Dirty Protest & Fishamble invite you to the sharing of 3 new short plays written collaboratively between Welsh & Irish writers!

On the Horizon: Welsh - Irish Connections
Ar y Gorwel: Cysylltiadau Cymreig – Gwyddelig
Ag Bun na Spéire: Ceangail idir an Bhreatain Bhig agus Éire

Thurs 17 June, 2021
10-11am: Creative Opportunities session / Sesiwn Cyfleoedd Creadigol
11-11:15am Break /Egwyl
11:15am-12:30pm Play sharings/Rhannu’r dramâu
12:30-1pm Lunch/Cinio
1-2:30pm The afternoon will finish with a 90 minute discussion about current and future opportunities for Welsh-Irish connections through art. Speakers to be announced.

Dirty Protest is Wales' award-winning theatre company leading the development, promotion and production of new writing for performance. 

Fishamble is an Olivier Award-winning Irish theatre company that discovers, develops and produces new plays of national importance with a global reach, while championing the role of the playwright. 

For this online event, we have joined forces to pair up Welsh and Irish writers to collaborate on three new short plays!

You are invited to listen to the very first public sharing of these plays, read by Welsh and Irish actors, and to hear more about the collaborations in a post-reading Q+A with the writers.

The pairs of writers are:
Connor Allen & Ciara Elizabeth Smyth
Samantha O'Rourke & Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney
Hefin Robinson & Shannon Yee
​
As part of the event, we will also hear about the international opportunities available for Welsh and Irish artists in 2021 and beyond. We will also hold an open discussion about the philosophical, political and cultural links between Wales and Ireland that might support and underpin future collaboration.

The event will be live captioned and BSL interpreted. There will be a Welsh translator in the room and we actively encourage contributions in Welsh. Please let us know, either by emailing [email protected] or when prompted at the booking stage on Eventbrite, if you have any additional access needs.

Closing Date: 5pm on Tuesday, 6th April 2021

Job Ref: Fishamble
Type: Full-time
Location: This role is based in Dublin. You will be working remotely during Covid and flexible working from home arrangements will be considered post-Covid.
Salary: €28,000 - €30,000

Full Description
CONTRACT: Full time position (Would consider applicants seeking a four day week) Initial 2-year contract as part of the RAISE programme, supported by the Arts Council.
SALARY: €28,000 to €30,000 (pro rata if working a four day week)

BACKGROUND:
Fishamble is an Irish theatre company that is passionate about discovering, developing, and producing new plays. Formed in 1988 and named after the Playhouse on Dublin’s Fishamble Street which, in the 1780s, Fishamble became the first theatre to commission and produce plays by Irish writers. Fishamble harness the imaginative power of theatre to provide audiences with a diverse range of contemporary, compelling, and heartfelt dramatic works.

Fishamble thinks nationally and reaches globally. It works collaboratively with networks of artists, communities, and organisations, to achieve the maximum possible life for its plays. For instance, over 30 Fishamble play scripts have been published. Fishamble has toured its productions to audiences throughout Ireland, and to 19 other countries. It typically produces over 200 performances annually.

Our vision is a world where vibrant new theatre stands at the centre of a vibrant civic society.

THE ROLE:
As a RAISE Accelerate participant in the RAISE Programme, an Arts Council initiative designed to build arts organisations’ capacity to generate significant new private investment, Fishamble is now seeking a part-time Development and Marketing Officer.

The Development and Marketing Officer will report to the Marketing and Development Manager and will focus on stewarding all existing partners; researching new opportunities; and providing exceptional administrative support to propel Fishamble’s ambitious fundraising plans. The successful candidate will also assist with the management of digital and institutional marketing campaigns, exploring new approaches to audience development and identifying opportunities to grow support online through the management of specific digital fundraising campaigns.

To succeed in this role, you will be a passionate, self-motivated, creative and systems focused thinker with strong communication and relationship management skills. You will be comfortable researching new opportunities, drafting grant applications, and communicating with a variety of stakeholders. The successful candidate will maintain and build upon donor engagement through effective communication and will provide creative support for the delivery of digital fundraising campaigns.

If you are a creative, systems focused, team player with excellent organisational skills, a flair for both written and verbal communication, and passion for theatre and the work of Fishamble, we would love to hear from you!

HOW TO APPLY:
Please email [email protected] for the full job description, candidate information pack, and application details for this role. Please use the job title and name of the organisation you’re interested in as the subject of your email.

The recruitment campaign for the role of Development and Marketing Officer is being managed exclusively on behalf of Fishamble by non-profit specialist recruitment consultancy CCI Executive Search.

​ Closing Date: 5pm on Tuesday, 6th April 2021

Fishamble presents 
Online presentation of 

Inside The GPO 
to mark the 105th anniversary of the Rising 
 
 From 1-5 April 
 
Cast includes: Karen Ardiff, Orla Fitzgerald, Liz FitzGibbon, 
Gavin Fullam, Manus Halligan, Aidan Kelly, 
Ronan Leahy, Michael Glenn Murphy, Don Wycherley, 
Louis Deslis, Martha Dunlea, Carolyn Donnelly, Tom Duffy, 
Desmond Eastwood, Ali Hardiman, Daniel McDermott, 
Meg O’Brien and Gavan O’Connor Duffy.
 
Olivier award winning Fishamble: The New Play Company, renowned for bringing new Irish work to stages in Ireland and abroad, are giving audiences another chance to see Inside The GPO, this Easter. 

From 1-5 April audiences can look forward to an online presentation of Fishamble's hugely popular 2016 site-specific production Inside the GPO by Colin Murphy from 1 – 5 April 2021, to mark the 105th anniversary of the Rising.  
 
This unprecedented documentary drama, directed by Jim Culleton, gave audiences the opportunity to experience the Easter Rising, performed in the main hall of the GPO itself. Audiences witnessed the rebel leadership navigate the perils of the Rising across the five days during which they occupied the GPO. 

Over Easter Weekend audiences can experience this remarkable piece of theatre at home.  Tickets cost just €5 and €10, and last for the full 5-day run – they can be bought via www.fishamble.com/itgpo.

This footage has been upgraded and remastered with support from Culture Ireland, and in partnership with a network of theatre organisations, Irish Heritage & Cultural centres, and Irish Studies courses internationally, including the New York Irish Center, Solas Nua, Corrib Theatre, AEDEI and IASIL. 

About Inside The GPO: 
 
'Wonderful production' President Michael D Higgins
 
'Vigorous... affecting... persuasive drama' The Stage

'Superb play... direction is breathtaking... utterly memorable...not to be missed' Sunday Independent
 
'Vigorous production'  ★★★★ The Irish Times
 
The creative team included: Writer Colin Murphy, Director Jim Culleton, Dramaturg Gavin Kostick, Scenic & Costume Design Niamh Lunny, Lighting Design Mark Galione, Sound Design Carl Kennedy and Movement Director Bryan Burroughs.
 
On Monday, they seized and secured the building, repelling the first attacks.
On Tuesday, they attempted to deal with looting on O'Connell St.
On Wednesday, the shelling started.
On Thursday, the building caught fire.
On Friday, they were forced to evacuate.

Inside the GPO was presented in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, Dublin City Council, Ireland 2016, An Post, DublinTown, & Arnotts. This footage of the play was filmed by White Thorn Films.

Today Artistic Director of Fishamble, the New Play Company, Jim Culleton announced details of plans for this year. In 2021, Fishamble is proud to continue investing in the careers of artists, productions, new writing initiatives, and training and development programmes, ensuring that the future of Irish theatre is nurtured and supported. Fishamble will produce two new plays this year, and tour a number of existing productions in person, live and online.

In 2020 Fishamble presented over 120 presentations of 9 productions, provided employment for over 260 artists and arts workers, and shared new Irish theatre with over 20,500 audience members in Ireland and around the world, against all the odds.

Next month, audiences can look forward to an online presentation of its 2016 site-specific Inside the GPO by Colin Murphy from 1 – 5 April 2021, to mark the 105th anniversary of the Rising.  This footage has been upgraded and remastered with support from Culture Ireland, and in partnership with a network of theatre organisations, Irish Heritage & Cultural centres, and Irish Studies courses internationally, including the New York Irish Center, Solas Nua, Corrib Theatre, AEDEI and IASIL. 

In April, Fishamble will also be publishing and producing a selection of Tiny Plays from its Tiny Plays for a Brighter Future callout with ESB, where Fishamble received over 300 Tiny Plays about the future of clean energy in Ireland.

In late Spring/Summer, Fishamble will present an online tour of the award-winning Mustard by Eva O’Connor, and later in the year a special online presentation of Silent by Pat Kinevane, and On Blueberry Hill by Sebastian Barry. When live performance is possible, Fishamble looks forward to touring its productions of four solo plays by Pat Kinevane once again.

In the Autumn, Fishamble will present Duck Duck Goose by Caitríona Daly, which was developed through Fishamble’s A Play For Ireland programme. It is a searing exploration of sexual consent, loyalty, and our legal system.

At the end of the year, Fishamble will stage The Treaty by Colin Murphy, commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the signing of the Treaty in 1921, which will take place in the Kevin Barry Room of the National Concert hall, where the Dáil debates happened 100 years ago.
Fishamble will continue to support artists across the theatre sector with existing programmes such as DUETS, in partnership with ITI and Dublin Fringe Festival, and the New Play Clinic. After the success of its Dramaturgy Development Programme in 2020, it will run this programme once again. Fishamble is also facilitating its pilot Writing for Performance Workshop with Felispeaks, that aims to support underrepresented voices in Irish theatre, with audience development and facilitation by playwright, poet and performer Felicia Olusanya. We are also happy to announce that Francesca La Morgia, director of Mother Tongues Festival, will be working with Fishamble on the development of a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy.

Even though Fishamble cannot physically tour abroad in 2021, it is delighted to work with Culture Ireland and its international partners to connect with audiences around the world.  These partners include Audible, Irish Arts Center in New York, Origin’s 1st Irish Festival in New York, Solas Nua in Washington DC, 59E59 Theaters in New York, Corrib Theatre in Portland, New York Irish Center, Odyssey Theater in LA, Arts Projects Australia, Dirty Protest in Wales, Traverse Theatre and Dance Base in Edinburgh, and Soho Theatre and Trafalgar Theatre Productions in London.

www.fishamble.com
@Fishamble
#Fishamble2021
 
Press information: Sinead O’Doherty, O’Doherty Communications. +353 86 259 1070 [email protected]

Fishamble recently shared information online about a number of playwright and artist initiatives we have coming up. We are delighted that one of them is our Writing for Performance Workshop with FeliSpeaks, specifically for Black writers, writers of colour, migrant artists, and writers from ethnic minorities. Fishamble is delighted that poet, performer, and playwright Felicia Olusanya has agreed to work with us on this, and hope it will help to develop work for theatre, from artists currently underrepresented within the artform. This programme responds to the objectives of the Arts Council’s Equality, Human Rights & Diversity Policy & Strategy, in particular in relation to taking proactive action to address inequalities within the arts.
 
There have been a number of very upsetting and racist comments on social media, in response to this workshop. We would like to take this opportunity to state that Fishamble opposes racism in all its forms; we do not stand for, and will not tolerate, racism and discrimination. Guided by the Arts Council’s Community Engagement Guidelines, we would like to remind everyone engaging with us on our social media channels we will not permit any comments that are hateful, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, sexist, or deemed prejudicial towards any community. Comments of this nature will be deleted or removed and users may be blocked and/or reported. We reserve the right to hide, block, and/or remove any and all posts, as well as limit access to our channels for users who do not adhere to this. 
 
Fishamble has run a wide range of development programmes, community engagement initiatives, and artistic performances, for and with underrepresented, marginalised, and/or under-resourced groups. Recent and current examples include working with: artists over 55 as part of the Irish Theatre Institute’s Prime; Transition Year students from Dublin’s North East Inner City, as part of the Trinity Access Programme with the Goethe Institute; Arts and Disability Ireland for writers with disability; Dublin Fringe on the Big Ambitions programme for younger artists; prisoners in the Mountjoy Prison School; the Croke Park Community residents; Travellers as part of the Traveller Ethnicity Celebration; and students at Larkin Community College. In particular, Fishamble has worked across Ireland in a number of geographic communities delivering year-long Mentorship programmes for artists, in partnership with local arts centres.
 
Our Writing for Performance Workshop with FeliSpeaks is in line with the company’s track record of working with artists and communities who are underrepresented, and striving to create a more diverse range of voices in Irish theatre. This workshop is in addition to a range of other Fishamble workshops and development initiatives.
 
We would like to thank our community and friends, funders and partners, for their support of this initiative. Further information on this workshop, as well as other writing opportunities open for applications and submissions, can be viewed at www.fishamble.com.

ESB and Fishamble: The New Play Company launch Tiny Play Challenge: Submissions now open for 600-word plays on Ireland’s brighter energy future.
 
ESB, Ireland’s leading energy company, and Fishamble: The New Play Company have today launched the Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future challenge, calling on the Irish public to submit 600-word plays on the theme of a brighter energy future.
 
Submissions are now open until 1st March for aspiring playwrights and anyone with an interest in writing for theatre, to develop a tiny play of 600 words on what a brighter energy future means to you. Shortlisted entries will be paid a fee to have their plays published online, and three chosen writers will be paid a commissioning fee to have their play brought to life by Fishamble, who will produce, stage and film multimedia pieces.
 
Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: “This unique partnership with Fishamble recognises the important role that theatre and the arts can play in communicating the opportunities and complexities of Ireland’s transition to a low carbon energy future.  Clean electricity will not only be a transformative force in the fight against climate change but will also bring wider benefits for people in terms of health and wellbeing. We are looking forward to seeing how this can be brought to life through submissions from across Ireland”
 
 
Jim Culleton, Artistic Director of Fishamble, said: “Fishamble is delighted to partner with ESB, a company with a long term connection to the arts, to help discover and produce tiny plays about a Brighter Future. We look forward to seeing how artists respond to this latest callout in Fishamble’s Tiny Plays strand of work, to create mini pieces of theatre about one of the most important issues in the world today.”
 
‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ is an opportunity to give creative expression to all points of view in the transition to a low carbon energy future: to look at the choices we all must make to meet our future climate goals, examine how those choices will impact communities across Ireland, and imagine what we want the Ireland of our future to be, through 600-word Tiny Plays. 
 
This is the latest Tiny Play challenge from Fishamble. During the first lockdown, from March to May 2020, Fishamble set an initial challenge to keep everyone’s creativity flowing by challenging people in Ireland and around the world, to write 600-word Tiny Plays, with the themes of community, nature, trade, essential,  and change. There were over 470 submissions, with the shortlisted plays published on the website, and 10 plays produced and streamed online as Tiny Plays 24/7.
 
‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ is part of ESB’s wider Brighter Future Strategy which puts sustainability at the heart of its strategic objectives and its purpose as an organisation.

About Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future
This partnership between ESB and Fishamble provides a unique platform for everyone to creatively imagine what we want for Ireland’s energy future.
To learn more about the challenge visit www.esb.ie/tinyplays

The Traverse Theatre announces a limited run of award winning show Mustard by Eva O’Connor, a Fishamble: The New Play Company production, online from 1st -14th December, in association with Sunday’s Child Theatre.

A one-woman show about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism, by award-winning playwright and performer Eva O’Connor.
​
When E meets the man of her dreams, a professional cyclist, love hits her in the pubic bone like a train. But when it ends she plummets into a black hole of heartbreak at the speed of a doped up team on the Tour de France.

'‘I am so thrilled that MUSTARD is part of the Traverse 3 programme. In such a tumultous year it's a real privilege to be part of such a great programme of work. To end 2020 knowing that MUSTARD is reaching such a wide online audience is a brilliant feeling.’
Writer and performer Eva O’ Connor

‘Fishamble: The New Play Company and Eva O’Connor have both had long-term connections with the Traverse, and are delighted to share MUSTARD in December, while live performances are not possible.  The Traverse Theatre is a leading light in producing and showcasing new plays, and this new online initiative is typically innovative. Fishamble is delighted to be part of it.’
Fishamble Artistic Director Jim Culleton
 
Mustard is written and performed by Eva O’Connor and directed by Hildegard Ryan with lighting design by Marianne Nightingale and relighter Suzie Cummins.

WINNER Scotsman Fringe First Award 2019

‘What a privilege to see this …if you want to see a bit of real theatre, go see Mustard.’
★★★★ Scotsman

 ‘Eva O’Connor has a fierce presence, as hot, fiery and burning as the mustard of her play’
★★★★★ Ed Fest Mag

‘Part Fleabag, part Marina Abramovich, it straddles the line between theatre and performance art.’
★★★★ Irish Times
​
This performance was filmed by Dublin Fringe Festival.
This recording is supported by Dublin Fringe Festival and Culture Ireland.
This production premiered at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019​.
Fishamble is funded by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, with international touring supported by Culture Ireland.

​Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan returns online as part of The Pumphouse Presents by Dublin Port in December.

Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan returns online as part of The Pumphouse Presents, a Winter Festival of plays commissioned by Dublin Port Company. The Festival features work from axis Ballymun, ANU productions and Fishamble: The New Play Company, and will run from 11-23 December

Five plays were filmed in the beautiful Pumphouse Building in Dublin Port during the Summer of 2020 they will now be premiered online over five Friday Nights culminating in a week-long festival of theatre in December 2020.

These shows will be available free of charge as a gift from Dublin Port in these strange times. Donations will be accepted towards a new artist development fund to be managed by axis Ballymun.

Full programme

• 8pm Friday 20 Nov Charlie’s a Clepto by Clare Monnelly presented by axis Ballymun
• 8pm Friday 27 Nov Leper + Chip by Lee Coffey presented by axis Ballymun
• 8pm Friday 4 Dec Slice, The Thief by Lee Coffey presented by axis Ballymun
• 8pm Friday 11 Dec Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan presented by Fishamble: The New Play Company
• 8pm Friday 18 Dec Canaries created by ANU productions

And from 19 - 23 December all plays will be available to view as part of an online Festival.

'a fantastic performance in new circumstances'
President Michael D Higgins
 
'A brave, strongly acted production from the ever-reliable Fishamble'
★★★★ Irish Times

Embargo has been commissioned by Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Port Company and premiered as a live stream during Dublin Theatre Festival.

Irish Fiction Laureate and award-winning writer, Sebastian Barry’s critically acclaimed play On Blueberry Hill to audiences around the world as it debuts on Audible on 19th November.
 
Fishamble's On Blueberry Hill is Sebastian Barry’s first new play in ten years, and previously ran in Dublin and New York before making its London premiere at Trafalgar Studios in March. Reprising their roles for the Audible production are Irish Times Theatre Award and Olivier Award winner Niall Buggy (Uncle Vanya, Penelope) and West End and Broadway star David Ganly (Body of Lies, Sunset Song).
 
Originally produced by the Olivier award-winning theatre company, Fishamble: The New Play Company, directed by Jim Culleton with music by Denis Clohessy, On Blueberry Hill is a powerful exploration of freedom, friendship, and forgiveness. It features best of friends and worst of enemies Christy and PJ, who are destined to share their lives for twenty years. As the two men reflect on the hope and torment of life outside – they slowly uncover the events that have led them to their world with explosive, bittersweet consequences.
 
Born in Dublin in 1955, Sebastian Barry’s novels and plays have won, among other awards, the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, the Costa Book of the Year award, the Irish Book Awards Best Novel, the Independent Booksellers Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He also had two consecutive novels, A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008), shortlisted for the MAN Booker Prize. He lives in Wicklow with his wife and three children.
 
On Blueberry Hill is now available to pre-order on Audible here priced at £5.19 or 1 credit for Audible members.
 
On Blueberry Hill joins a wealth of Audible productions performed by world-class talent, including: The Year of Magical Thinking performed by Emmy award winner Vanessa Redgrave, Until The Flood, written and performed by Pulitzer Prize nominee Dael Orlandersmith; True West performed by Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn; Girls and Boys performed by Carey Mulligan; Radio performed by Adam Gillen; Iphigenia In Splott performed by Sophie Melville; Sakina’s Restaurant written and performed by Aasif Mandvi; and Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup and David Cale.  

In light of the Government announcement to move to Level 3 in Dublin for the next 3 weeks, as of midnight tonight, Fishamble would like the clarify the following:

Fishamble’s productions will reach audiences in one way or another. When physical attendance is not possible, Fishamble will endeavour to share its works digitally, and/or programme the performance for a later date.

All arts workers currently contracted by Fishamble will still be paid for any cancelled works. Fishamble, with Arts Council support, is committed to ensuring that freelance artists are financially and artistically supported.

Fishamble performances taking place today, on Fri 18 Sept, will go ahead as planned. This includes MUSTARD at the Abbey Theatre, and BEFORE at the Pavilion Theatre. Shows scheduled for Saturday and Sunday have been cancelled. We will confirm details about our upcoming productions early next week. In terms of ticket refunds, please directly contact the venues or festivals where you booked. 

We would like to thank everyone who continues to work hard to create unique, special, brilliant live theatre in as safe an environment as possible. Thank you to all our artists, creative teams, technicians, audiences, Friends, supporters, funders, and partners, for making all our work possible, even in the most challenging of circumstances. And a special thank you to those who are speaking on behalf of our sector to ensure that the arts have a bright and sustainable future.

​#SavetheArts