Dublin Fringe Festival celebrates its 30th birthday this year. To mark three decades of bringing challenging, adventurous, experimental and downright entertaining shows to the city, the festival is presenting 75 productions between Saturday, September 7th, and Sunday, September 22nd, with 520 performances across 29 venues, including 53 world premieres, nine Irish premieres and seven Dublin premieres. That’s a lot of numbers to get your head around, and a huge range of productions to choose from. Our pick can only ever be a taster of what’s on offer, but these 19 highlights should make your decisions about what to see a little easier.
The Man Who Talks to Statues – Shane Casey
Civic Theatre, Tallaght, September 5th-11th
Darryl, a voiceover artist who lives and works in his attic, crashes his father’s car and embarks on a wild magic-realist cross-country odyssey. With a gift for conversing with statues, he meets a host of colourful characters along the way, including Richard Harris, Molly Malone and Phil Lynott. Written by and starring Shane Casey – aka Billy Murphy in The Young Offenders – it balances riotous humour with thoughtful, affecting introspection.
Afterwards – Janet Moran & Once Off Productions
Peacock stage, Abbey Theatre, September 6th-14th
Set in the recovery room of a British abortion clinic, Afterwards sees three women spend the night together after a life-changing decision. A married mother of three, an 18-year-old on her first trip outside Ireland and an English solicitor connect in an intimate show that highlights not just the need for improved abortion care in Ireland but also wider issues of reproduction rights worldwide.
A Good Room – Cian Jordan and Allie O’Rourke
Meeting point: Annesley House, September 6th-21st
Who has the time, money or inclination to put on a theatre show in an actual theatre? In this day and age? At these prices? Cian Jordan and Allie O’Rourke have solved this particular location problem in the simplest way possible: they’ll perform their show in Cian’s bedroom, the perfect place to host a chaotic, interactive comedy about friendship, community and home.
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Dancehall Blues – CoisCéim Dance Theatre
CoisCéim Studio, September 6th-21st
Directed and choreographed by David Bolger, Dancehall Blues is CoisCéim’s first work for the fringe in more than a decade. Set in the company’s studio on Fairview Strand, the show is also the first time Stephanie Dufresne and Alex O’Neill will be performing together “in an intimate duet that grooves between hope and the dystopia of an angry world”.
Gatman! – Tadhg Hickey and Sophie Motley
Space Upstairs, Project Arts Centre, September 6th-10th
As a man wanders the streets of Cork trying to sober up before a visit from his son, his story intertwines with that of Gatman, a superhero powered by Gat (booze). A one-man show written and performed by Tadhg Hickey, Gatman! explores not just how alcohol changes us but also how we often resist the help we know we need.
Television – SexyTadhg
Project Arts Centre, September 6th-13th
Who doesn’t love television? For this live cabaret musical performance you’ll flick through the very channels of your mind. Channel-surf through the Catholic (Guilt) Channel, XXX After Dark and The Real Housewives of Carlow Town on a wild journey of media obsession and self-discovery.
Illness as Metaphor – Dead Centre
Project Arts Centre, September 7th-14th
In her 1978 book Illness as Metaphor, Susan Sontag sought to show how the metaphors, myths and language surrounding certain illnesses can greatly add to the suffering of patients. If cancer is a “battle” a person has to “fight”, what happens when that person dies? Do we say they didn’t fight hard enough? For this adaptation of Sontag’s work, Dead Centre works with six participants with long-term illness to separate metaphor from reality.
Live & Electric – Analogue Kitchen
Sugar Club, September 7th
For one single night give yourself a break from the unrelenting dystopian horrors of the wider world. Get dressed up, grab a bunch of friends and head to the Sugar Club for the fringe’s opening late-night party. The line-up includes Analog Kitchen (Playing in Dublin for the first time), Greg Oleksevic, Sheehy, Mav and Papal State.
Ololufé – ArínoláTheatre
The Lir Academy, September 7th-11th
Ololufé is an immersive theatre experience that drops you in the middle of the spectacle that is a Nigerian wedding. You’ll bear witness to all that such an occasion entails, from parental pressures to the all-important food. And, as the guests of honour, all audience members are encouraged to come dressed for a wedding, so now is the time to root out those glad rags gathering dust in the back of your wardrobe.
Ham Sandwiches and Discipline – NAF Dance
Lir Academy, September 8th-11th
Merging comedy, dance and disco to portray the all-encompassing mania of the GAA, Nóra Ní Anluain Fay’s Ham Sandwiches and Discipline is packed with uniquely Irish traditions: eating Tayto in Croker, screaming sideline mammies and teenage club socials.
Malignant Humour – Hannah Gumbrielle
Boys’ School, Smock Alley Theatre, September 8th-15th
This is what the fringe festival is all about. A mix of theatre and high-wire trapeze act, Malignant Humour describes the death-defying circus act that is chemotherapy. Hannah Gumbrielle takes us on a personal journey through blood tests and biopsies to challenge our ideas of illness and celebrate the human spirit.
Shtoom – Paul Currie
Smock Alley Theatre, September 9th-10th
Described as a “unique, anti-war, silent scream for world humanity”, the comedian Paul Currie’s new show promises to be a manic delight. Unusually for a stand-up, Currie won’t utter a word throughout the hour-long performance. Instead he’ll channel Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball to deliver a set of mayhem and joy.
An Attempt to Talk with the Beginning of the World – Anna Newell Theatre Adventures
Draíocht, Blanchardstown, September 9th-11th
No babysitter needed for this immersive experience created for babies aged three to 12 months by a team of award-winning artists. Expect a show of curious light, dance and many, many ping-pong balls. Anna Newell’s work for young audiences has been seen on six continents and off-Broadway, so you know you’re in safe hands.
It Was Paradise, Unfortunately – Raphaël Amahl Khouri and Myrto Stampoulou
Goethe-Institut, September 9th-14th
On his quest to heal the world with plants, Raphaël Khouri travels to Greece, where he discovers the queer and radical origins of western theatre. In two intertwining stories Raphaël explores his own experience as a trans Arab playwright and his three-year investigation of the mystery of Dionysus.
Julius Caesar Variety Show – Joy Nesbitt
New Theatre, September 11th-14th
It begins like a joke: a black actor, a woman actor and a straight white male actor walk into a Shakespeare audition. But as they each vie for a role in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar for a director determined to “reinvent” the play, uncomfortable questions are raised around both their own identities and the state of theatre today.
The Maestro & The Mosquita – Theatre Lovett
Project Arts Centre, September 12th-15th
You may or may not already know this, but male mosquitoes don’t suck our blood. It is only the female of the species that do so, in order to feed their young. This is a small but salient fact in The Maestro & The Mosquita, a tragicomedy about a once-celebrated conductor tormented nightly by a buzzing bloodsucker. Features an original score by the Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).
Beasts – Morgan Savidan and Sasha Carberry Sharma
Patrick Sutton Studio, Smock Alley Theatre, September 17th-21st
Part of the thrill of the fringe is taking a punt on a show you know next to nothing about only to come out feeling exhilarated. What do we know about Beasts? Two mixed-race girls, accompanied by a live performance of the NCH Gamelan Orchestra, are about to go on a “trip”. Will the Gods of the Ramayana guide them on their way? Will they connect with their ancestors? Will they ever find their way home?
Ready, Steady, David O’Doherty – David O’Doherty
Space Upstairs, Project Arts Centre, September 17th-21st
The writer, comedian and 1990 East Leinster under-14 triple-jump bronze medallist presents his new show of songs and jokes. Only two things are certain: he will play his keyboard and he will wear a hat. It will also, in all probability, be very funny.
Róisín El Cherif
Project Arts Centre, September 17th
An Irish-Palestinian artist from Galway, Róisín El Cherif fuses Arabic and Irish musical traditions to celebrate the ties between Irish and Palestinian cultures. This show, presented in aid of Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, combines El Cherif’s original music, poetry and films to create what will surely be a festival highlight.
