by Saoirse Anton
I’ve spent my lunchbreaks this week sitting in the sunshine, announced that there’s “a grand stretch” in the evening at least three times, have been sighing contentedly at how quickly laundry is drying on the line, listening to the cacophony of lambs in the field next door, and have reintroduced Calippos as a core part of my diet. Spring has undoubtedly sprung.
Despite the grand stretch, it’s still getting dark just early enough to tempt you in to the theatre as the evening sunshine wanes, and you’ll want something to do if those April showers make an appearance! Luckily for you, I’ve spent some of my sunny afternoon combing through theatre programmes around the country and have whittled your many options down to a few recommendations.
Read on for a taste of what is springing up on our stages this month!
The Sailor’s Dream
Ever since I was a little girl reading about explorers like Tom Crean, visiting the Discovery ship in Dundee, and poring over wildlife encyclopaedias, I’ve been fascinated by polar exploration, so it is no surprise that this particular production caught my eye! Telling the story of Lady Jane Franklin’s quest to unearth the mystery of her husband and his entire crew’s disappearance on an expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, this play by Jack Harte combines storytelling and song in what is sure to be an enthralling evening’s theatre.
The Sailor’s Dream runs at The New Theatre, Temple Bar from the 8th to the 12th of April.
The Faces of Dublin
From James Joyce to Pat Ingoldsby and beyond, Dublin has been the inspiration for many a pen. In this Dublin UNESCO City of Literature event writers, Estelle Birdy, Stephen James Smith, Réré Ukponu and Kevin Curran will discuss the many faces of the city in a panel discussion chaired by fellow writer Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan. Touching on many of the subjects that weave the fabric of Dublin’s life today, from homelessness to racism and class to community, this promises to be a thought-provoking discussion with a host of excellent writers.
The Faces of Dublin takes place at The New Theatre on the 17th April, and is a Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Dublin City Libraries co-production.
Cúirt International Festival of Literature
If I was to list all of the events at Cúirt that I recommend checking out, I would be here all day and you would drop out half way through the paragraph and go read something else. Needless to say, if I could take the week off and find a magic-porridge-pot style wallet, I would be going to pretty much every event in the programme. Some particular picks that caught my eye include The Telephone Exchange, Kayo Chingonyi’s workshop You Are Here: Writing and Walking, and Samuel Beckett’s Legacies.
Cúirt International Festival of Literature runs from the 8th to the 13th of April in venues across Galway city.
Making History
Brian Friel is one of my favourite playwrights, so it is unsurprising that anything from his pen immediately finds its way on to my recommendations list. I am hoping to catch this production of Making History at some point as it is a Brian Friel play I have neither read nor seen!
First performed by Field Day in 1988, the play follows Gaelic leader Hugh O’Neill in the events before and after the Battle of Kinsale and examines who gets to decide how history is recorded, told and retold. This production is directed by Des Kennedy, and forms part of his inaugural season as Artistic Director of the Everyman Theatre.
Making History runs at The Everyman Theatre, Cork from the 11th to the 26th of April.
Our New Girl
Heading to the opposite end of the country from the Everyman for our next recommendation, with Our New Girl at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. Tapping in to the appetite for thrilling, psychological drama so evident in current streaming, publishing and broadcast fare, this new play from Nancy Harris, writer of The Dry, promises to have its audiences on the edges of their seats.
Our New Girl runs at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast from the 8th of April to the 4th of May.
The Loved Ones
Following its successful premiere at the Gate Theatre as part of the 2023 Dublin Theatre Festival, Eric Murray’s The Loved Ones is returning to the stage. Described as “a wickedly funny new Irish play about motherhood, grief, and the families we find when life doesn’t go to plan,” this production from Rough Magic and The Gate Theatre is touring across the country in April and May, supported by the NASC Touring Network. I have yet to see a Rough Magic production I haven’t enjoyed, so I will definitely be catching this as it travels around the country!
The Loved Ones is on tour nationwide from the 17th of April to the 18th of May.
Whatever takes your fancy, spring into Spring on stage at your local venue!
