Absolut Fringe Festival

Various venues, Dublin Sep 10-25 1850-374643 fringefest.com

Take a deep breath. For two weeks we will be seduced and infuriated, amused and bemused, given a shock to the system and a jolt to the senses. Following a vintage 2010, the Absolut Fringe this year mingles adventurous new Irish work with choice examples from distant shores.

Man of Valour, Corn Exchange's physical tour de force, arrives with ecstatic endorsements from Cork and Edinburgh, while buzz is building for new work by

Amy Conroy ( Eternal Rising of the Sun) and Nyree Yergainharsian ( Where Do I Start?). Actors Nick Lee and Damien Kearney each make their playwriting debuts with, respectively, the dark fable Luca and the Sunshine and the Corkonian reminiscence The Flamboyant Bird.

And, whether it's Fergal McCarthy inhabiting a man-made island on the Liffey for No Man's Landor Veronica Dyas inviting you to a car park for her intimate new performance In My Bed, this year's Fringe is all about claiming new territory, while a vigorous reflection of our changing sense of nationhood illuminates Polish Theatre Ireland's Chesslaugh Mewash, Brian Fleming's Gis a Shot of Your Bongos Mister, and Noelia Ruiz Angel Luis Gonzalez's Better Loved From Afar.

Watch out for a return visit from the electrifying Melanie Wilson ( Autobiographer), THEATREclub's crowd-sourced chronicle Twenty Ten(pictured), and Rough Magic Seeds showcase Jumping Off the Earth.

ABSOLUT FRINGE FESTIVAL

fringefest.com

AutobiographerSmock Alley Theatre Previews Sep 9 8.30pm Opens Sep 10-11 3pm (Sun 8.30pm) 13/11

Body Electric BlockT, Smithfield Previews Sep 13 7pm 9pm 10 Opens Sep 14-22 7pm 9pm 13/11

The Bright Side of the MoonTheatre Sep 13-17 6.30pm (Sat mat 1.30pm) 13/11

Do You Read Me?Smock Alley Theatre Preview Sep 12 8.30pm 8 Opens Sep 13-17 8.30pm 11/9

The Flamboyant BirdSmock Alley Studio Previews Sep 14 8.15pm 10 Opens Sep 15-18 8.15pm (Sat sun mat 1.30pm) 13/11

Eternal Rising of the SunProject Arts Centre Previews Sep 8-9 9pm 10 Opens Sep 10-16 9pm (Sat 3pm) 14/12

Follow The LirPreviews Sep 12 7pm 10 Opens Sep 13-17 7pm 14/12

Heidi and the BearPearse Centre Previews Sep 13 6.30pm 10 Opens Sep 14-21 6.30pm 14/12 Sep 17 2pm 14/12

IntimacyProject Arts Centre Sep 12-16 6.15pm 15/13 (Wed mat 3pm 15/13)

It's Your Turn to Change DaddyBewley's Café Theatre Sep 12/15/20/22 6pm 10

Jumping Off the EarthProject Arts Centre Previews Sep 8-9 8pm 10 Opens Sep 10-17 8pm 14/12

Last YearBewley's Café Theatre Sep 14/22/23 1pm, Sep 17 8pm 10

Love Song for LosersStag's Head Previews Sep 12 7.30pm 10 Opens Sep 13-15, 19-22 7.30pm 13/11

Luca & the SunshineSmock Alley Studio Previews Sep 13 6pm 10 Opens Sep 14-18 6pm (Sat Sun 3.30pm) 14/12

MaDamHello Operator Previews Sep 12 8pm 10 Opens Sep 13-18 8pm (Sat Sun mat 4pm) 13/11

Man of ValourSamuel Beckett Theatre, TCD Previews Sep 8-9 8.30pm 15 Opens Sep 10-13, 15-24 8.30pm (Sat 3pm) 20/18

Man-I-PulateSweeney's Pub Previews Sep 12 7.30pm 10 Opens Sep 13-17 7.30pm 13/11

My Word Is My BondBoys School Smock Alley Previews Sep 9-10 6.15pm 10 Opens Sep 11-16 6.15pm 13/11

Our FatherThe New Theatre Previews Sep 12 6pm 10 Opens Sep 13-17 6pm 13/11

Pocket MusicBewley's Café Theatre Sep 13/21/23 6pm, Sep 15 8pm 10

That's About the Size of ItBewley's Café Theatre Sep 13/ 15/20/21 1pm

Twenty TenProject Arts Centre Sep 10-16 6pm 14/12 (Sat 17 11am-6pm 25)

The Wheelchair on My Face: A Look Back at My Myopic ChildhoodBewley's Café Theatre Sep 14 8pm, Sep 17 6pm, Sep 24 1pm 6pm 10

Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of YouThe New Theatre Sep 12-17 8.15pm 13/11

Where Do I Start?Project Arts Previews Sep 8-9 1pm 10 Opens Sep 10-17 1pm 13/11

The Year of Magical WankingProject Arts Centre Preview Sep 9 10pm 12 Opens Sep 10-17 10pm 15/13