Homegrown highlights at this year's Dublin Theatre Festival

Goan describes the festival as “a really important moment in the calendar for Irish audiences to see the outside world on our stages.” And while this year’s international line-up is thrilling in its scope and urgency — featuring artists from Ukraine to Peru, India to Belgium — we’re turning our spotlight inward, to showcase some of the remarkable work being created right here at home.

From radically reimagined classics to fiercely contemporary storytelling, the Irish productions in this year’s programme offer a rich cross-section of what makes our theatre scene so electric. 

Here are some of the standout Irish-led productions we’re most excited about...

I FALL DOWN: A RESTORATION COMEDY
Gina Moxley

In this riotous ‘restoration comedy’, ex art student Moxley, enflamed by women’s erasure in the prescribed history of art and the omission of female genitalia in classical statuary, enlists the audience in her brazen attempt to right these wrongs and correct the received history.

This punk and fearlessly feminist show begins with a lecture, segues into an operatic promenade, travels to Florence courtesy of contemporary dance and finally arrives at a clay modelling workshop where audiences get a chance to release their inner artist.

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Peter Hanley

You may remember the actor Peter Hanly from such projects as BBC’s smash hit TV show Ballykissangel or Mel Gibson’s multi-Oscar winning Braveheart. And how about all the times he appeared on stage with Rough Magic, the Abbey Theatre, the Gate Theatre and many others? Yes, that’s him.

So… where did he disappear to? And why?

During the dress rehearsal for Molly Sweeney in 2011, Peter suddenly experienced extreme stage fright. Nobody watching would’ve noticed at the time but, within a year, Peter would give up acting.

Until now.

In this world premiere from Rough Magic and Kilkenny Arts Festival, Peter ends up on stage once more, searching through past and present to find out what happened. And to ask the broader question of himself, and of you… what are you afraid of?

THE BOY: A TWO-PLAY THEATRICAL EVENT
Marina Carr

Three Ancient Greek Myths. Two New Irish Plays. One Epic Theatre Experience.

Written by Marina Carr and directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, The Boy: A Two-Play Theatrical Event brings a contemporary Irish lens to the pain and beauty of Sophocles’ Theban trilogy of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone.

This is a major world premiere of two new plays, that can be enjoyed separately or experienced back-to-back for the full epic story on Ireland’s national stage. Play one is called The Boy and is inspired by Oedipus Rex. We meet Oedipus and his family at the height of their powers before things begin to unravel. Play two is called The God and His Daughter and is inspired by Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, exploring the consequences that continue into the next generation.

WHO CALLS THE WIND, SILVERS THE WAVE AND LULLS THE MAN CHILD TO SLEEP?
Justine Doswell

An evocative meditation on memory and time, told through Mnemosyne (the mother of memory), her daughter Terpsichore and her daughters, the Sirens.

A play for dancers, exploring what is passed down through the female line. The forgotten lineage with its old truths and old lies. The fallen daughters of the Earth. Raging angels. Swans of the goddess. Girls of gold.

DEAF REPUBLIC
Dead Centre and Zoë McWhinney

A gunshot in occupied territory. A deaf boy is killed for disobeying orders he couldn’t hear. The next day, the whole town wakes up deaf.

Adapted from the poems of Ukrainian-American author Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic is an epic modern fable of war, humanity and collective resistance.

Told through a mix of spoken English, Irish Sign Language, creative captioning and silence, Deaf Republic brings together an ensemble of deaf and hearing actors, aerial performers, puppetry, live cinema and poetry.

KONSTANTIN
Lauren Jones

A young man has shot himself. He lies in a coma. Around him, his family and friends gather — grieving, confessing, clashing.

Inspired by Chekhov’s The Seagull, Konstantin imagines what happens after the final act. In the hospital, old wounds resurface and hard questions are asked about legacy and the myths we build around artists.

Blending live-performance with immersive sound design, the audience experiences the world through Konstantin’s ears — hearing every word, unable to speak back.

Created by Lauren Jones and Eoghan Carrick, Konstantin is a gripping, atmospheric experience that explores what’s left when the artist disappears but the story continues.

BECKETT SA CHREIG: GUTH NA MBAN
An Taibhdhearc with Company SJ

An Taibhdhearc presents Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan / The Women’s Voice, four short works by Samuel Beckett, the second part in a series by Company SJ.

A compelling visual experience, told through the voices of the women in Beckett’s Footfalls · Not I · Rockaby · and the reading of Fizzles 4 — set against the wild and physical landscape of the west coast of Ireland and the broken, haunted colonial architecture of Dublin.

Company SJ weaves text, the body, unique film footage and live music to explore relationships and trauma as shaped by history and embodied through the family.

Inspired by the language and landscape of Inis Oírr, this immersive Irish language production offers a rare opportunity to experience these works as never before.

THREE SISTERS
Sugarglass and Once Off Productions

“Maybe when more time has gone by, in two or three hundred years, people will know how to catch the fire before it ignites.”

In a big house, in a small town; three sisters wait. They wait for the right time to leave. They wait for the love they deserve. They wait for their lives to begin. And while they wait the world turns.

Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull with designs by Molly O’Cathain, this enduring Chekhov classic is given a contemporary Irish take in a new adaptation by award-winning playwright Ciara Elizabeth Smyth. This adaptation is an examination of nostalgia, purpose and the cyclical nature of history, with a sharp twist of humour, and will feature performances by Megan Cusack (Call The Midwife), Lorcan Cranitch (The Crown), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls), Breffni Holahan (The Nevers), Alex Murphy (The Young Offenders) and Máiréad Tyers (Extraordinary).

And finally, though not an Irish work, one that dance fans may enjoy...

CALIGULA
Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre

Caligula is a visually striking Ukrainian production created in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion.

Drawing inspiration from Camus’s classic work, it delves into the descent into tyranny, the cost of absolute power, and the complicit silence that enables destruction. This bold, urgent and unflinching performance speaks to the global moment, confronting fear, complicity and resistance.

Having been acclaimed at major festivals including Avignon Off, FITS, Kontakt and MESS, Caligula captivates audiences with its elegance and intensity. It is a must-see for audiences seeking theatre that dares to challenge and provoke.

You can also explore the full programme at dublintheatrefestival.ie

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