GATEWAYS

What is GATEWAYS?

At the Gate Theatre, we aim to cultivate an environment where a broader range of communities can call this space their own. We want people to feel empowered by their engagement with us and we aim to foster and continually develop strong and innovative partnerships with community, arts, education, and other organisations locally and nationally.

GATEWAYS is the result of a consultation process involving the Gate, community groups, schools, both local and across the country, and local community leaders. Since the beginning of 2023, the Gate has invited groups into the theatre for tours and workshops and asked how it can partner and enhance their lives.

With its new priority of civic accessibility, the Gate aims to become a vital part of the local social fabric and enhance its impact through and beyond its productions whilst also creating new audiences for the future. The main target groups for GATEWAYS are schools, under-represented/ marginalised groups and, importantly, the local residents and community organisations of Dublin’s North Inner City (DNIC).

Through GATEWAYS the Gate provides Dublin 1 and beyond with multi-faceted opportunities for personal, social and artistic development.  We have fostered key partnerships with local schools and organisations, offering members of the community year-round workshop programmes and access to the theatre to encourage interest and gather feedback that will continue to inform the structure of our programme.

GATEWAYS PREVIEWS

In addition to this initiative, it our intention to provide a performance for female audience members of all backgrounds. The aim of this show, inspired by events in other theatres, is to provide a space for women to reflect and celebrate on the female-led experience and story of Poor. This performance will take place on Saturday 18th October at 2pm.

Tickets for this performance can only be booked through the Gate Theatre Box Office on 01-8744045.

GATEWAYS previews is kindly supported by DeutscheBank.

GATEWAYS Theatre Groups

In March 2025, we were delighted to present a showcase of our GATEWAYS Youth Theatre Group, and Adult Community Theatre Group in our Gate Theatre Studio.

These groups have been meeting weekly to conceptualise, develop and create their performances with our Community Engagement Facilitator, Betty Duffy, and with additional support from our Community Engagement Manager, John Taite.

We want to congratulate all of our members for their fantastic performances, and we can’t wait to see what they create next.

Learn more about Gateways Community Theatre Groups here.

Our GATEWAYS Youth Theatre group preparing for their first performance.

GATEWAYS Updates

2026 Transition Year Programme

The Gate Theatre are delighted to launch our 2026 Transition Year Work Experience Programme. The programme designed to immerse students in the world of theatre. We aim to promote an appreciation for theatre through hands-on experience, creative workshops, and direct interaction with theatre professionals. The programme will develop students’ understanding of theatrical production, enhancing their communication and teamwork skills, and inspiring potential career interests in the industry.

The programme will run from Monday 23rd – Friday 27th March 2026. The schedule will include evening hours. You must be available for work experience during this time. We cannot offer alternative times for placements. All activities will take place on-site at the Gate Theatre. Applications are now closed.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by Friday December 5th 2025. The programme will run from Monday 23rd – Friday 27th March 2026. Please note submission of this form does not guarantee a place on the programme. There are a total of 10 places for the programme. Applicants will be selected based on the information they provide.

If you have any questions you can contact us at community@gate-theatre.ie

The Next Chapter

The Next Chapter is a collaboration between Fighting Words and the Gate Theatre. Through a series of playwriting workshops, participants from a variety of support organisations and frontline services had the opportunity to develop their writing and storytelling skills, culminating in a showcase in the Gate Theatre. The showcase is directed by Alan King, and features actors Janet Moran, Lloyd Cooney, Betty Duffy, Eric O’Brien, and Roxanna NicLiam.

In August 2025, we hosted this showcase to an invited audience of participants, their friends and family. The nine plays featured participants from SAOL community project, the WAS group at Barnardos, Ballyogan, Coolmine House, Amiens Street, the Daughters of Charity Writing Group, Exchange House Ireland, the Foundations Project, the Shaping Futures project at the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU), RADE support group and Jane’s Place, Merchants Quay.

We were delighted to celebrate this work.

Developing Authentic Values at the Gate Theatre

We were thrilled to host DAV (Developing Authentic Values) in our Rehearsal Studio in July 2025. The group has been meeting every two weeks for drama and music classes, and have brought fantastic energy and talented people into the Gate community space. For their performance, they presented a special snippet of their new piece “Bellerina and the Zombies”.

This collaboration is a part of our community development initiative here at the Gate Theatre and is made possible by the generous support of #HSBCIreland.

The group celebrating their performance. July, 2025.

Transition Year Work Experience Programme

The Gate Theatre were delighted to launch our Transition Year Work Experience Programme in 2025. The programme is designed to immerse students in the world of theatre. We aim to promote an appreciation for theatre through hands-on experience, creative workshops, and direct interaction with theatre professionals. The programme will develop students’ understanding of theatrical production, enhancing their communication and teamwork skills, and inspiring potential career interests in the industry. 

In March 2025, we welcomed our first group to the programme. Students from eight different schools got to work behind-the-scenes, getting an up-close look at the magic of the stage. From shadowing the talented KING LEAR crew to diving into the world of production development and marketing, our students gained invaluable hands-on experience in all things theatre.

The week gave them the opportunity to connect with industry professionals and gain insights into the creative and technical processes that bring a show to life.

A huge congratulations to our students for embracing this learning experience! We can’t wait to see them back in the Gate Theatre in the future.

Our 2025 Transition Year Programme

2024 Business to Arts Awards

We were delighted to win the Irish Life Creativity in the Community Award at the 2024 Business to Arts Awards with our partners Workday.

As part of our GATEWAYS community engagement programme, the Gate and Workday partnered on the ‘Everyone Belongs Here’ initiative. This initiative invites 200 residents from the North Inner City to a GATEWAYS PREVIEW of every mainstage production, free of charge. ‘Everyone Belongs Here’ is central to our vision of creating an Open Gate where every person has access to great theatre.

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