In the 30-year-old Beckett Centre, three women come together to discuss Beckett. And Pinter. And Chekhov. And Shakespeare. Through thoroughly differing perspectives, they talk about whether Ophelia is a good part, even though she only has 58 lines; about the (im)possibility of a female Waiting for Godot; about the merit of respecting theatre history, when they could also destroy it. Gift Horse Theatre returns to do what it does best: rework the repertoire.
Following three sell-out open-air tours, Gift Horse Theatre is (finally) coming inside. Having revisited and revised classic texts from figures including Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare, and Leo Tolstoy, Gift Horse has set itself an impossible task: to write something new. Praised for their “knack for finding the humour in even the darkest of […] imaginings” (The Reviews Hub), DON’T COPY ME promises to be a playful, tongue-in-cheek challenge for the company.
Is it time to move on? And where’s next?
“An upcoming theatre company filled with talent” (Babylon Radio), Gift Horse finds cohesion in the eclectic. DON’T COPY ME will bring together lecture, lies, fact, fiction, music, and dance.
Whose voices are we listening to?
What does it mean if we’re always answering back?
What does it mean to make something new?
Gift Horse Theatre presents DON’T COPY ME, May 30th – June 1st 2024 Samuel Beckett Theatre Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2 (Running time approx. 60 mins)
Thursday 30th May – Saturday 1st June, 7:00pm
Saturday 1st June, 2:00pm
Tickets cost €10 / €15 and are available here.
About Gift Horse
Gift Horse Theatre is an emerging environmentally conscious theatre company founded in 2018. It is an all-female company, led by Signe Lury, Elishka Lane, and Doris de Vries, with three associate artists: Ciara Berkeley, Mae Leahy, and Jilly McGrath. Their ethos is one of collaboration and curiosity. They often devise from literary texts and the lives of cultural figures, using the past as a lens for the present and the source material as a springboard for play. They prioritise sustainability and are always looking for new ways to build climate-conscious thinking into our practice. Their work has been supported by the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Dublin City Council, the OPW, Pavilion Studio, Trinity College Dublin Alumni Association & Trust, and the Trinity Visual & Performing Arts Fund. Most recently, they brought our original production harvest, an ecological fairy-tale inspired by Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market,” to The Greenhouse Theatre in London, the UK’s first zero-waste theatre.
“We founded our company as a group of second-year drama students and can’t wait to return as alumni, three years after graduating. The Beckett has played a huge part in our development as theatre-makers; we’re delighted to be able to honour its role in their journey.”
Credits
Director – Doris de Vries
Writers – Doris de Vries and Signe Lury
Performers – Faith Jones, Elishka Lane, and Signe Lury
Costume Design – Mae Leahy
Set Design – Anika Kidd
Sound Design/Composition – Daniel O’Brien
Lighting Design – Eimear Conroy
Assistant LX – Amy Wyley
Producers – Signe Lury and Elishka Lane
Interference – Nicholas Johnson
Poster Image and Photography – Jilly McGrath
Poster Design – Elishka Lane
