Dublin Fringe Festival 2021

September 11 – 26 fringefest.com

JOYFUL – INTIMATE – LIVE: Dublin Fringe Festival packs in gems of new works and brand new live performances, this September: 
Built on the concept of Superflux – a surging flow of possibility brought about by the energy of change – this year’s festival programme is divided into 6 CHAPTERS for audiences to explore – all grouped by theme or experience:

JOY SEEKERS
Overrun the city and interact with radical acts of joy, pleasure, beauty and wonder:
Featuring, You Are Magic by Alicia Eggert, a live pop-up interactive sculpture activated by touch that celebrates the power of collaboration; Outdoor comedy in Dublin Castle with Film Reads: The Breakfast Club from the ever popular Dreamgun crew. This is their first Irish gig since 2020, so book early; TONIC by Fionn Foley & Rough Magic is a new outdoor all-singing all-dancing musical comedy satirising Ireland in the aftermath of a cataclysmic doomsday event; Sound Waves by Gxrlcode provides the soundtrack to your September from AM to PM. This Dublin Fringe Festival commission spotlights the fantastic work of Gxrlcode, a collective that amplify womens’ voices in the creative industry; Abundance by Glitterhole’s Beth Hayden & live artist Matthew Bratko is a wonderful first-time collaboration, crafting an ode to Queer joy, resilience, community and the power of a good party; Comedy superstar, Joanne McNally’s first live hometown since before the pandemic delivers an hour of brand new material for six nights. DON’T MISS THIS!; FEHDAH is a future afro soul vocalist and multi-instrumentalist at the vanguard of the Irish hip hop and electronic scene – she plays one night only LIVE upstairs at Project Arts Centre.
 
CONTROL ALT
Gripping live performances reckoning with harsh dualities, public personas and powerful influences:
This is a landmark international collab – leading Irish theatre makers Brokentalkers face off against global Fringe veteran Adrienne Truscott. MASTERCLASS is what is says on the tin, but it’s one that goes brilliantly wrong. Super provocative, this world premiere skewers the cult of the great male playwright; Malaprop return with Where Sat The Lovers. This new play staged ‘in-the-round’ investigates conspiracy theories and what to do when  a family member has fallen prey to them; there’s also a live theatre show about a dead woman, from Lauren Shannon Jones and Eoghan Carrick. Rescue Annie (part of the festival’s DUETS programme) begins in an intimacy workshop and ends with an out of body experience. 
 
VIRTUOSOS
Inimitable performances from one of a kind artists:
From TG4’s Glas Vegas and world dance domination to Dublin Fringe, Sibéal Davitt creates a memoir of her experiences in Minseach (she-goat). This bilingual show tells her dancer’s journey through time; Comedy fans will want to meet rising stand-up star Ian Lynam. Bringing his first ever hour long comedy show. Autistic Licence hilariously details Ian’s autism diagnosis, creativity and explodes the myth that autistic people can’t connect with people through humour; Kirko Compose a free contemporary classical music concert in the Dublin docklands with Music For Cranes – riffing on the skyline resing the surrounding cranes as musical score; comedy sensation Paul Currie brings his absurdist stand-up show Teet to Smock Alley 1662  – fans of Andy Kaufman, Samuel Beckett and The Muppet Show won’t want to miss out; Isabella Oberländer shows her first solo work Glisten, commissioned and co-produced by Dance Limerick. Immerse yourself in a sweaty fifteen minutes that explodes gender; don’t worry – she’ll be dancing, you’ll be thinking. 
 
INTIMACIES
Shows that pull you closer and encounters that dissolve distance – small capacities and intimate subject matter:
Experienced via WhatsApp voice note, I Feel You Apart From Me by Lark is about Irish expats missing home and what they love about home, and the soft power of a voice note from a loved one; Harry Butler is a Lir graduate making his playwriting debut. Changing The Sheets is a two-hander about one night stands, intimacy and pillow talk when strangers first meet; Belfast artists Orla Graham and Seón Simpson create Heave, a theatre-film hybrid that puts two fingers up to 2020 with a show about long distance love in lockdown. With animation by FEWK this show is also part of the DUETS programme; YOU’RE STILL HERE, by Murmuration is a Dublin Fringe Festival commission, co-presented by the Abbey Theatre. Performed in a tent in the grounds of  Dublin Castle, it follows the impact on a family when a prodigal son returns home with all the siblings living together again, in a live theatre performance; New young theatre company Archway & tasteinyourmouth bring us a play about Queer friendship and lifechanging nights out in Narcissus; Co-commissioned by Dublin Fringe Festival and the Abbey Theatre, Speak Softly Go Far is a trio of covert theatre experiences from Maia Nunes, Hannah Mamalis and Oisin McKenna. Experienced alone, in public space near home, these audio encounters invite you to let an artist occupy your mind. 
 
YOUNG RADICALS
Art made for and by young
people:
Dublin 8 Yer Lookin’ Great by Emmalene Blake is a Tracks co-commission from Dublin Fringe Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival and Baboró International Arts Festival for Children. Emmalene is an internationally recognised street artist based In Dublin and she will create a new mural at Swifts Alley, inspired by the ideas and advice from children in that neighbourhood. Working in partnership with Marsh’s Library, Emma has asked the young people from the local schools what makes Dublin 8 great and to share the positive changes in the area that have made it better for them and their friends; THE VEILED ONES by Junk Ensemble is a dazzling dance theatre production for young people featuring an ensemble of nine dancers and musicians from all over Europe who explore the identity of witches, and the powerful relationship between a grandparent and grandchild. Loosely informed by Roald Dahl’s novel The Witches. This too is Tracks co-commission for Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture from Dublin Fringe Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival and Baboró International Arts Festival for Children. 
 
NIGHT CLASSES
Expand your horizons with a craic-based curriculum from the Dublin Fringe Faculty – ENROL NOW!:
FETISH 101 is Matthew Tallon’s new stand up comedy experience that educates people about the world of fetish through an email newsletter; The wonderful Sarah Devereux (aka The Dirt Bird) devises an online creative club to show you how to ‘make and do’ in a new workshop entitled LET’S GET FUN-ERABLE. Zoom Zoom Zoom, she will show up in your room and she will send a package of art materials to you in the post  for this unforgettable online craft event.
Live shows will return to beloved theatres like Project Arts Centre, Bewleys Café Theatre Smock Alley, Samuel Beckett Theatre who are looking forward to welcoming audiences back in to their fold safely. And the beautiful gothic Chapel Royal has some special events again this year too. Fringe are creating new outdoor stages  across town like at the magical Dublin Castle courtyard and gardens, Grand Canal Docklands and at Swifts Alley. Social distancing measures and rigorous COVID protocols will be in place at all events as safety is paramount at this edition of the festival. 
The Dublin Fringe Festival is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL 2021 runs city-wide from September  11 – 26. The full 2021 programme is on sale now at fringefest.com and 1800 FRINGE (374 643).