Theatre News | Stage Listings, Reviews & More |The Irish Times

Aisling O’Sullivan, Cathy Belton and Derbhle Crotty in The Approach by Mark O’Rowe. Photograph: Patrick Redmond

'2020 was going to be the most amazing year ever for us'

Sara Keating
January 16, 2021

Producer Anne Clarke on experiencing live performance for first time since pandemic

Eva O’Connor in Mustard.

Mustard review: One-woman show set to resonate with audiences

Amy O'Connor
September 17, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: Eva O’Connor delivers fiery performance that never wavers in intensity

Druid combines representations of raw sorrow, naked nationalism, and raucous humour to honour Gregory’s legacy.

DruidGregory review: Captivating performance rooted in history

Ciara L. Murphy
September 17, 2020

Revival of Lady Augusta Gregory’s neglected works is of vital importance

Paul Noonan’s Electric Kazoo, part of 2020 Dublin Fringe Festival. Photograph: Ruth Medjber/ruthlessimagery

The Electric Kazoo review: Noonan’s mannered show maintains engaging presence

Sara Keating
September 14, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: Recorded album would help find wider audience for family-friendly repertoire

Archival footage and atmospheric video design create a potent visual reminder and reenactment of lost histories

Transmission review: One-woman show examines the consequences of our quest for progress

Sara Keating
September 9, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: Caitríona Ní Mhurchú uses her past as prompt for philosophical exploration of nature of time

Rapid fire rounds, where Fionnuala Gygax’s questions were posed as ‘would you rathers’ and directed towards a specific context (the future climate emergency), provided a little more energy to proceedings

Twenty Fifty review: a confused and confusing collaboration

Sara Keating
September 8, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: Interesting ideas get lost amidst the casual ‘improvised’ banter of interview format

This everyday drama between two people unfolds outside on Meetinghouse Square in Temple Bar

Will I See You There review: The experience of this drama is like eavesdropping, on speed

Deirdre Falvey
September 8, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: Format is perfectly suited to present circumstances and evokes intense intimacy at great distance

Richard Osman: ‘I am obsessed with class. Class is everything and we don’t talk about it nearly enough’

Richard Osman: ‘The worst thing in the world is someone telling you they’re writing a novel’

Donald Clarke
September 8, 2020

The star of quiz show Pointless on his new novel, being on telly, and why class is crucial

Before You Say Anything, Photograph: Simon Lazewksi

Before You Say Anything review: riveting moments tease out how we feel safe

Deirdre Falvey
September 7, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival: This thoughtful and skilfully executed work is subtle, timely and beautifully paced

Paul Fahy and Enda Walsh photo Andrew Downes believe ‘a festival is a great framework for people to be more experimental, and this just fit the bill’. Photograph: Andrew Downes

7:47 Latest instalment of Rooms can go right to the top

Sara Keating
September 7, 2020

Changing Room explores the inner life of a man verging on change – a timely Covid-19 era work

Garry Hynes, Conor Linehan, Marie Mullen, Peter Daly, Venetia Bowe, Dónal Gallery, Tim Doyle, Sarah Morris, John Olohan, Liam Heslin, Garrett Lombard, Megan Cusack, Marty Rea and Rory Nolan. Photograph: Boyd Challenger

Druid: Holding their nerve while raising Augusta Gregory’s spirit at Coole

Deirdre Falvey
September 5, 2020

She wasn’t just founder of the Abbey; she created theatre for the ordinary people

Before You Say Anything, which will be performed at Dublin Castle’s Chapel Royal. Every audience member, director Claire O’Reilly says of the play, ‘will bring their own perspective to it. Every audience member will have a different opinion.’

‘It had to be live, because liveness is the thing we have been starved of’

Sara Keating
September 3, 2020

Dublin Fringe Festival asked them to create a new work and Malaprop Theatre jumped at the chance

1000 Miniature Meadows by Luke Casserly & Shanna May Breen is a co-commission from Dublin Fringe Festival and Science Gallery Dublin.

Theatre of nature: Examining the environment through the lens

Amy O'Connor
September 2, 2020

An aural tapestry, 1000 Miniature Meadows explores Ireland’s biodiversity crisis

Dublin Theatre Festival director Willie White says a business model for digital theatre has emerged during lockdown. Photograph: Dave Meehan

‘A city like Dublin needs to have life, and we want to be part of it’

Sara Keating
August 18, 2020

Dublin Theatre Festival 2020: Live performance is more important than ever, says Willie White

DruidGregory: Marie Mullen will play Augusta, Lady Gregory

Marie Mullen to lead Lady Gregory cast as Druid returns to live theatre

Hugh Linehan
August 12, 2020

DruidGregory begins a 15-venue tour at Coole Park, the writer’s Galway estate, next month

Dublin Fringe Festival 2020: Duets, by Dan Colley and Fionnuala Gygax

Dublin Fringe Festival 2020: Making lemonade in a year of lemons

Gemma Tipton
August 8, 2020

Even amid the pandemic, the festival is about ‘new pathways, inspiration and discovery’

Selina Cartmell: ‘I continue to believe in the potential of the Gate to be a crucial incubator of great Irish creative talent’

Gate Theatre to remain shut until 2021 as social distancing slashes potential income

Deirdre Falvey
July 30, 2020

Theatre that hired more than 500 freelancers in 2019 depends on box office for 67% of income

Departing directors: Neil Murray and Graham McLaren at the Abbey Theatre in 2016. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Abbey Theatre does not plan to renew joint directors’ contracts

Deirdre Falvey
July 29, 2020

Neil Murray and Graham McLaren due to leave in 2021, when their role will be split

Conor Hanratty says he found the limits of the Tiny Plays 600-word format “scary but liberating”.

‘Always be beautiful. Always be dynamic. Always be welcoming’

Sara Keating
July 23, 2020

A Japanese mentor helped to inspire Conor Hanratty’s online short play War Paint

There is “an intimacy with the roads that you can only get when you are hitching and you don’t get a ride”.

Little John Nee: Storyteller goes back to basics

Sara Keating
July 20, 2020

DIY stagecraft and theatrical invention get Tuam performer out under Tilt of the Sky

Wexford Festival Opera goes online in series of free performances

Michael Dervan
July 16, 2020

Waiting for Shakespear...The Festival in the Air is an eight-day online celebration

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Macnas, whose parades are a core part of their work, receive this year’s special tribute award. Photograph: Brian Arthur

Irish Theatre Awards Find out who won this year, plus all our other coverage

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