Dublin Theatre Festival | 2 + 5 + 9 + 12 Oct
THE RACHEL BAPTISTE PROGRAMME: FIRST LOOK
SMOCK ALLEY THEATRE
Boys’ School
As part of Dublin Theatre Festival
The Rachel Baptiste programme is a paid and mentored script development programme for Black Irish theatre makers and writers of colour, named after the 18th century singer who performed to great acclaim at Smock Alley. These are work-in-progress readings from Tanya Bridgeman, Christie Kandiwa, Matthew Sharpe and Shannon Welby. An opportunity to catch early draft development scripts from exciting new contemporary voices.
Dublin Theatre Festival | 4 + 11 Oct
GUEST HOST STRANGER GHOST
ONCE OFF PRODUCTIONS BY KATE HEFFERNAN
Main Space
As part of Dublin Theatre Festival
A story about living in someone else’s home, performed on the sets of other people’s plays.
A mismatched trio rent a house owned by an elderly woman now living her last days in a nursing home. Unlikely housemates, they try to find a connection in the short time they’re here – and a space for themselves amongst the stuff of her entire life. Playful and boldly inventive, this vagabond new play will criss-cross the city to borrow the stages of other festival productions. With no two performances taking place on the same set, each iteration will offer a completely
unique encounter.
Dublin Theatre Festival | 9 – 12 Oct
A Knock On The Roof
PIECE BY PIECE PRODUCTIONS BY KHAWLA IBRAHEEM
Main Space
As part of Dublin Theatre Festival
Mariam prepares for war. She knows that the army often drops small warning bombs on residential buildings in Gaza, giving tenants between 5 to 15 minutes to evacuate before a rocket demolishes their home. She decides to train for the possibility of this “Knock on the Roof”, frantically (and often humorously) practicing how far she can run in five minutes, and what she can carry to safety.
THEATRE | 15 – 19 Oct
Poptart Lipstick
Sidekick Theatre Company
Boys’ School
Harris has been released from prison. John has recently secured his first real job as a bus driver and is pursuing a new way of life.
The two men re unite on this one fateful night where they must make the biggest decision of their lives… and eat some Pop Tarts.
THEATRE / COMEDY | 18 Oct
Creepy Boys
So.Glad Arts
Main Space
You’re invited: twin orphans, The Creepy Boys, are throwing their 13th birthday party.
It will have everything. Games. Gifts. Possibly Satan. Probably Cake. Combining 2000s sexy songs, satanic rituals, and Willam Dafoe, these horny little boys do whatever it takes to make their birthday dreams come true. This is one birthday party you’d be cursed to miss.
MUSICAL THEATRE | 19 Oct
Broadway! Songs from Stage & Screen
Bobby Productions
Main Space
Step into the dazzling world of Broadway as we bring you an unforgettable evening of musical theatre magic! Broadway – Songs from Stage and Screen, is a one-night-only stage show celebrating the timeless songs of Broadway’s most beloved productions. Including music from Willie Wonka, Hamilton, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods to name but a few.
DANCE COMPETITION | 26 Oct
Hell on Heels
Main Space
Step into a world of allure and athleticism in “Hell on Heels”, a pole dance competition.
Experience a night of raw talent, sultry performances, and captivating choreography that will ignite your senses for our five year anniversary.
THEATRE / COMEDY| 29 – 31 Oct
The Knight, The Fool and A Budgie
Boys’ School
A quest that goes wrong… then right… then wrong again then possibly corrects itself… but who knows for sure?
A dashing nobleman and his trusty squire.
A rebellious princess and her controlling mother.
A wondrous wizard and an evil witch.
A loveable house maid and the Lord Marshall himself.
Also, yes… the Budgie.
THEATRE | 30 Oct – 2 Nov
The Shadow of a Gunman
Main Space
Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, Sean O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman delves into the lives of the residents of a Dublin tenement. The play centres on Donal Davoren, a struggling poet mistaken for an IRA gunman and his peddler roommate Seumas Shields. As rumors and misconceptions spiral, the tenants’ lives become entangled with the political turmoil outside their door leading to unexpected and tragic consequences.
THEATRE | 1 + 2 Nov
The Reincarnation of Cornelius Agrippa
Wilderland Theatre
Boys’ School
1519 in the town of Metz. The notorious Cornelius Agrippa succeeds in defending a condemned witch in court against the Inquisition, the only time in history this has ever happened.
Now, he must defend the condemned again.
THEATRE | 5 – 9 Nov
Making A Show Of Myself
Mary Kate O’Flanagan
Boys’ School
Making A Show of Myself is unique piece of theatre with roots in Seanchas (the Irish tradition of live storytelling.) In it, Mary Kate shows how stories save our sanity and sustain our spirits. She demonstrates how storytelling defines the shared values of tribes and binds together families, friend groups and the whole human race.
THEATRE | 8 + 9 Nov
The Sceptical Suffragette
Splódar Theatre Company
Main Space
Power, sex, violence, politics and fierce family feuding all feature in this historical drama that tells the fascinating story of the activist life of Sylvia Pankhurst.
A woman who fought for working class women to have an equal status in society, who supported the Irish struggle for independence much to the chagrin of her English family and friends.
THEATRE | 11 + 12 Nov
Trublin Dublin
Transend Theatre Productions
Boys’ School
Transend Theatre Productions Presents “Trublin Dublin”
A collection of three contemporary darkly comic plays all set in Dublin Town.
*Paddy’s Purgatory* written by Tommy Nicholson and directed by Greg Marks
*A Critical Situation* written by Tommy Nicholson and directed by Ray Hoare
*The Break of Don* written by Greg Marks and directed by Ray Hoare
IMRAM FESTIVAL | 13 Nov
AN CRAICEANN AGUS A LUACH
IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge
Main Space
A traditional storyteller known for captivating live performances, Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair is the author of the critically acclaimed An Craiceann agus a Luach, a retelling in verse of the myth of the mermaid who marries a mortal man after he has secretly stolen and hidden the magic cloak she needs to return to her underwater world.
This performance will be in Irish
IMRAM FESTIVAL | 15 Nov
CLOCHDHÁNTA
IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge
Main Space
Clíodhna Cussen was a force of nature in Irish cultural life – a sculptor, painter, novelist and poet, she excelled in every discipline. Tonight IMRAM is proud to celebrate her life and work through music and poetry. Her husband Pádraig Ó Snodaigh will read from a beautiful suite of poems about their life together.
This performance will be in Irish
IMRAM FESTIVAL | 16 Nov
GLOINE NA MARA
IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge
Boys’ School
A multi-media celebration of Scottish Gaelic poetry, featuring Meg Bateman, Pàdraig MacAoidh, Deborah Moffat, and Marcus Mac an Tuairneir. They will read their original poems exploring themes of language and landscape; whilst Colm Ó Snodaigh will perform versions in Irish, translated by Paddy Bushe and Simon Ó Faoláin, which he has set to music. With screen projections by Margaret Lonergan.
This performance will be in Irish
THEATRE | 14 – 15 Nov
EXHIBITION
Two Rooks Mate
Boys’ School
A successful artist who has made “art out of her pain” is about to unveil her newest and boldest work to date, but before she does, she brings together her estranged siblings for a sneak peak of the exhibit. What ensues is an utterly dysfunctional but healing get-together.
“Exhibition” puts unresolved family issues and alcoholism under a microscope and asks us “what is art?”.
MUSIC / COMEDY / VISUAL ART | 16 Nov
A Night Of Dreaming
Driven Snow | the next new low | Andrea Cullen
Main Space
A special once-off night celebrating Driven Snow’s album A Kind Of Dreaming with music, visual art, and comedy/spoken word.
A 5-piece band, plus very special guests tell the stories and perform the songs on Emily & Kieran’s celebrated debut album.
THEATRE | 20 – 23 Nov
No Citation
Teatro Nua
Boys’ School
No Citation is a wry confessional tale that shines a searingly honest light on a legendary piano man as he faces his final judgement and allows the audience to arbitrate the fate of the deeply flawed but ultimately human protagonist Jeremy d’Wolfe McCarthy.
After breaking into derelict Dimitri’s Piano Bar, McCarthy attempts to treat his audience to an evening of his latest songs, but finds he’s being interrupted by ghosts from his past. As the realisation dawns on him that this may be his last gig ever, he tries to set the record straight.
COMEDY | 21 Nov
Bing Bong Comedy Improv Show
Bing Bong Comedy
Main Space
Bing Bong is back!
A chaotic cavalcade of comedy featuring some of Ireland’s tip top improv groups. Based off of small suggestions together the teams create characters, scenes and stories that have never existed before and will never exist again.
THEATRE | 26 – 29 Nov
Gwyneth Goes Skiing
Awkward Productions
Main Space
She’s the Goop-founding, Door-Sliding, Shakespeare-In-Loving, consciously-uncoupling Hollywood superstar. He’s a retired Optometrist from Utah.
In 2016, they went skiing. On the slopes of Deer Valley, their worlds collided, and so did they – literally. Ouch.
Seven years later in 2023, they went to court.
Double ouch.
This is their story. Kind of. Not really.
THEATRE | 29 – 30 Nov
Trawled
Eoin Ryan
Boys’ School
A jaw-dropping true story set on the Coral Sea, Australia. An Irish backpacker blags his way onto a prawn trawler. There he discovers a rarely seen world of hard labour and harder fishermen, where drinking, fighting, storms and hungry sharks are part of everyday life. His raw, exuberant story of adventure twists dramatically into one of survival culminating in an unforgettable moment of redemptive grace.
DANCE | 30 Nov
Shimmy and Shine Festival
Oasis Belly Dance Dublin
Main Space
Prepare to be enchanted as the night unfolds with the mesmerizing art of bellydance! Step into a world where grace meets passion, where every movement tells a story and every beat of the drum resonates with the rhythm of the soul. Our performers, adorned in dazzling costumes, will transport you to distant lands with their hypnotic swirls and captivating energy.
THEATRE | 5 – 21 Dec
A Streetcar Named Desire
Smock Alley Theatre and Cathal Cleary Theatre Company in association with Once Off Productions
Main Space
Blanche Dubois depends on the kindness of strangers and is adrift in the modern world.
When she unexpectedly arrives to stay with her estranged sister Stella in a boisterous, crowded corner of New Orleans, she brings with her a past that will threaten their future.
Supper + Show available on selected evenings.