dublingaytheatrefestivals27th May 2007
I’ve had a very enjoyable couple of weeks re-engaging with the notion of gay “community”, by going to see nine different plays and shows in the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, out of about thirty which were on offer over the fortnight. As regular readers of this column will be aware, the concept [...]
One of the most exciting things about theatre is the immediacy of the experience, the creative tension between performers and audience. It’s a double-edged sword, though, compared to other artistic endeavours – while we may relish the exhilaration of being pinned to our seats and having our senses stimulated, it can also backfire, and a [...]
Brian Merriman, artistic director of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, revealed something recently about his selection criteria for new plays – he wasn’t going to include a play that was merely a coming out story, it had to be more than that. However, so universal is this peculiar rite of passage for gay people, and [...]
Penis size, or rather the anxiety that assails many men about their endowment, is something that is rarely discussed openly. Following the money, however, it doesn’t take a genius to deduce that all those SPAM emails in my inbox, for “Penis Growth Patches” or “Advanced Gain Pro” and the like, are sent out in [...]
Brian Merriman, artistic director of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, introduced Who Does She Think She Is? as one of the most radical productions on offer in the festival: the first transgender musical in Ireland. It was a one-off show, on in the back of the Front Lounge, free to all, and done in the [...]
Earlier today, at the enjoyable seminar organized by the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival at Trinity College, Irish Gay Theatre Past and Present, I heard artistic director, Brian Merriman, speak of his passion about the event, and how he believed in the importance of portraying the truth of gay people’s lives in theatre. Much was rightly [...]
Jack the Lad, by Matt Harris, is one of the queerest theatrical experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. Hard-edged, disturbing, sexual, at times baffling, shocking and a little trippy, Harris has mangled the Jack and the Beanstalk children’s story and turned it into a deliciously deviant 75-minute nightmare.This Jack, a practiced, jaded, driven rent-boy, unforgettably played by [...]
On The Sidelines is a heart-warming little gem of a one-man show at The New Theatre. Hailing from Manchester, Andrew Norris has crafted a moving portrait of a Northern English family. In particular, it’s a study in masculinity, and the stresses and strains of an emotionally repressed bachelor son having to look after his [...]
It’s not often that you get a guarantee that you will get your money back if you don’t laugh in a show, as John Pickering of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival promised us, when he introduced The Gaydar Diaries to a full house on the opening night of the festival last night.The show premiered at [...]
I’m looking forward to being in Dublin in May for the first time since the annual International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival started in 2004. There are some plays in the programme I have high hopes for.
Of particular interest to me will be Jack, The Lad, a rent boy’s journey of self-discovery, Dream Man which is [...]
Interesting
