Fishamble's 30th Year productions, and beyond!

 Here at Fishamble we've have had a busy 2018 marking our 30th year.
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WORLD PREMIERES OF NEW IRISH WRITING
At the cutting edge of supporting, commissioning and presenting new writing in Ireland this jam packed year saw Fishamble present a number of world premieres:

• two works by Colin Murphy - Haughey / Gregory which followed the deal made between Tony Gregory and Charles Haughey in 1982 and was staged in the Peacock, Dáil Éireann, and Mountjoy Prison, and GPO 1818, a short site-specific play in the GPO to mark the 200th anniversary of the building.
• the powerful and questioning new drama by Deirdre Kinahan Rathmines Road a play that asked: when and how do we take responsibility? Co presented with the Abbey as part of DTF.
• the much anticipated new piece by Pat Kinevane Before, which is currently on tour presented in association with the Strollers network.
• in association with Soho Theatre, Drip Feed by Stewart Parker Trust Award winner Karen Cogan, a fast, infectiously dark comedy about the messiness of being youngish, female and queer in Ireland.

 
SEARCH FOR A PLAY FOR IRELAND
As part of this their 30th year, Fishamble: The New Play Company also set out to find one, big, ambitious play, that bursts with humanity and tackles a subject about which the playwright feels passionate - A PLAY FOR IRELAND.  Fishamble is halfway through their two-year process, which encouraged the citizens of Ireland, and non-Irish citizens living on the island of Ireland, to write plays, engaging people aged 18+, from all communities, throughout the country. The initiative is underway with 30 new plays being developed. The result will be the production of a very special new play.  A Play for Ireland is run in partnership with six venues across the country, in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast: Belltable / Lime Tree Theatre, Draíocht, The Everyman, Lyric Theatre, Pavilion Theatre, Town Hall Theatre. 

TOURS
As well as that, Fishamble also toured:

• Maz and Bricks by Eva O’Connor, which tells the story of two people who meet over the course of a day, Maz who is attending a ‘Repeal the 8th’ demonstration, and Bricks is going to meet the mother of his young daughter. Staged in advance of the landmark Repeal the 8th referendum, this production continued Fishamble’s work of exploring some of the key topics in modern Ireland today.
• and The Humours of Bandon by Margaret MacAuliffe a coming of age story, full of heart, humour and wisdom, for anyone who had a childhood passion that threatened to overwhelm their life which was initially developed as part of Show in a Bag.​
• Fishamble’s Pat Kinevane Trilogy, which continued to tour in Ireland, and abroad, throughout 2018.

 
PLANS FOR 2019
Some of our plans for 2019 which will include:

• Further tour dates for Before by Pat Kinevane. This critically-acclaimed new piece will include dates across Ireland throughout 2019.
• Audiences will also have a chance to see the trilogy of Silent, Forgotten and Underneath, by Pat Kinevane in Waterford in April and it will also play Dundee in Scotland in June. Pat will also perform Silent in Washington, D.C. in March.
• The US premiere of current Laureate of Irish Fiction Sebastian Barry’s On Blueberry Hill, will play dates in New York and then return to Ireland for a national tour in Ireland in 2019. Fishamble are delighted  bring together Niall Buggy and David Ganly once again in this production. In Sebastian Barry’s unique style, On Blueberry Hill features best of friends and worst of enemies Christy and PJ, played by Niall Buggy and David Ganly. This new play is bursting with humanity, as it explores murder, forgiveness, survival and, ultimately, love in the prison of the human heart.
• In April/May audiences can once again explore the deal made between Tony Gregory and Charles Haughey in 1982 in Haughey|Gregory by Colin Murphy. When Gregory took a surprise Dáil seat - and suddenly found himself holding the balance of power. Can Gregory use his vote to achieve something for his constituents?  To do so, he will have to face off against the dominant personality of Irish politics - Charles J Haughey. This production sold out almost instantly when it ran at the Peacock earlier this year and will in 2019 tour to 9 venues across Ireland. 
• As part of their continued international touring, and the promotion of new Irish writing abroad Fishamble will present The Humours of Bandon by Margaret MacAuliffe at the Irish Arts Center in New York next April, followed by a multi-venue Australian tour in May.

 
Further productions and tours will be announced in due course.  This includes the announcement of Fishamble’s A Play for Ireland which will be chosen in April, and produced in 6 venues across the island Ireland in the autumn 2019.

2019 Calendar