Theatre Festival time is coming around again in Dublin… The Fringe (5 – 20 Sept) are launching their programme next week, and have nabbed Absoute on board as a sponsor, so a plethora of delights ahead no doubt.  Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival (24 Sept – 11 Oct) has just launched their programme and there are some tasty treats in store in terms of LGBT flavoured work…

Ground-breaking UK-based company DV8 present their provocative physical theatre production, To Be Straight With You. Artistic Director Lloyd Newson leads a multi-ethnic cast in an unflinching exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality incorporating dance, text, documentary, animation and film.  Newson was partly inspired by personal experience..

In the early 1990s, I went on a Gay Pride March which that year went through the predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighbourhood of Brixton. My then-boyfriend, who was Indian, and I were astonished at the level of abuse and hostility directed at us as we walked hand in hand down Brixton Road. I was struck by the fact that people who themselves are part of a minority, many of whom must have experienced racism and racist abuse first hand, were so willing to be abusive towards another minority. Our research showed that many people within the Afro-Caribbean community hold strong religious beliefs, and not surprisingly, use religious texts to justify their negative attitudes towards homosexuality.

This quote from the ever-reliable Lyn Gardner in The Guardian suggests that DV8′s performance is definitely a timely peice of programming for Irish audiences:

Newson is drawing on the fact that 85 countries around the world still criminalise same-sex relationships, and in seven, the death penalty exists for consensual sexual acts between adults of the same gender. This homophobia is frequently linked to religious beliefs, particularly the more extreme ends of Islam and Christianity. But the most shocking thing about To Be Straight With You is that many of the personal stories it tells belong to people living in secular Britain – where the veneer of tolerance turns out to be a thin one, and the respect accorded to some minorities is not always reciprocated when it comes to homosexuality. It is a situation that has led Peter Tatchell to suggest that “in the name of ‘unity’ against Islamopobia and racism, much of the left tolerates misogyny and homophobia in minority communities”.

Great to see another outing for  Brokentalkers moving song-cycle Silver Stars (especially if -like me!-you missed it the frst time around!) Based on celebrated singer/songwriter Seán Millar’s interviews, the performance features a community chorus of old and not-so-old gay men, telling through their own words their stories of searching for happiness and fulfilment in a country that was challenged by their very existence.

And our magnificant (and ubiquitous!) Panti is presenting her new work A Woman in Progress..billed as stand-up (!) she traces her journey from small-town boy kicking against the uptight traditions of rural Ireland – to towering Goddess in wigs and false lashes.

The world premiere of The Birds by Conor McPherson is at the Gate Theatre, adapted from the short story by Daphne Du Maurier (and immortalised by Alfred Hitchcock),  Sinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds star.  I can’t wait to see how they achieve the creepy tale on stage.. And Du Maurier (1907-1987) is a fascinating writer and bisexual, as if you needed another incentive to go along!

Two other major performances to catch are  Declan Donnellan’s  poetic version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters which features many of Russia’s leading stage and screen actors.. so be warned, in Russian with surtitles! And Québecois director, actor and storyteller Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon. Two of the most innovative independent Irish companies are in this year also… Pan Pan present The Crumb Trail by Gina Moxley – Hansel and Gretel reset in the forest of internet age, with young people groping for survival in a dark world of technology and greed; and The Corn Exchange premiere Freefall by Michael West.

There’s about 25 other shows that I haven’t mentioned and booking opens on August 19th...! Priority booking is available for Friends of the Festival at the moment- there’s a good looking offer for Student Friends for any of our fresh-faced Gaelick readers!

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