Dublin Theatre Festival (DTF) kicks off on September 25th, for its annual 18-day celebration of the very best Irish and international theatre playing out on Dublin stages. Except this year, unlike any other in its 68-year history, there is a woman at the helm. Róise Goan may be familiar to some as the head of Dublin Fringe Festival from 2008-2013, and founder of Fringe Lab. Since then, she has built a career in both London and Belgium, returning home now with the same unwavering ambition and commitment to live performance, and a fresh European perspective.
Aside from her admiration at the resources available to artists there, her key takeaway from her time in Brussels was their “total commitment to internationalism”. Being exposed to work from so many different places and cultures in Belgium, made her realise just how crucial the exposure to international work had been to her own artistic development, appreciating anew the gift of getting “to see so much international work at the Dublin Theatre Festivals” in years previous.
We often forget, she says, that “Ireland is a small island… on the edge of Europe. We think that we have this kind of global culture because of the internet but, in actual fact, there’s something very, very different in the visceral experience of seeing live performance from somewhere else that you just can’t get from Netflix and Tiktok.”
For this reason, she is proud to champion a variety of outstanding international productions as part of this year’s DTF programme. Key highlights include a production of Albert Camus’ Caligula by the Ukrainian company Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre. With 150 performances under their belt and having received wide acclaim at many major festivals, this bold, timely production looks at the cost of absolute power and its complicated relationship with silence, fear, complicity and resistance.
“We started working on the play in early 2022, just one month before the full-scale war began in Ukraine”, director Ivan Uryvskyi explains. “At that time, I had one version of reality — but by the time we premiered in the summer, everything had changed. This play was born on the edge of two realities — and that energy is still inside it.”
Given the nature of this production, its creators feel an immense emotional connection to the work. “This show means a lot to me”, Uryvskyi affirms. “It was the first production I finished after the full-scale war in Ukraine started, so it’s very personal and emotional for me… and over time the play has grown stronger — like it developed muscles.”
I ask Uryvskyi how he hopes the piece will be received by Dublin audiences, when it plays for five performances from October 8th-11th in the Samuel Beckett Theatre. “How it will be received in October — we don’t know yet. Time changes quickly, and when time changes, the play also changes.”
However, there’s a universality to this story that audiences across the globe have connected with, he points out. “For me, Caligula is a mix of many dictators, many kinds of power. He’s not just one person — he’s a symbol”, he explains, adding: “The idea of power and evil — it’s not far from us. People in many countries feel that. And this is why I think the play still works.”
Aside from this, he adds: “I’m very glad that we will play five shows — it gives us time to connect more deeply with the Dublin audience. For me, what matters most is that this dialogue can happen, and that we are able to show the performance.”
Goan also points me to another international production set to delight Dublin audiences: Pieces of A Woman by the Polish ensemble TR Warszawa running in The O’Reilly Theatre October 10th & 11th. For Goan, this is “a big deal” as she recalls attending two “extraordinary” and “so theatrically inventive” productions by the ensemble when they visited the Abbey Theatre in 2004 and 2011 respectively.
They return to Dublin this October for the first time since, with a powerful piece that touches on themes of “class mobility… legacy, inheritance and greed”, themes which Goan feels are so relevant in today’s Ireland. “It’s such a full meal of a theatre performance and I hope people really enjoy it”, she adds.
For artists and audiences alike, the benefit of enjoying international work is two-fold, according to Goan. “It’s very hard for Irish artists to dream big at the moment, I think, because of a lack of resources, and not least because artists can’t even afford to live in Dublin.” Seeing new and challenging work from other places, she explains, can usurp those boundaries and expand the imagination beyond.
Seeing this kind of work may also quash the notion that “things are much easier in other places”, she suggests, when perhaps it’s more a case of “different priorities, emphases or different goals, and it’s not that one thing is better than the other, but that it’s interesting to see it.” Ultimately, as a nation of historical emigrants, and as someone who has recently returned, Goan wants to accentuate the existing culture of international dialogue and exchange within the festival. She puts it simply: “If you want to go out, you have to welcome in”.
Another recurrent theme of this year’s festival programme is its myriad conversations with existing and canonical texts. “We respect the canon, and we smash it open,” Goan smiles.
One such example is a new production of Checkov’s Three Sisters playing the Gaiety Theatre (8-12 Oct), adapted by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth and envisioned in a three-pronged collaboration with direct-designer duo Marc Atkinson Borrull and Molly O’Cathain. This duo, who have worked harmoniously on a variety projects as freelance artists, have devised an unconventional but deeply artistic approach to making, synergising from the outset and actively collaborating with the playwright to shape the play. “Directing and design – they’re so interlinked. They are the core thing that makes a production what it is,” Atkinson Borrull explains. “And so often you don’t get to work together from the very start of the process. The designer ends up getting hired months into a process when an awful lot of decisions have already been made. We realized that our work would be more ambitious, more exciting, more well-wrought, if we could work together from the very outset.”
This won’t be the talked-about aspect of the production however, as it boasts a 13-person strong ensemble, among them many stars of stage and screen such as 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).
Atkinson Borrull affirms that securing such a strong cast was always the intention. “Molly and I are really interested in trying to expand the theatre audience in Ireland and we think that one of the easiest ways to do that is by creating a company of actors that people are excited to see.”
Turning from classic to modern texts, another ambitious adaptation worth mentioning is Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan running at the Gate Theatre (26 Sept-12 Oct). In conversation with director and Artistic Director of the venue, Róisín McBrinn, she assures me that even for those very familiar with Katriona O’Sullivan’s inspiring work and bestselling memoir, this adaptation by award-winning playwright Sonya Kelly offers something truly special. Far from the one-woman show some might envision, Kelly has grounded a “really bright theatricality at the heart of this work”, with promise from McBrinn of songs, movement and “a large company of nine actors and a brilliant, a brilliant creative team”.
In terms of tone, McBrinn promises bright light amidst darker moments. “Katriona talks about the pockets of sunshine in her life and in her childhood, and that’s been a major starting point for this show. So, as much as we tell the truth and look at the reality of what was a really troubled and tough upbringing, we really foreground the joy that was also streaming through her complicated youth”, McBrinn explains.
“Katriona’s big thing is that talent is universal. Opportunity is not and she carved out the opportunities for her life, but through her story, she really wants the world to know that there aren’t enough of those opportunities, and that this is the moment we could change that.”
Levelling the playing field was also top of mind for Goan and the team as they worked to craft this year’s festival. In essence, “making sure that every kind of Dubliner sees themselves on the stage is really, really important,” Goan shares. A huge part of this, and DTF’s ongoing mission, is doubling down on accessibility.
“Some of the most exciting theatre in the world at the moment, is being made by artists with disabilities,” she says, citing the production set to open the festival in the O’Reilly Theatre, Teatro La Plaza’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (25-27 Sept). Written and directed by Chela De Ferrari, this production sees eight performers with Down syndrome take on the central tenet of the play ‘To Be Or Not To Be?’, weaving their own stories, desires and frustrations through Shakespeare’s iconic tale and asking important questions about their value and existence in today’s world.
“This is kind of sacrilege to say, but it’s really the first production of Hamlet that moved me really deeply, that I felt connected to and that I felt I could see myself in”, Goan admits. “And I think anybody who comes to see that show, regardless of their background… I think they will connect to the very kind of essence of what this production is – and it’s also visually spectacular.”
The challenge for DTF, she explains “is that we want to match the excellence that’s on the stage with our support to audiences when they come and see the work… and that’s an ever-evolving challenge because of venue infrastructure and having to undo and unmake our own unconsciously ableist practices in terms of how we think about how audiences experience theatre, and also resources.”
To this end, the festival has made available a range of measures including accessible performances, an Access Pass (to improve the booking experience for customers with disabilities), an Access Guide (packed with information on accessible performances, entrances, exits, toilets and public transport options) and more, available through their box office and website. Though an ongoing journey, Goan is proud of this commitment to audiences, both from the festival and the wider theatre industry.
As we draw near the end of our conversation, the big question remains: With over 40 different productions and experiences on offer, how do those interested choose what to attend?
“I think [audiences] should be excited by the variety of work that we have to present… there are companies who are old favourites for audiences, but I think taking a chance on something new is always something I would advise.”
“The thing about Dublin Theatre Festival is that it happens for 18 days and then it’s gone. If you miss it, likely you’ll never see those shows again, particularly with the international shows – it’s your one chance to see something that has impressed, delighted, shocked and impacted audiences all over the world.” In short, “We just encourage people to get up off the couch and give it a go”.
With tiered pricing, a 10-for-10 discount scheme for young people, arts workers and the unwaged and rush tickets for students on the day of shows, the team at Dublin Theatre Festival endeavour to make this possible for every kind of art-lover, regardless of their budget.
“So just take a chance and come and see something,” Goan signs off, “because it’s now or never.”
Words: Emer Tyrrell
Feature Image: Caligula – Credit Julia Weber
The Dublin Theatre Festival runs from September 25th – October 12th in venues right across the county. Full programme, tickets and further information are available at dublintheatrefestival.ie.
