FIRST FORTNIGHT
6 – 11 Jan
In One Eye, Out The Other
CCCahoots Productions Present
The first solo comedy show from Tadhg Hickey (CCCahoots) introduces you to Feargal; a downtrodden but cheery man who fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming an alcoholic. Using the Catholic calendar as a roadmap, Feargal leads us on a surreal and hilarious journey with many poignant twists in the hope of arriving at a sort of light at the end of the tunnel for the ‘bright man’.
THEATRE
6 – 11 Jan
Admin
Oisín McKenna
Oisín left Dublin to pursue his dream of becoming socially mobile. Now, he is having an existential crisis in the canned goods aisle at Aldi, trying to remember his mindfulness techniques. Exploring the relationship between class, capitalism and health, this show is about being poor, precarious and lonely, and adding items to your Watched List on eBay in the hopes of feeling better.
THEATRE
27 Jan – 1 Feb
Sophie, Ben & Other Stories
Binge Theatre Company
Sophie and Ben love each other a lot, but sometimes, they make that a bit too difficult for themselves.
Two twenty-somethings who are trying to find their way in the world, they guide us through their lives of low-key alcoholism, deeply rooted regret, and unfortunate sexual mishaps. Join Sophie and Ben as they impart some words of wisdom on life, love, and modern day millennial relationships in a play that has been described by West-End Wilma as “quirky, wholesome, and desperately moving.”
THEATRE
30 Jan – 1 Feb
Mad Forest
American College Dublin
Mad Forest is a three act play by English playwright Caryl Churchill which takes us on a journey shortly before, during and after the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
It presents a kaleidoscopic and often surreal look at life under oppression and the painful difficulties of lasting change. The play focuses on the reactions of ordinary people to the sudden and dramatic events that unfolded in late December 1989, focusing in particular on two families, the Vladu family and the Antonescu family.
THEATRE
2 – 4 Feb
Zandra Queen of Jazz
Darn Skippy Productions
With just her sax and a suitcase, Zandra Mitchell joined a jazz band and toured the world.
Born in Phibsborough, Dublin in 1903, she was Ireland’s first female saxophonist. While the twenties roared, she found her way through Europe to Berlin. The dictators rose; the books burned; the bombs dropped… and Zandra played her sax.
Darn Skippy Productions present Zandra, Queen of Jazz — a play with original music, based on an extraordinary true story.
THEATRE
7 + 8 Feb
Grimm Tales
TU Dublin Conservatoire
The Brothers Grimm stories have been retold countless times over the past two centuries, and these fairy tales present us with a world of fantastical stories that exist in enchanted forests, stone castles, soaring towers and bottomless seas. These tales are still resonant for these challenging and frequently bizarre times we live in, as Schiller writes: ‘Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth taught by life’.
Now, TU Dublin Conservatoire’s graduating Year 3 Drama class present a vivid, exciting, physically poetic and visually arresting version of GRIMM TALES, by Phillip Pullman, and adapted for the stage by Phillip Wilson, where these stories will be told with infectious energy, a bold physical swiftness of play, with a great deal of fun for all our audience.
SCENE AND HEARD FESTIVAL
9 – 29 Feb
Scene and Heard Festival 2020
Scene and Heard
Scene + Heard is platform for work that is in development. The festival was designed to nurture and support artistic collaborations and showcase new works. We provide a safe environment with feedback and encouragement to support artists to make new work within the arts.
The 2020 programme can be found here.
THEATRE
2 – 7 Mar
Masterpieces
Blacklight Productions
She wanted it rough. She was wearing a thong. She didn’t fight back. She shouldn’t have been drinking so much. I paid her for it.
All of these have been presented as legitimate defences for rape, and sometimes murder. Angry? Confused? So is Rowena.
Rowena wants to understand consent. She wants to understand pornography and kink and sex work. She wants to understand how women’s bodies, her body, became the property of the media and a broken legal system.
The trouble is, nobody else wants to talk about it.
As a frustrated Rowena looks for answers herself, she soon discovers that there are some things you can’t unsee. Some things you can’t unlearn. Some actions you can’t take back.
€1 FROM EVERY TICKET SOLD DONATED TO THE DUBLIN RAPE CRISIS CENTRE.
YOUTH THEATRE
7 Mar
The Marxist in Heaven
Young Dramatic Artists
A wonderful show, written for young people, exploring the questions that arise when we question the establishment.
A fitting show for the times we live in!
MUSICAL THEATRE
16 Aug
Dawn na Dorcha
Rhys Mannion
This is the first production written by Rhys Mannion and performed by a very talented and experienced group of Irish actors.
Dawn na Dorcha is a new-style musical about the Irish Famine. It follows young 2 characters as they fight for survival while experiencing the darker side of the world around them.
This story, while fictional, tells of true moments in Irish history. Irish revolutionaries, workhouses, trials of emigration and fears of the Irish people are all addressed in the storyline. Many of the songs are relevant in today’s world.
COMEDY / IMPROV
3 – 5 Sep
Histrionix
Histrionix
Live performance is back! Comedy is back! Histrionix is back! And this time we’re talking about getting back.
We’re asking our historians to tell us true tales of great returns, shocking restorations and amazing homecomings. Before we completely mangle them.
Histrionix is a show designed to tell you a story from history while totally confusing you as to what actually happened. It’s a mixture of comedy improvisation and historical lecture. A historian tells a lesser-known, true story from history but is interrupted with re-enactments by a team of improvisers who have never heard the story before and don’t know what they’re talking about. The truth is quickly led astray as mistakes are made and amplified, leading to hilarious and surreal scenes and characters. As the improvisers struggle to find the truth of what actually happened the end result is a fun, free-wheeling comedy show which leaves the audience both more and less informed.
THEATRE / LIVE STREAM
24 Oct
In One Eye, Out the Other
CCCahoots Productions Ltd
The first solo comedy show from Tadhg Hickey (CCCahoots) introduces you to Feargal; a downtrodden but cheery man who fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming an alcoholic. Using the Catholic calendar as a roadmap, Feargal leads us on a surreal and hilarious journey with many poignant twists in the hope of arriving at a sort of light at the end of the tunnel for the ‘bright man’.
Most Nominated Show at Dublin Fringe Awards 2019
CONCERT / ORCHESTRA / LIVE STREAM
20 Dec
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
RTÉ Live Stream
Join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for the best of baroque music with a special Christmas feel live from the Main Space in Smock Alley.
Streaming from the heart of the city, a stone’s throw away from the first ever performance of Handel’s Messiah, what else could we open with but the Sinfonia from this masterpiece.
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will be directed by its leader Mia Cooper with musicians from the orchestra stepping forward for virtuoso turns. Mia is joined by Bróna Cahill, Elizabeth Leonard and Anne Phelan to take on Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins. Principal Oboe Suzie Thorn is the soloist for the Marcello concerto, with its achingly beautiful Adagio, and Telemann’s famous Viola Concerto – which might be the first ever composed for the instrument – features Principal Viola Lisanne Melchior.
We will have Bach’s famous Air on a G string – to a certain generation still summoning up the Hamlet ad – and Pachelbel’s Canon, beloved of buskers everywhere!
Corelli’s wonderful Christmas Concerto, summons up the season, ending in a jewel of a Pastorale that recalls the shepherds of Bethlehem. And wrap up warm as we wrap up the hour with Vivaldi’s brilliant evocation of wind, cold and chattering teeth in Winter from Four Seasons.