THE GATE THEATRE’S NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAMME AND INITIATIVES
Colm O’Callaghan and Róisín McBrinn
Photo: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
With just over three weeks until the opening night of PIAF by Pam Gems, and following successful runs for both Michael Keegan-Dolan’s How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons and Sonya Kelly’s The Last Return, the Gate Theatre is delighted to announce a new programme of productions and initiatives under the Gate’s recently appointed leadership team of Artistic Director Róisín McBrinn and Executive Director Colm O’Callaghan.
Tickets are now on sale from gatetheatre.ie.
New productions for 2023 include revivals of Enda Walsh’s The New Electric Ballroom and Arthur Miller’s The Price, plus the Irish Premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical, Fun Home.
In an exciting new development, the Gate is also pleased to unveil a brand-new programming stream entitled GATECRASHES, designed to welcome a greater diversity of audiences to the theatre.
GATECRASHES is a series of new offers that will include exclusive events throughout the year featuring Ireland’s best artistic talent. As part of this series, Anna Newell’s BABYGROOVE, a theatrical experience for babies under 12 months and their carers, will take place in the final weekend of March. More events will be added to the GATECRASHES programme in the coming months.
This announcement also marks the beginning of a new era of community engagement following the recent announcement of a Community Engagement Manager (CEM) position, a new role for the Gate. The CEM will plan, develop and implement an engagement strategy to nurture future artists and members of our local Dublin community, including schools, with the intention of making the Gate a more civic space.
Complementing GATECRASHES will be two additional new offerings: GATE EXCHANGES, which will feature curated conversations for audiences on the themes and ideas raised in our work; and GATE MINDS, where accomplished theatre practitioners share their knowledge and experience with upcoming Irish artists. GATE MINDS will also work in tandem with and enhance a series of professional artistic development programmes that the Gate will announce in the new year.
Speaking about the launch, Gate Artistic Director Róisín McBrinn and Executive Director Colm O’Callaghan said, ‘We are so excited to launch our first full season. Following on from How to be a Dancer in Seventy-two Thousand Easy Lessons and Piaf, we can’t wait to share this programme of work with our audiences. With the combination of these three shows, all of which focus on unique families in their complexity, we hope to provoke joy, ask the big questions, and take our communities on journeys that help us grow and learn from one another. Alongside this work, our GATECRASHES strand offers new ways for people to come to the Gate, whether it’s babies and their carers, or music lovers. Our aim is for the Gate to become a more open, welcoming space.’
Further detail on the Gate’s new season of work:
- THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM by ENDA WALSH: The Gate presents a revival of Enda Walsh’s beautiful and funny 2008 play about two sisters reliving a formative night of their youth, spent at a local ballroom. Heartbreaking and hopeful, The New Electric Ballroom explores the power of storytelling and marks the first time the incomparable Enda Walsh has been produced on the Gate stage. Directed by Irish Times Theatre Award winner Emma Jordan and starring Barbara Brennan and Jane Brennan, this new production will open on Tuesday, February 28th with previews from Thursday, February 23rd. The production will also tour to The Everyman in Cork from Tuesday, April 4th to Friday, April 7th.
- THE PRICE by ARTHUR MILLER: Two estranged brothers, one a policeman who sacrificed his education to care for his father, the other an eminent surgeon who walked out on family to concentrate on personal success, meet to settle their father’s estate and arrange its sale. A compelling family drama about property, ambition and the burden of family duty, this revival, directed by Olivier Award winner Conleth Hill, will open on Tuesday, April 18th with previews from Thursday, April 13th.
- FUN HOME, Music by JEANINE TESORI, Book and Lyrics by LISA KRON, Based on the Graphic Novel by ALISON BECHDEL: The Gate Theatre proudly presents the Irish Premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical, Fun Home. Adapted by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron from the acclaimed graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, this beautiful show follows Alison, in both the past and the present, as she deals with the secrets that emerge following the sudden death of her father. Coming to the Gate in summer 2023, the show will be directed by Róisín McBrinn.
THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM by ENDA WALSH
Thursday, February 23rd to Saturday, April 1st
Written by Enda Walsh
Directed by Emma Jordan
Starring Barbara Brennan and Jane Brennan
Trapped in the memoires of their youthful nights at The New Electric Ballroom, sisters Breda and Clara reflect on lost love and what might have been.
As they reminisce, their younger sister Ada looks to re-ignite Breda and Clara’s spirits, and resurrect the smallest glimmer of love and hope in their remote fishing village home.
A virtuoso, absurdist fable of the debilitating effects of small-town life, Enda Walsh’s stunning play won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award in 2008 and confirmed him as one of Ireland’s most distinctive and dynamic writers of the modern era.
Marking the debuts of both Emma Jordan and Enda Walsh on the Gate Theatre stage, the production will also tour to The Everyman, Cork from Tuesday, April 4th to Friday, April 7th.
Director: Emma Jordan
Set and Costume Designer: Kat Heath
Lighting Designer: Ciarán Bagnall
Sound Designer: Katie Richardson
Movement Director: Liz Roche
Listings
Previews: Thursday, February 23rd
Opening night: Tuesday, February 28th
Run: Tuesday, February 28th to Saturday, April 1st
Monday to Friday: 7.30pm
Saturday: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
No matinee Saturday, February 25th
Tickets from €15
THE PRICE by ARTHUR MILLER
Thursday, April 13th to Saturday, June 3rd
Written by Arthur Miller
Directed by Conleth Hill
Two estranged brothers, one a policeman who sacrificed his education to care for his invalid father, the other an eminent surgeon who walked out on family to concentrate on personal success, meet to settle their father’s estate and arrange its sale.
Amid the belongings of their once-wealthy patriarch, old hostilities and grudges resurface as they confront the truth about their past, the choices they made, and the legacy they now face.
Arthur Miller’s compelling story of property, ambition and the burden of family duty remains as relevant as when it was first produced in 1968.
Listings
Previews: Thursday, April 13th to Monday, April 17th
Opening night: Tuesday, April 18th
Run: Tuesday, April 18th to Saturday, June 3rd
Monday to Friday: 7.30pm
Saturday: 2.30pm and 7.30pm
No Saturday matinee April 15th
Tickets from €15
IRISH PREMIERE
FUN HOME
Coming Summer 2023
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron
Adapted from the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel
Directed by Róisín McBrinn
Winner of five Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, the Gate Theatre is proud to present the Irish Premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s Fun Home, adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.
After the sudden death of her father, graphic novelist Alison is forced to confront long-hidden familial secrets that come to light. The production features Alison both past and present: her memories as a child playing in the family’s funeral home merge with her time as a college student coming out and finding first love; and her adult life as a successful graphic novelist.
Directed by Róisín McBrinn, Fun Home features music composed by Jeanine Tesori with book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, and is adapted from the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.
Fun Home is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kate Bowe at Kate Bowe Communications; 086-2675018
The Gate Theatre is proudly supported by the Arts Council.