Every September, as Trinity News begins scattering its first edition of the year around campus, the city’s artistic spaces ignite, breathing in a new air of creativity and dynamic voices in the form of Dublin Fringe festival. Running from the 7-22 September, the festival exalts over 500 performances, showcasing the explorative, electric and dynamic talent of over 450 artists in 28 venues throughout the city.
“a mix between gay Christmas and gay Hunger Games”
This year marks 30 years of Dublin Fringe, meaning that for the last three decades, the festival has been dedicated to bringing modern conversations and boundary pushing artistic expression to Dublin audiences, and this year is set to be no different. What resident artist Aoife Sweeney O’Connor described as “a mix between gay Christmas and gay Hunger Games”, is a space for the “weird, wacky and wonderful,” with this year’s line-up set to showcase just that.
“Dublin Fringe has always been about giving space and giving a platform to new and emerging talent,” David Francis Moore, the festival director, told me as we sat down to discuss this year’s Fringe lineup in anticipation of its launch. Founded in 1995, as a sidebar project to Dublin Theatre Festival, spearheaded by the theatre company Bedrock, Dublin Fringe has always been centred around showcasing new art and artists. The first edition of Fringe contained only 40 shows with a high concentration of exciting talent from companies such as Corn Exchange, Pan Pan and Loose Cannon. In its succeeding years, the festival has showcased remarkable acts such as This Lime Tree Bower by Connor McPherson and Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh starring Cillian Murphy, that have continued to prosper after appearing on the Dublin Fringe stage.
The festival has continued to support incredibly impactful performances with Moore noting a few of his favourites from over the years. “Thisispopbaby’s RIOT, for me, was a standout moment in time at the 2016 festival,” he explained. “In terms of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, when you were there, you understood that this was work of the moment.” Despite its prosperous years and continually growing artistic sphere, the festival’s ethos of supporting work that engages with modern conversations has remained the same. Works such as Ciara Elizabeth Smith’s Lie Low, Sam Yakura’s The Perfect Immigrant and Tom Moran’s Tom Moran is a Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar, are all personal favourites of the festival’s director, but are also testimonies to the importance of performances reflecting current conversations on the Fringe stage. Moore highlighted the importance of “Dublin Fringe’s commitment to new and contemporary work, to work that pushes form,” and noted it as one of the key components of Fringe that sets it apart in the ecology of Irish multidisciplinary festivals.
Moore revealed that there are a few key elements that he and his team looked for when choosing performances for each year’s lineup. “What we look for, in terms of the pitch, is artistic integrity and ambition,” he explained. “Along with contemporary work which is speaking to the now.” Moore and his team explore the relatability of the work and ensure that the piece is thinking about conversations that are happening in the present: “When we are presenting works that are engaging with the city in a new way, audiences are always really interested in coming on that journey with us.” Along with tapping into the Dublin zeitgeist, the festival also looks for artists who play with concepts of form. Works that exist within multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary spaces, and that engage with the idea of breaking form, often get highlighted by the Fringe team. It is also important to Moore and his team that the pitches that they greenlight for the festival are in touch with their own truth: “Sometimes we see really great ideas come in, but they feel like the truth of it hasn’t been unlocked yet, so we always look for the truth of the work.”
Fringe is a trusted space for artists, Moore explained. Fringe works with artists to try and bring their performances to the next level, whether it is within the festival itself or through Fringe Lab, which helps support artists year-round. Fringe Lab, operating primarily out of Temple Bar, offers several supports to emerging artists, such as studio spaces that artists can book into for little to no cost. They also offer bespoke workshops, writers’ rooms and events such as Fringe Fuse, which is a work in progress scratch night for artists to come and workshop new pieces. They also have programmes that support artists throughout the year such as their artist residency programme that provides three artists with office space in the city centre. Having the support year-round helps a lot of artists when it comes to the open call in January, as being able to work with the performers for a longer period of time can offer additional clarity to the artistic programming team about the artist’s vision and how best they can achieve it. However, none of this can be possible without the audiences who engage with Fringe performances and support the artists by attending their shows. Just as Fringe is a trusted space for artists, it is also a trusted space for audiences, with a large following of patrons who come back year after year to support new and upcoming artists. With between 75% and 90% of box office revenue being given directly to the artists, the continuous support from audiences is fundamental in the festival’s thriving success.
“This year’s lineup is especially in dialogue with current culture, with works such as Janet Moran’s Afterwards, and Krishna Istha’s First Trimester, speaking directly to modern Dublin”
With the wide array of shows and performances happening in Fringe this year, Moore’s advice is “to sit down with a cup of tea one evening and highlight whichever acts catch your attention.” Paired with dinner or drinks, a Fringe performance can be the perfect night out and a way of engaging with the city in a new and exciting way. This year’s lineup is especially in dialogue with current culture, with works such as Janet Moran’s Afterwards, and Krishna Istha’s First Trimester, speaking directly to modern Dublin. If you would like to go a step forward with your support, Fringe also hosts a volunteer programme without which the festival would not be possible. If you are interested in being at the fulcrum of such an incredible festival and getting to know the dynamic acts and team behind Dublin Fringe, volunteer applications are open until August 12. This year’s Fringe lineup is an exciting homage to all the core values of Fringe that have only strengthened in the last 30 years. As a writer, and this year’s Arts and Culture editor, Dublin Fringe always holds a special place in my heart. With the Fringe’s line up this year exploring the weird, wacky and wonderful, the festival is en route to be another roaring success. Whether it’s modern conversations, boundary pushing performances or getting out of the house for the night, Dublin Fringe has something in store for everyone.
