THEATRE BI-LINGUAL
13-22 Dec 2012
Tromluí Phinocchio
Moonfish
Enter the dark side of this classic tale and take a roller-coaster ride through a magical and sinister world, peopled by live puppets, talking animals and ghosts.
MUSIC
18 Dec 2012
Edith Piaf
The Hole in the Wall
The show tells the story of Edith Piaf and the discovery of Miss McCollam and Miss McHugh. It highlights the links between Kilkenny’s St Fiachra and both Paris and the birth of Edith Gassion.
THEATRE
8 Dec 2012
Freud’s Last Session
Orchard Theatre Company
You are transported back to a beautiful stage set in 1939 London and almost immediately engrossed in conversational volleys on philosophy of life and religion, with smart laughs along the way.
THEATRE
7 Dec 2012
HOME
Fregoli Theatre Co.
Fregoli is proud to present the debut of Home, an original piece that confronts the tender issues of home and identity and how they may be jeopardized by situations beyond our control.
THEATRE
26 Nov-1 Dec 2012
The Dead Woman’s Son
Maylin Productions
This play is about a young man who suffers from schizophrenia. He develops it as a result of witnessing, as a child, a tragic accident that results in the death of his mother. When we meet this character, he has escaped from a mental institution where he has spent most of his life and has kidnapped a girl.
COMEDY
25 Nov 2012
We Have A Good Time Now
Maeve Higgins
In this field trip through her head and across her country and beyond (wherever English is spoken and dairy is eaten) Maeve talks about the curse of over-politeness (she thanks bank machines) and how to make a baby like you (simply whisper ‘I’m your real Mamma’ into their baby ears).
THEATRE
12-24 Nov 2012
A Bucket Full of Fire
Sheer Tantrum
A Bucket Full of Fire is an experimental play with each character symbolic of a different facet of human nature. The play explores the sacrifices western society has made in its brutal efforts to civilize itself. What have we cut from ourselves in order to sustain ourselves? Are these sacrifices upon the altar of social progress merely a repression of our true natures, which are not vanquished but rather temporarily buried?
LITERARY
13-18 Nov 2012
Dublin Book Festival
In association with Dublin Unesco City of Literature
The Dublin Book Festival is one of Ireland’s most successful and vibrant book festivals, running since June 2005. The annual public Festival showcases, supports and develops Irish Publishing by programming, publicising and selling Irish published books, their authors, editors and contributors all in an entertaining, festive, friendly and accessible environment that reflects the creativity and personality of the Irish Publishing sector and its authors.
COMEDY
5-10 Nov 2012
Sell Out Tour
Lords of Strut
Famous Seamus is convinced his destiny is fame, his younger brother Sean-tastic, is not really convinced but he is enthusiastic for their twisted journey in search of fame! They need to make this night count, this is their big chance because in the end, good looks are just not enough! This is absurd and surreal character based comedy, performed in sketch style through acrobatics and circus skills performed to perfection.
FESTIVAL
7-9 Nov 2012
Béal Festival 2012
Festival of New Music & Poetry
Béal Festival 2012 is a festival of new music and poetry. We are entranced by the fascinating capacity of words to be both pure sound and a means of communication, and our mission is to explore this in the spoken and sung word. Our festival this year is all about finding alternative ways (no matter how rough and ready) of thinking and experiencing, building alternative combinations of words and music.
MUSICAL THEATRE
8-11 Nov 2012
Chronique des Sentiments
Compagnie du Coléoptère
The show opens in an old room where a loner lives. His days are synchronized with the rise of the sun and the light of the moon. His only companion is the portrait of a woman that hangs on a wall above him. He stares longingly at the image until one day she seems to come to life and enters the stage. From then on a love story unfolds marked by the rhythm of bodies and music.
THEATRE
6+7 Nov 2012
The Scarlet Wwweb
Big Telly
Two stories a century apart, one about the last witch burned in Ireland, the other about internet infidelity. Two worlds with common ground, and two couples who don’t know each other as well as they thought they did… Economic pressure, pipe dreams and a belief in made up worlds link rural 19th Century Ireland with today’s technology driven domain but a firewall hasn’t been invented yet which protects us from ourselves.
FESTIVAL
27 Oct 2012
Batty Habits and Spooky Story Making / Nightmare at Smock Alley
Bram Stoker Festival
First learn the truth about native Irish bats and the connection to vampires from RTÉ’s Dale Treadwell, before author illustrator Oisin McGann reveals just how batty you need to be to create a vampire-inspired story in pictures. / A thrilling and terrifying evening of tall tales from young adult authors Oisin McGann, Will Hill and Derek Landy.
DUBLIN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL
27 Oct 2012
Belén Maya – “Habitaciones”
Compañía Belén Maya
Legendary flamenco dancer Belén Maya presents an unusual production combining dance and theatre. The show, called Habitaciones (rooms in Spanish), is a collaboration with actor and husband David Montero. You will embark on a journey that will take you through all the rooms Belén inhabits, the rooms we ourselves inhabit…
DUBLIN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL
24 Oct 2012
CANO – “Seis Cuerdas”
Juan Antonio Suárez CANO
CANO’s guitar recital, “Seis cuerdas” (six strings in Spanish), will transport you to Spain for the evening. In the very atmospherical Boy’s School you will feel the raw emotion of CANO’s playing.
DUBLIN FLAMENCO FESTIVAL
19 Oct 2012
Jerez Puro – “La Esencia”
Jerez Puro
“La Esencia” is a tradition flamenco show featuring dance, singing and guitar. It is simultaneously an exploration of the deep sorrow at the heart of flamenco, and a celebration of the joy it can evoke. “La Esencia” is a look into the heart of a people who carry the emotion and sobriety of the Seguiriyas within them, whilst the joy of the bulerías is what is seen on the outside. Between these two extremes, they know how to find an intermediate nuance, in the same way that the greatest artists have done, such as Antonio Chacón, Manuel Torre and La Paquera de Jerez.
IMRAM FESTIVAL
17 Oct 2012
RÉ: TIONSCADAL RINCE IMRAM/THE IMRAM DANCE PROJECT
Ré, a new novella by Daithí Ó Muirí, explores a dark dream-world. In it, an nameless narrator wanders the mysterious streets of an anonymous city. As her wanderings become increasingly surreal, Daithí Ó Muirí creates a stunning portrait of psychic disintegration. This probing new show from acclaimed choreographer and dance artist Fearghus Ó Conchuir fuses text, live dance, music and visuals to emerge the audience in an otherwordly atmosphere. Ré features dancer Rionach Ní Néill, with music and sounds by Alma Kelliher, and lighting by Ciarán Ó Melia.
Dublin theatre FESTIVAL
9 – 14 Oct 2012
Halcyon Days
Tall Tales & Solstice Arts Centre
Deirdre Kinahan’s new drama is infused with her hallmark wry humour and humanity. HALCYON DAYS is a celebration of the human spirit and our quest for meaning in even the most seemingly hopeless circumstance. With Anita Reeves and Stephen Brennan.
Dublin theatre FESTIVAL
28 Sep – 7 Oct 2012
Everyone is King Lear In Their Own Home
Pan Pan
King Lear: “No I will be the pattern of all patience, I will say nothing.” Samuel Beckett: “Do not imagine, because I am silent that I am not present.”
The inimitable Pan Pan returns to the Festival with a parable – or perhaps more properly, a cautionary tale – about memory. This is King Lear as never seen before: through the lens of one of Ireland’s most respected contemporary theatre companies.
Using a cacophony of references, Pan Pan presents a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s famous play of consequence and madness. Starring Andrew Bennett and Judith Roddy, father and daughter are trapped in an effort to express something true – nothing will come of nothing, after all.
Following the phenomenal success of the rehearsal, playing the Dane (winner of Best Production and Best Set Design at the 2010 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards), Pan Pan turns its attention to another Shakespeare play, once again reinvigorating a familiar text and offering an original testament to the endless possibilities of theatre and the ineradicable presence of Shakespeare in our lives
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
6 – 15 Sep 2012
Circa Still, Rupture Now
Lithium
Lithium turn their attention to human history – a narrative of freedom and terror that we have all inherited. Prepare to see old iconic photographs shone in new light. Pick a side in the Collins Vs. De Valera debate, witness the birth of a Cuchulain-inspired hero, exhume romantic Ireland from wherever it’s been buried (it’s not with O’Leary – we checked), and follow a contemporary Marilyn Munroe as she stumbles through the jazz-filled streets.
What ties them together? – the death of an individual whom nobody else can remember. A conspiracy has been launched by history, and these three performers are taking the fight against it.
“We inherited History but we didn’t get to write it. Now we can. There’s a bomb that has Old Testament stamped all over it”.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
8 – 15 Sep 2012
Tromluí Phinocchio/Pinocchio – A Nightmare
Moonfish
Who’d have thought so many people would give you grief for having a wooden head? Pinocchio has an urge to do whatever he wants whenever he wants… but there’s that Cricket. And his father. And a big whale. Think you know the Pinocchio story? Think again. Enter the dark side of this classic tale and take a roller-coaster ride through a magical and sinister world, peopled by live puppets, talking animals and ghosts. Created with raw sets, shadow puppetry, and live foley sound effects. A bilingual production accessible to all aged 11 and over.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
18 – 22 Sep 2012
BRB (Be right Back)
Waterdonkey
Cyberspace is not very old. But Irish mythology tells of another place where time is suspended. There, everyone is young and beautiful. This is a combination of cyberperformance and live action that uses one of our best-known legends as its starting-point. Narrative is fractured as Yeats meets the world of ones and zeroes. Spectators and audience ride white horses across the cybersurface. Together and apart, they play in multiple spaces, the private realm of the imagination and the blue light world of the internet. And a magical island, of course! We can each be in more than one place at once. But can we be here and now, together? And for how long?
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
12 – 15 Sep 2012
A Dangerman
Side-show Productions
Do you want a performer you can share a drink with? Yes. Do you want a performer that’s a shoulder you could cry on? Yes. Do you want a friend? A dangerman is none of these things. He’s far more interesting. He’ll talk to you for hours on the street. He’ll be there for you and he’ll tell you what you need to hear. And you need to hear it. He may not be a stand-up guy but he’s pure theatre. Hear him out. He’ll change your mind.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
19 – 22 Sep 2012
I Am Martin Sharry
Martin Sharry
The facts: my Grandfather, my Uncle and I share the same name. We coexist under the one roof on Inishere, Aran Islands.
And the fiction: this show looks back through three generations, reflecting on migrations and the loss of language. A show-and-tell concerned with identity and boundary.
The presentation is composed of photos, memories and found objects from the family home. It attempts to inhabit that place where the self ends and the world begins.
This project was partly developed at MAKE, an artist residency run by Cork Midsummer Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, Project Arts Centre and Theatre Forum.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
10 – 15 Sep 2012
Straight to DVD
Ponydance
In Straight to DVD, the fantastic ponydance (Where did it all go right? 2009, Anybody Waitin’ 2010) hoof their way through words and dance, bringing you Saturday night television at its worst, ad breaks and all (except for the news because that’s depressing). They say you can’t please everybody all of the time…well the ponies certainly try.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
12 – 15 Sep 2012
POP
Come As Soon As You Hear
Cripplingly embarrassing moments – that shit haunts you forever. Like that time you got your first period during the Concern fast and thought you were dying? Or when your girlfriend’s dad walked in on you losing your virginity and looked you straight in the eye. Pop is a terrifying live game about embarrassment. We’re gonna force each other to spill our guts in front of total strangers. We’ll be on stage – in our underwear*, warts, flab and secrets exposed, all in the name of deliciously voyeuristic cringe-inducing Schadenfreude. *(Aaaah)
Developed with support from Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Belltable Scratch.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
18 – 22 Sep 2012
The Revolution will be televised, retweeted and available on 4OD
Abie Philmin Bowman
What do we want? GLOBAL JUSTICE! When do we want it? IN 140 CHARACTERS! We all grew up hearing about “800 years of British oppression”. But that ended in the 1920s. Then the Catholic Church took over. Now we’re finally standing up to the Church — and the Troika takes control of Ireland. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, “to be colonised once may be considered unfortunate. To be colonised twice, looks like carelessness. But to be colonised a third time… what’s with that?” Revolutionary comedy from the creator of Jesus: The Guantanamo Years, Pope Benedict: Bond Villain and Stand-Up Against The Bankers.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
18 – 22 Sep 2012
Clowns
Dead Cat Bounce…
International comedy supergroup Dead Cat Bounce make their first appearance at ABSOLUT Fringe with their brand new comedy play Clowns. After touring the world relentlessly as a comedy rock band, Dead Cat Bounce put down the instruments and return to Dublin with a play about friendship, poverty, stolen dreams, despair, tiny little cars, massive shoes, and all the other things that can happen when three men take a stupid job far too seriously. Dead Cat Bounce have performed to packed houses and critical acclaim at all the major international comedy festivals from Edinburgh to Melbourne to Montreal. They recently completed their first feature film and are currently writing another film for the Irish Film Board. Directed by Megan Riordan.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
10 – 15 Sep 2012
Mag’s Tale
Kidding Ensemble
Mag is lost between her precious objects that comfort and paralyze her. An obsessive collector of all kinds of things — everything must be saved — loved or hated. It’s not like her, but Mag invites you to her kingdom of ghostly possessions. Let her lead you through the maze of her mind and heart, through yearning and letting go as she attempts to share her moth-like existence. Immerse yourself between beauty and ickiness, throw social conventions out the window and forget what you know about clowns! “A fine balance of funny and touching, weird and beautiful.” ★★★★ — Metro Herald on Cosas.
Supported by the French Embassy in Ireland.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
11 – 15 Sep 2012
‘The Trick’ & ‘Burning Love’ an evening with Grand Guignol
Carpet Theatre
Two tense theatrical thrillers, from the infamous Grand Guignol Theatre of Horror of early 20th Century Paris. ‘The Trick’ sees a crazed murderer visit a seedy lap-dancing club in search of solace. ‘Burning Love’ is set in a dubious ‘treatment centre’ where a jilted lover from the privileged Southside concocts a vicious and lasting revenge. Quirky, ruthless and highly entertaining, these short plays adapted by novelist Mia Gallagher (Hellfire) and Carpet Theatre’s Ciarán Taylor reveal the forces that drive us to do the unthinkable.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
17 – 22 Sep 2012
This is what we do for a living’
Tumble Circus
Peel back the canvas: Tumble Circus reveal the truly human side of the circus. No fanfare or sequins, quite simply the extraordinary skill and passion of two carnies on a life-long adventure. Comedy circus with a theatrical narrative of how a Dublin boy and a Swedish girl met on Grafton Street in the 90’s and fell in and out of love. Featuring flying hula hoops, slapstick acrobatics, stunning aerial rope and daring double trapeze, it has wowed audiences of all ages the world over. 2012 winner Best Circus and Physical Theatre Show Adelaide Fringe.
Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival
18 – 22 Sep 2012
Sell Out Tour
Lords of Strut
“People used to say we would never make it… all those people can go and SUCK IT!” Featuring rocking acrobatics, kick-ass dance routines, and even their own range of Man Beauty Products! This is an absurd and surreal comedy from Ireland’s hardest working man-band. Brothers Famous Seamus and Sean-tastic: bonded by their lust for fame and the illusion of their own celebrity, broken by their twisted relationship and their fear of failure. Sometimes all that’s left to do is dance! They are cocky, they are clueless, and they are delightfully good at it!
Theatre / Comedy
7 + 8 Sep 2012
Marilyn Monroe Airlines: Always Late and Unreliable
Zocorro
Following the success and national tour of “Zocorro Rose of Tralee”, Zocorro is back. Coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962, this show is an original homage to her lateness and unreliability. Zocorro is the air hostess who brings the audience (i.e. passengers), on a flight inspired by the turbulent life experience of Marilyn Monroe: “Look around, compare, and if you find a cheaper airline, fly it!”
Theatre / Comedy
21 Aug – 1 Sep 2012
The Hunt for Red Willie
Exit Excitedly
Set in Donegal during the time of the English occupation, we follow the characters on their hunt for love, lust and the mischievous and elusive Red Willie. It is a hilarious farcical romp with many twists and turns. Exit Excitedly Theatre company present their inaugural production ‘The Hunt for Red Willie’ written by Ken Bourke and directed by Maisie Lee, showing in the Boy’s School @ Smock Alley Theatre. Its initial staging in The Abbey Theatre opened to rave reviews many years ago.
Set in Donegal during the time of the English occupation, we follow the characters on their hunt for love, lust and the mischievous and elusive Red Willie. It is a hilarious farcical romp with many twists and turns.
Theatre
28 Aug – 8 Sep 2012
True West
Ramblinman
“What kinda people kill each other most? Family people. Brothers.”
Squeaky clean Ivy League graduate Austin’s hope of writing his masterpiece in the peace and quiet of his Mother’s empty suburban home are quickly dashed with the arrival of his dangerous, estranged brother Lee. A beer swilling desert rat, eschewing modern society and its norms, Lee has no time for Austin’s ideals of “Art” but when the almighty American Dollar comes into play Austin is forced to put his life’s work aside to help Lee tell his story of the “True West”
TRUE WEST is to be Ramblinman’s premiere production. Directed by James Murphy and Genevieve Hulme-Beaman and starring Cillian O’Gairbhi, Jamie O’Neill, Roger Gregg and Diane Richardson , TRUE WEST is a portrait of two brothers struggling with the tensions of their family past, their own preconceptions of each other and the art of storytelling. Ramblinman was founded in September 2011 and it is fitting that this American classic is to be their premiere production.
Theatre
16 + 17 Aug 2012
The Last Burning
ThereisBear!
The Last Burning is a rural horror story based on true events. Michael, a young man from Clonmel, begins to fear his wife, Bridget, is a witch. He turns to Mr. Blaney, a mysterious witch-doctor, who entertains Michael’s suspicions. However, though Bridget appears to demonstrate her innocence, her strange behaviour leave many unconvinced. Paranoia, lust and doubt fan the flames and soon her entire community begins to turn. The Last Burning is a play about fear, suspicion and witchcraft.
Theatre
31 Jul – 11 Aug 2012
The Lark
Fast Intent
A play about the life of Joan of Arc. Set during the trial, members of the courtroom re-enact the important scenes from Joan’s story. With seven actors playing a multitude of parts, the play goes from broad comedy to intense drama with everything in between. Aesthetically it will remain true to the setting (Joan’s medieval trial), but in terms of theme it remains wholly relevant. The importance of faith, the role of the church, the individual versus the institution, the role of women in a patriarchal society are all key elements of Joan’s story.
Theatre
10 Jul – 5 Aug 2012
The Playboy of the Western World
Smock Alley Theatre
The second production of Smock Alley Players, the resident company of Dublin’s newest oldest playhouse Smock Alley Theatre. JM Synge’s classic, “The Playboy of the Western World” will see Smock Alley’s main theatre transformed into the rugged west coast of Ireland.
One of the most controversial plays of its time, “The Playboy of the Western World” incited riots at its premieres in both Dublin and New York City. This tale of love, lies, and deception sees Pegeen Mike prepare to wed Shawn Keogh until Christy Mahon arrives with tales of heroism and the murder of his father. Pegeen falls for his charms and their fate is sealed until Christy’s father returns from ‘the dead.’ Christy is unmasked and Pegeen is left heartbroken. Patrick Sutton, Director of Smock Alley Theatre, directs the cast of ‘The Playboy of the Western World,’ which includes Muiris Crowley, Simon Stewart, John Burke, John Delaney, Paul Elliot, Amanda Coakley, Andy Crowe, Caroline Power, Donal Hurley, Elizabeth McGrath, and Leah Minto.
Theatre
5 – 12 Jul 2012
Heroine For Breakfast
Pillowtalk Theatre Company
2009: Credit Crunch… Global Warming…Coldplay… Reasons to be Cheerful?… 1. #Heroin.
Three flatmates battle sex, drugs and Marilyn Monroe to save England from mediocrity in this blackly comic and highly irreverent Edinburgh Fringe First winning play.
A unique mix of razor-sharp dialogue, stand-up comedy and absurd physical theatre make for a controversial and emotionally charged production.
Starring: Rachel Gleeson, Rebecca Grimes, Manus Halligan, Genevieve Hulme-beaman
Director: Rosemary McKenna
Theatre
15 May – 2 Jun 2012
She Stoops To Conquer
Smock Alley Theatre
The official relaunching of Dublin’s oldest playhouse, Smock Alley Theatre. Marking this momentus occasion is Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 play ‘She Stoops To Conquer’.
Why is this play so significant you ask? First performed in Smock Alley in May 1773, Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops To Conquer’ was a huge hit first time around, and now makes a triumphant return all of 239 years later to the newly restored theatre, as played by the freshly re-formed Smock Alley Players, a company originally established in 1662.
The first time this play was shown at Smock Alley Theatre in 1773, the theatre had been a key element of the busy social and entertainment scene of Dublin for over a century, and now not just the play, but the theatre and the theatre company are back too.
Originally formed 350 years ago, the new Smock Alley Players, under Artistic Director Kristian Marken, have gathered together an outstanding cast of 10 to undertake this historic production, following an audition process which involved over 300 of Ireland’s finest actors. The cast of ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ includes Genevieve Hulme Beaman, John Burke, Muiris Crowley, Emily Elphinstone, Paul Gibson, Roger Gregg, Neil Hogan, Kate Kennedy, Norette Leahy and Simon Stewart.
A practical joke and a blind date combine to create a complicated, convoluted plot based on miscommunication and mistaken identities. Big-hearted and ingenious, ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ is a fast-paced romp, a celebration of chaos, courtship and the dysfunctional family.
Theatre
3 – 28 Apr 2012
A Doll House
Pan Pan
It’s Xmas and Nora Helmer is going crazy squirreling away presents and decorations, spending the money her husband hasn’t yet earned as the new bank manager. But don’t worry – Pan Pan’s version
of Henrik Ibsen’s modern classic doesn’t dwell on the current recession. We’re looking at communication, relationships, and social conventions and how we are FIRST AND FOREMOST HUMAN BEINGS.
After all, people shouldn’t always be thinking of themselves, especially women.
Directed by Gavin Quinn; Set & Lighting Design by Aedín Cosgrove; Costume by Bruno Schengl
Cast: Charlie Bonner, Pauline Hutton, Dermot Magennis, Áine Ní Mhuirí, Dan Reardon and Judith Roddy.
A Doll House will be the first production in the brand new Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin this April.
Theatre
26 Mar – 7 Apr 2012
MONSTER/CLOCK
Collapsing Horse
MONSTER/CLOCK: A Play on Time is an exciting new piece of musical puppet theatre developed by Collapsing Horse Theatre Company. It expounds the life of Toby, a castigated monster and apprentice watchmaker, who finds his world blown apart by a raid on his workshop, and the kidnapping of his mentor and guardian. He is forced to flee from the safety of his desk into the
vast steampunk fantasy world that awaits him outside his door. In so doing, Toby discovers that there are many more hands at work than he suspected, and he may be but a cog in the grand nefarious machinations of his mysterious assailant.
Through puppetry, music and heaps of comedy, MONSTER/CLOCK explores self-discovery and the passage of time, leaving us to wonder if it’s truly on our hero’s side
Starring: Kate Kennedy, Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones), Rachel Gleeson, Aaron Heffernan, Eoghan Quinn and Matthew Smyth.
Chorus/Narrators: Grainne Pollak, Richard Shaffrey, Meadhbh McHugh and Martha McGregor.
Directed by Dan Colley
Produced by Matthew Smyth
Written/composed by Eoghan Quinn
Puppet Master Aaron Heffernan
Musical Director/composer Danny Forde
Set and Lighting by Colm McNally
Production Manager Trevor O’ Connell.