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All the Dead Voices – A series of GATECRASHES curated by Foggy Notions

Foggy Notions presents 4 nights of live music from the darkest fringes of ethereal pop, folk, and experimental drone from Ireland at the world-famous Gate Theatre whose stage has been platforming innovative artists and uncompromising voices for nearly one hundred years.

Curated by Foggy Notions who are responsible for acclaimed music programmes such as Haunted Dancehall, MusicTown and the Dun Laoghaire Folk Festival.

Roger Doyle & Olwen Fouéré present Operating Theatre

Operating Theatre is the influential avant garde musical and theatre group formed in the 1980s, whose cult classic Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth was recently revived by Caroline Polachek. Operating Theatre was active in two phases: the first from 1981 to 1988 and the second from 1998 to 2008. The company operated as both a theatre company, integrating music as an equal partner in the theatrical environment, and as a band releasing records. Roles were flexible in that Fouéré also sang and Doyle also acted and as a duo they collaborated with numerous other artists including writers, musicians, directors, actors and designers.

In the 1980s, Operating Theatre released records with CBS Ireland, Kabuki Records in London and on the Mother label set up by U2. In 2006 an Operating Theatre double CD was released tucked inside the printed programme of the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival. As a theatre company Operating Theatre presented many productions in the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, a tour of Holland, London’s Bush Theatre, Glasgow Mayfest, the Caracas Festival in Venezuela, the Avignon festival in France, the Galway International Arts Festival and the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. These included site-specific productions in an abandoned warehouse in Dublin’s Digital Hub, a glass room in the Imperial Hotel in Galway, a shop front in Temple Bar and an Art Gallery in Paris.

In 2008, the company produced a 114-page hardback book called Operating Theatre 1980-2008 with many photographs, essays and 2 CDs, one in each cover. ‘Spring is Coming with a Strawberry in the Mouth’ – originally performed by singer/lyricist Elena Lòpez who worked with the company in the mid 80s – has experienced a resurgence with the recent success of US singer Caroline Polachek’s version. Fashion brand Gucci also used the track and Chloé featured the original version on their worldwide online fashion collection.

More recently, Fouéré and Doyle reconvened for a moving retrospective performance at the National Concert Hall for the 2025 MusicTown programme.

Olwen Fouere talks about Operating Theatre – clip from “The Curious Works of Roger Doyle”

3 September | 7.30pm