Venue: dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin
Dates: 19th – 20th Apr 2023 Show time: 8pm Admission: €15 Running time: 70min, no interval
Shakespeare may be turning in his grave, but the show that’s become a cult classic contains all 37 plays (plus sonnets) in just 97 minutes. As the comedies aren’t anywhere near as funny as the tragedies, all sixteen have been condensed with the history plays transformed into a game of American football, Othello is performed in rap and Titus Andronicus becomes a TV cookery programme. For the finale, Hamlet is staged first as a psychological exploration of Hamlet’s Ego and Ophelia’s Id, then performed in a matter of minutes and, for the finale, performed backwards. For lovers of Shakespeare everywhere.
Experience the best upcoming talent from the North of England as one cast stage two of Shakespeare’s least known plays…
What comes to mind when you think of King John? The Magna Carta? Forget it. Shakespeare’s rarely staged tragedy about Britain’s most useless king rediscovers this overlooked gem, relocated to the middle of Thatcher’s Britain amid the miner’s strike that led to a bloody revolution. Shakespeare’s play examines the responsibility of power, the need for war, and the inability of men to rule, in an uneasily patriotic play that raises as many questions about our leaders today as it did 400 years ago.
Paired in rep with King John, The Two Gentlemen of Verona takes you to mid-90’s Liverpool in a riotous production that celebrates the messy, filthy joy of young love. What happens when you fall in love with your best friend’s other half? Come on a sensory journey with us, in a production which seeks to bring the joy of togetherness after too many solitary years of Covid. Get your shellsuit and your pagers ready, it’s time to spice up your life.
Both productions alternate on different nights with the same cast. Book both shows for the price of €25.
TICKETS €15 | €13.50 CONCESSION (STUDENT/OAP) RUNNING TIME 120 MINS
WRITTEN BY William Shakespeare DIRECTED BY Karl Falconer
About the company PurpleDoor are a Liverpool based theatre (formerly PurpleCoat), whose work has toured the UK and Ireland and been produced in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Nominated for a National Lottery Award, PurpleDoor have been hailed as ‘one of the UK’s fastest rising ensembles’ with a body of work that has been championed by figures including Stephen Fry and Judi Dench. They aim to champion undiscovered talent and help new audiences enjoy Shakespeare.
This month, one of Ireland’s leading theatre companies, Rough Magic will embark on a national tour of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.
Set on the deck of a deluxe mobile home this festive production of deception and excess, sparkling wit and linguistic exuberance asks – can we ever truly know the people we love?
On it’s premiere performance in Kilkenny Arts Festival (summer 2019), the Irish Independent called this production “boisterous and intelligent” and “a hugely enjoyable and timeless treat.” The Irish Times gave it ★★★★ and the Kilkenny People called it the “funniest show in the city for years”.
Cast: Clare Barrett, Venetia Bowe, Peter Corboy, Maeve Fitzgerald, Patrick Martins, Margaret McAuliffe, Jack Mullarkey, Shane O’Regan & Conor O’Riordan
Set Design: Sabine Dargent Lighting Design: Sarah Jane Shiels
On the deck of a deluxe mobile home a group of friends gather for a week-long party full of cocktail-infused debauchery, bad dancing and questionable gender politics. As the celebrations continue, two couples emerge. Claudio and Hero fall deeply and madly in love, while Benedick and Beatrice resume their altogether more quarrelsome romance. Much Ado About Nothing charts the course of these two star-crossed courtships as malicious rumour and pointed lies threaten to tear them both apart.
After last year’s award-winning production of AMidsummer Night’s Dream, Rough Magic returns to the Kilkenny Arts Festival with this vivid, contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s celebrated screwball comedy. This festive production of deception and excess, sparkling wit and linguistic exuberance asks – can we ever truly know the people we love?
Note: this is an outdoor performance. Please dress for the weather. No umbrellas allowed.
[A repost of this guest post by our own Dr Edel Semple for The River-side blog of UCC Library’s Special Collections, Archives, and Repository Services.]
The River-side welcomes this guest post from Dr Edel Semple, School of English on her experience using items from Special Collections’ early modern books collections in her Culture Night talk ‘Shakespeare’s Sources and Boole Library’s Resources.’ Shakespeare’s Sources and Boole … Continue reading [see link below] →
Shakespeare in Ireland 