A family gathering in disguise

On the Town: Miriam Devitt was dressed as a cucumber, Tom O'Leary came disguised as a peanut and David Stone wore a naval captain…

On the Town: Miriam Devitt was dressed as a cucumber, Tom O'Leary came disguised as a peanut and David Stone wore a naval captain's uniform.

Other madcap individuals at the launch of the Dublin Fringe Festival this week included actor Vero Glenat, who pulled a hospital drip, and Herb Dade, a jazz singer from New York, who sported a dress suit.

All were gathered at the Odeon Bar on Harcourt Street to promote the upcoming festival, which runs over three weeks from Monday, September 12th.

Simone Kirby, who is currently playing Sarah Casey in Druid's production of The Tinker's Wedding at the Olympia Theatre, came with fellow actor Oonagh McLaughlin to spread the word about their play, Mind Your Fingers. "We are transformed from geek to chic to freak," said McLaughlin.

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"I'm really happy to be part of the arts community here, which I perceive very much as a big family that helps to supports each other," said Wolfgang Hoffmann, the festival's director, when he launched the three-week programme. "It's a celebration of the arts."

"There's a bigger emphasis on dance this year. I like that," said Cllr Brian Gillen, chair of Dublin City Council's arts and culture committee.

Jen Coppinger and Nicola Morris, of the Stomach Box, were promising an avant-garde and sexually explicit adaptation of Arthur Rimbaud's poem, A Season in Hell. Eileen Sheridan, producer of Melody, a Tall Tales Theatre Company show, which is currently running at the Temple Bar Information Centre, was also at the launch.

Others who came along included Eina McHugh, the new director of the Ark, the children's arts centre in Temple Bar, dancer Breandán de Gallaí, and Cian O'Brien, administrator of the Focus Theatre, which will provide a venue for six festival productions.

The Dublin Fringe Festival runs from Mon, Sep 12 to Sun, Oct 2, at venues throughout Dublin