Dublin Theatre Festival
25 September - 12 October
WHITEWASHING
RÉBECCA CHAILLON & AURORE DÉON
25 – 27 September
Space Upstairs, 7.30 pm
€28
How can we speak about our experiences as black women in France?
Whitewashing is a dynamic duo of contrasting forces. One, frail and immobilised, trapped in a floor that is never quite white enough. The other, free and powerful, filled with mischief, keeps her gaze fixed on us, embodying the divine spirit of (re)construction.
Together, through the tense iámages they create and the tragic stories they recite, they slowly unravel the complex narrative of Black women.
With this performance, Rébecca Chaillon and Aurore Déon work with stereotypes and fantasies, allowing them to unfold on stage and letting the audience confront them.
Performed in French with English surtitles.
BECKETT SA CHREIG: GUTH NA MBAN
By Samuel Beckett
1- 5 October
The Cube, 7.45 pm
€23 – €28
Cuireann an Taibhdhearc Beckett sa Chreig: Guth na mBan i láthair, ceithre shaothar ghearra le Samuel Beckett, an dara cuid i sraith le Company SJ.
Eispéireas físiúil thar a bheith mealltach, a insítear trí ghlórtha na mban in Coiscéimeanna · Ní Mise · Luascaire · agus léamh de Shiosarnach 4 de chuid Beckett — suite i dtírdhreach fiáin fisiceach chósta thiar na hÉireann agus in ailtireacht choilíneach, bhriste, chráite Bhaile Átha Cliath.
Fíonn Company SJ téacs, an corp, píosaí scannánaíochta uathúla agus ceol beo le chéile chun caidrimh agus tráma a iniúchadh, a raibh tionchar ag an stair orthu agus a léirítear tríd an teaghlach.
Cuireann an léiriúchán tumtha Gaeilge seo, a spreagtar ag teanga agus tírdhreach Inis Oírr, deis uathúil ar fáil chun na saothair seo a fheiceáil ar shlí úrnua.
Cuirfear rochtain fuaime ar fáil do dhaoine nach bhfuil Gaeilge acu.
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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.
Performed in Irish. English language audio access will be provided throughout for those without Irish
KONSTANTIN
BY LAUREN JONES
1- 4 October
Space Upstairs, 7.30 pm
€23-€33
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.
World Premiere.
Performed in English.
DEEPER
BY GOSIA WDOWIK
7 – 8 October
Space Upstairs, 7.30 pm
€28/25
In her new performance, DEEPER, Polish theatre maker Gosia Wdowik deals with representations of gender-specific violence. Based on personal experience and interviews with teenagers in Warsaw, she critically examines the ongoing production and reproduction of images depicting female bodies in the context of sexuality and victimization.
What impact do these images have on the lives of young people and what tactics do they develop to navigate the world under these impressions?
In DEEPER, she confronts fears and desires that have been shaped through a strong identification with media images, and she brings them into conversation with testimonies of a young generation that is coming of age on the internet. With the help of professional actresses and local teenagers, Wdowik embarks on a journey into the dark imagination that haunts girls and women on their path to sexual self-determination.
Performed in English.
BE CAREFUL
MALLIKA TANEJA
7 -11 October
The Cube, 7.45 pm
€25/23
Caution is central to a woman’s experience of life. It is prescribed, imbibed, and practiced with rigour so that women can be ‘safe’.
Be Careful is a satirical piece that challenges this notion of safety. Rooted in a widespread anger about the everyday violence against women, the performance confronts the unfortunate conflation between the manner in which women dress and the atrocities committed against them.
Stripping down a culture hiding behind its ignorant, prudish mores, Mallika Taneja exposes the contradictions of India’s stagnated social progress. Although rooted in a particular context, Be Careful resonates with audiences all over the world, pointing towards the global epidemic of victim blaming and violence against women.
Thirteen years since its first performances, Taneja continues to perform the show, in a world where the words ‘be careful’ and being ‘safe’ have taken on newer and seemingly more urgent meanings.
Performed in English.
NOWHERE
BY KHALID ABDALLA
10 -12 October
Space Upstairs, 7.30 pm
€33/30
In this intricate and playful solo show, inspired by his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011, and his experience of the counter-revolution that followed, actor and activist Khalid Abdalla (United 93, The Kite Runner, The Crown) takes us on a surprising journey into his own history, set against a cartography of seismic world events.
From the histories of colonialism and decolonisation; friendship and loss; protests and uprising against regimes across the world; to the violence in Gaza following the events of October 7th 2023, Khalid brings together the personal and the political in an act of anti-biography that asks how we got here and how we find agency amidst the mazes of history.
Performed in English.
Commissioned and produced by Fuel.
COOL SUBURBAN MAM
PEA DINNEEN
3 October
The Cube, 3.15 pm
Free but ticketed
Bridget is a mother. Bridget is a sex worker. Bridget is a transgender woman. How MODERN!
When Bridget enrols her daughter at a South Dublin private school for girls, it feels like life is on the right track. Until she meets the other mothers.
Soon Bridget is forced to question what it means to be a woman, a mother, and posh in modern Ireland.
HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?
10 October
Space Upstairs, 4 pm
€5
As the festival draws to conclusion, we take a moment to pause and ask — How was it for you? To help us answer this question, we have invited some of the most exciting voices in theatre criticism to lead us in a discussion of what we have seen, what does it mean and what impact it had on us at this year’s festival.
Natasha Tripney, from The Stage and the illuminating Substack Café Europa, José Solis, founder of the BIPOC Critics Lab in New York, and Helen Meany, The Guardian’s critic for Ireland, make up our panel, chaired by Karen Fricker, co-founder of Irish Theatre Magazine and editorial advisor of Intermission Magazine (Toronto).
If you saw some shows in this year’s festival, we encourage you to come with your questions, thoughts and opinions, to engage in this conversation about what you saw in the festival and how it speaks to where theatre is at today.
YOUNG CRITIC’S PANEL
YOUTH THEATRE IRELAND
12 October
The Cube, 1 pm
Free but ticketed
Guided by expert facilitators, the Young Critics learn about how and why theatre is made, see incredible shows, and voice their opinions on theatre. The Young Critics will present their critical responses at this special panel event chaired by Dr. Karen Fricker.
The Young Critics Panel is always lively, as young people share their opinions with good humour, passion, and eloquence.
Dates
25 September - 12 October
Genres
Theatre
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