A varied and comprehensive programme for the Dublin Theatre Festival with a balance between traditional, narrative theatre and more startling productions was announced last night. The festival begins on October 5th.
The first performance, at the Gaiety, will be Circus Ethiopia, a young troupe of African acrobats currently packing in crowds at the Edinburgh Festival. Another circus-type performance is The Cry of the Chameleon, which will bring a troupe of acrobats and dancers from France to the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. "It's the only venue in Dublin tall enough to take them," said Mr Tony O Dalaigh, the theatre festival director.
Carmen is a similarly huge production. This Andalusian opera featuring singers, pipes, drums and a white stallion will be performed at the new Shelbourne Hall in the RDS with a specially constructed 2000-seat arena. The Maly Theatre of St Petersburg will make its Dublin debut with Stars in the Morning Sky at the Gaiety. Irish drama is strongly represented. Playwright Brian Friel has a new version of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Gate, while the Abbey offers a new work by playwright Marina Carr, By The Bog of Cats. There will also be a world premiere from Passion Machine playwright and director Paul Mercier. Native City will run with productions of his two previous plays, Buddleia and Kitchensink, which make up the Dublin Trilogy.
At the Gaiety, The Salvage Shop, a play by Jim Nolan of Red Kettle, marks the return to the Dublin stage after many years of actor Niall Toibin. The Olympia will hold a new work from two-time winners of Dublin Theatre Festival awards, Macnas. Diamonds In The Soil is devised by artist Patrick O'Reilly and directed by Mikel Murfi. The Peacock will offer a new play by Michael Harding entitled Amazing Grace.
There is a host of other international productions, too. Giulio Cesare at the Samuel Beckett Centre is a piece directed by the controversial Italian director, Romeo Castellucci. Monster, a one-hander by Canadian actor Daniel MacIvor, is also at the Samuel Beckett Centre.
Stephen Berkoff, a regular at the festival, is returning this year with Shakespeare's Villains, subtitled A Masterclass in Evil.