We don’t like labels. Thus, our artistic credo is mostly ADHD based and fairly guerrilla. To this end, our goal is to kidnap as many young people away from gigs and cinemas and pubs and drag them to the theatre. We have performed 25 productions to date, become the first theatre artists in residence in Kilkenny Arts Office, […]
A Story about Mourning What extent would you go to see the person you love again? Bright Eyes is a Dark Comedy which follows four near perfect strangers who are brought together through circumstances and end up spending an alcohol laced evening connecting with each other. They discover over the course of wine, whiskey and music that their meeting was not accidental and perhaps is far more sinister than they could have imagined. Written by: Joe O’Neill Directed by: Eimear Keating Lighting Design: Einne O Connachtáin Set Design: Josh Roxby Cast: Cat Coyle, Eoghan Collins, Joe O’Neill Kevin Maher
The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are astonished to read an advert in the local newspaper that a murder will take place this coming Friday at Little Paddocks, the home of Letitia Blacklock. Unable to resist, the group gather at the house at the appointed time, when the lights go out and a gun is fired. Enter Miss Marple, who must unravel a complex series of relationships and events to solve the mystery of the killer…
Following a sold out run at Garter Lane, Abi Morgan’s Lovesong is a story of one couple, told from two different points in their lives – as young lovers in their late 20s and as worldly companions looking back on their relationship. Their past and present selves collide in this beautiful tale of togetherness. All relationships have their ups and downs; the optimism of youth becomes the wisdom of experience. Love is a leap of faith. It will be performed in the Civic Theatre, Tallaght on Thursday 29th of August and Friday 30th August at 8pm. ‘Compelling, understated perfection, both poignant and uplifting’ The Stage ‘Deeply moving, potently mixing memory and desire’ The Telegraph ‘This portrait of enduring love tugs on the heartstrings’ The Independent
This September, Off The Ball’s Roadshow, in association with Cadbury, are bringing Premier League legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. The former Manchester United captains will join us for a special off-air event on September 4th, discussing their careers at the highest level and giving their analysis and predictions on the new Premier League season. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Aware, providing support and information for people who experience depression. Between them, Keane and Neville won 15 Premier League titles. They know everything there is to know about winning what is still considered the best league in the world of football. Having both also gone into management post their playing careers, we’ll also get their analysis on modern day management. As box-office TV pundits in their own right, we’ll also be discerning how two of the most forthright talkers on the game express their opinions with millions watching.
From one of musical theatre’s most exciting new composers comes ORDINARY DAYS, a refreshingly honest and funny musical about making real connections in the city that never sleeps (but probably should at some point.) The Rising Theatre Company is dedicated to bringing professional musical theatre pieces to Irish stages with Irish casts, and looks to integrate younger performers with seasoned professionals in all their productions. Written by: Adam Gwon Musical Director: David Wray Directed by: Andrea Basquille Cast: Niall Gallagher, Julie Power, Sean Riddick, Roisin Sullivan
A beautiful one-man show, an elegy to life, love and loss, Incantata tells the story of a man celebrating and remembering a great love affair. Incantata is written by one of Ireland’s most revered writers, the New York based, Pulitzer Prize-winning Paul Muldoon which premiered to great acclaim at the 2018 Galway International Arts Festival. Irish actor Stanley Townsend is mesmerising in this highly visual production directed by Sam Yates, designed by Rosanna Vize with video design by Jack Phelan. Incantata features a haunting and stunning score by the composer Teho Teardo, lighting design is by Paul Keogan with sound design by Sinéad Diskin.
Russell Howard has announced UK tour dates, bringing his latest show Respite on the road. The tour follows the record breaking success of Round The World in 2017, and marks the comedian and presenter’s biggest global stand-up tour to date. He will be kicking things off on 19 September 2019 in Newcastle, and tour arena around the UK through autumn 2019.
The festival is where artists challenge, subvert and invigorate their disciplines and practice. An active curator, Fringe supports artistic vision, ambition and excellence across a range of art forms and offers supports, resources, space, time and professional development to the Irish independent arts sector.Followed by fans and first timers alike, Dublin Fringe Festival draws more than 30,000 spectators for 16 days and nights each September, transforming Dublin into an exposé of great creative talent from around the globe. The scale and environment of the festival broadens arts participation, introducing artists and audiences and playing a pivotal role in the fabric of Dublin and Irish cultural life. Dublin Fringe Festival is a platform for the best new, emerging Irish arts companies and a showcase for the finest international contemporary performing arts. For artists, Fringe facilitates opportunities to innovate, to cross boundaries and strengthen the conditions in which they work. For audiences, Fringe is the place to discover meaningful, exciting and unforgettable cultural experiences.
Following their sold out shows at Vicar Street and Ulster Hall last year, The Proclaimers come to Bord Gáis Energy Theatre as part of their highly anticipated return to Ireland. It has been 32 years since Scottish twins Craig & Charlie Reid aka The Proclaimers emerged. Since then, their enduring appeal across generations has carved a niche for themselves where pop, folk, new wave and punk collide as the emotional honesty, political fire, wit and sing-along raucousness of their songs and their extensive touring has enlightened and entertained fans throughout the world. All prices include a €1 facilities fee per ticket. Telephone & Internet bookings are subject to a maximum s/c of €6.85 per ticket/ Agents €3.30.
A live graphic novel created via a wildly physical fever pitch of dance, theatre, and animation, Villains by Luke Murphy premieres 8-13 September at Project Arts Centre as part of Dublin Fringe Festival. An evening length work for five performers, Villains investigates the roles of hero and villain in contemporary culture in an era where your 15 minutes of fame is often followed by a lifetime of infamy. Inspired by Twitter rants, incredulous outrage and outrageous hypocrisy, world leaders stepping from the world of reality TV, protest and protesting protests, Villains looks at the myths we conjure up, accept, destroy and forget all within the course of a week. Villains weaves a new fable of mysterious characters, conflicted heroes, innocent bystanders and big big bad guys. Performers reveal their alter egos and origin stories to rise to meet and defeat the great threats around them. Then as the perspective skews and perceptions shift each hero becomes a villain and a new hero must rise… Video Designer David Fishel generates a comic book world with a multi-screen video installation of animated and real life film segments, pulling the fantastical from the every day, while projected animations are mapped onto bodies to […]
Frank Skinner returns for his first live shows in five years. Catch him at the Leicester Square Theatre in London from 3 June – 4 July as he performs a one-hour show in the heart of the capital’s comedy circuit. From September, Frank will tour the UK with brand new show, Showbiz. Frank Skinner’s live career began in 1987 when he spent £400 of his last £435 booking a room at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Four years later, he returned to the city and beat fellow nominees Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard to take home comedy’s most prestigious prize, The Perrier Award. Frank’s last live stand-up show, Man In a Suit, sold out its debut run at London’s Soho Theatre and a subsequent five-week residency at the Leicester Square Theatre. Away from the stage, Frank’s TV credentials include The Frank Skinner Show (ITV), which is widely credited as setting the tone for the modern comedic chat show, Frank Skinner’s Opinionated for BBC Two. In 2014 Frank guest starred in an episode of Doctor Who. With David Baddiel, Frank created and presented Fantasy Football and Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned. As England made their World Cup run last summer, the iconic football […]
Citizens of Hope and Glory! Our new tomorrow beckons. A new tomorrow that smells reassuringly of yesterday, but with wifi. One last heave and we will be there. And when the going gets tough the tough get going. Although the going won’t get tough and anyone who tells you it is going to be tough is lying. Come join me to marvel at the majesty of the green and pleasant land. A land globally renowned for culture, history and places, like the world-famous Sailsbury Cathedral.
A play without performers, Beckett’s Room tells the story of the apartment in Paris where Samuel Beckett lived with his partner Suzanne during the Second World War. A story of Art and Resistance, the audience listen through headphones and gaze upon a spectacle of absence – the absence of bodies on stage focuses us more intently on their stories, on the world changing around us, and changed by us. From the makers of LIPPY, Chekhov’s First Play and Hamnet, this is the biography of a room, and an invitation to bear witness to a world as it disappears.
The self-proclaimed ‘Clown in a Gown’ will tell tales of her world travels and the outrageous circus that is her life on the most ambitious solo drag show tour in history on her brand-new comedy show ‘It’s Jester Joke’. Irreverent and fierce, Bianca is guaranteed to keep audiences in stitches with her comical ‘tell-it-like-it-is’ views, from politics and travel to family and social media that has seen her become one of the biggest drag superstars in the world today. Don’t miss the chance to see The Queen of Mean in her uncompromisingly funny new show in September 2019.
More than 30 years ago, Ben Elton exploded into the national consciousness hosting Channel 4’s ground breaking Saturday Live. Now, after a 15 year absence, the Godfather of modern stand-up returns to the medium he did so much to define. Back on the road with an all new stand-up show, Ben promises to try and make sense of a world which appears to have gone stark raving mad. As Ben says: “The last time I toured I was still smarter than my phone. Things have definitely taken a funny turn.”
More than 30 years ago, Ben Elton exploded into the national consciousness hosting Channel 4’s ground breaking Saturday Live. Now, after a 15 year absence, the Godfather of modern stand-up returns to the medium he did so much to define. Back on the road with an all new stand-up show, Ben promises to try and make sense of a world which appears to have gone stark raving mad. As Ben says: “The last time I toured I was still smarter than my phone. Things have definitely taken a funny turn.”
The Beacon by Nancy Harris is a new play commissioned by Druid in 2016 and marks Nancy Harris’s Druid debut and her welcome return to the Gate Theatre stage after her brilliantly dark comic adaptation of The Red Shoes in 2017. The Beacon will run as part of Dublin Theatre Festival. In The Beacon, Beiv, a celebrated artist, has moved from suburban Dublin to her holiday cottage on an island off the coast of West Cork. But a dark shadow from the past hangs over her. When her estranged son and his new young wife arrive to stay, she is faced with some difficult questions. Preview: Wednesday 2 October 2019 Opening Night: Thursday 3 October 2019 Matinees: Saturday – 2.30pm Evenings: Monday to Saturday – 7.30pm
Paul Smith, resident compere at Liverpool’s famous Hot Water Comedy Club has confirmed a date at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on Sunday 6th October, 2019. Tickets for the show will go on sale this Friday 12th April at 9.00am. His first national tour in 2018 saw him go from circuit act to one of the biggest selling names in UK stand-up in less than a year. Paul Smith returns with his second national tour show. Join this crowd favourite for another night of hilarity. If you witnessed 2018’s tour, which culminated in an unforgettable night at the M&S Bank Arena, you’re sure to return. If you have been to Hot Water you will have undoubtedly witnessed his skill in interacting with the audience, drawing material from the smallest suggestion and turning it into hilarious comedy. Paul has been crowned Liverpool’s New Comedian of the Year and was a finalist at The Leicester Comedian of the Year competition.