Theatre for One: This Ireland

Theatre for One: This Ireland

Cork Opera House Plaza
Cork Midsummer Festival
Cork

15 - 23 June, 2024
Free admission. No booking required.

Past Performances

The Abbey Theatre
Dublin

18–23 December 2020

Cork Opera House Plaza
Cork Midsummer Festival
Cork

18–23 June 2019

European Premiere

Cork Midsummer Festival with the support of Cork Opera House | June 2019

Useful Information

Booking: This a free event. There are no tickets. Just join the queue any day from 15-23 June. Exact timings to be announced. 
Duration: Each play runs for approximately 5 minutes.

Theatre for One: This Ireland

by Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe, Enda Walsh + six emerging writers; Iseult Deane, Susannah Al Fraihat, Aoibhéann McCann, Joy Nesbitt, Ois O’Donoghue and Aoife Delany Reade Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals

The line-up of writers for Theatre for One: This Ireland at Cork Midsummer Festival in June has been announced. It will include six emerging writers – selected from a nationwide public call-out – who will write original 5-minute plays for a specially-designed, state-of-the-art theatre booth for one actor and one audience member at a time. Over 500 people submitted ideas through the public call-out, and the submissions were read anonymously at every stage in the process. 

Theatre for One is part peep-show booth, part confessional, and completely visceral. And it’s free.

A total of 12 plays will be presented; six from the emerging writers and six from the original Theatre for One writers. 

The six emerging writers are: Iseult Deane, Susannah Al Fraihat, Aoibhéann McCann, Joy Nesbitt, Ois O’Donoghue and Aoife Delany Reade. Collectively they bring together a mix of diverse voices, reflecting the vibrant community of artists currently working in Ireland. They will be paired with the original writers, whose Theatre for One plays were performed at Cork Midsummer Festival in 2019: Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh. 

Each of the writers will be paired with one of the six leading playwrights and will receive one-to-one mentorship as they work on their plays. The pairings are as follows.

Marina Carr will mentor Iseult Deane
Stacey Gregg will mentor Aoibhéann McCann
Emmet Kirwan will mentor Susannah Al Fraihat
Louise Lowe will mentor Ois O’Donoghue
Mark O’Rowe will mentor Aoife Delany Reade
Enda Walsh will mentor Joy Nesbitt

Theatre for One was conceived and created by the Olivier award-winning designer Christine Jones and designed by LOT-EK architects. When it premiered at Cork Midsummer Festival in 2019, six of Ireland’s leading playwrights – Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh presented original 5-minute plays to 5-star reviews across the board. In June 2024, six emerging playwrights, chosen through a public call-out (the successful applicants will be  announced in Jan 2024), will join them to showcase a combined total of 12 plays – six from the original writers and six from the call-out.

The six plays presented in 2019 were: Cygnum Canticum by Marina Carr; Brilliant by Stacey Gregg; Queen of the Pyramids by Emmet Kirwan; Bait by Louise Lowe; The Spur by Mark O’Rowe and Cave by Enda Walsh.

In December 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Irish Government approved a limited run of Theatre for One, together with Theatre for One (and a Little One) at the Abbey Theatre from 18-23 December, 2020. Presented by the Abbey Theatre and Dublin Theatre Festival, it was supported by Accenture and Dublin City Council. 

Cast 2019

Frank BlakeDerbhle CrottyKate GilmoreSeán McGinleyKathy Rose O’BrienEileen Walsh

Cast 2020

Peter CampionDerbhle CrottyKate GilmoreÚna KavanaghSeán McGinleyKathy Rose O’Brien

Writers 2019 & 2020

Written by Marina CarrStacey GreggEmmet KirwanLouise LoweMark O’RoweEnda Walsh

Directors 2019 & 2020

Directed by Eoghan CarrickSrđa Vasiljević

Writers 2024

Written by Marina CarrIseult DeaneSusannah Al FraihatStacey GreggEmmet KirwanLouise LoweAoibhéann McCannJoy NesbittOis O’DonoghueMark O’RoweAoife Delany ReadeEnda Walsh

Directors 2024

Directed by Eoghan CarrickGrace MorganSrđa Vasiljević

PRODUCTION IMAGERY

Theatre for One at Cork Midsummer Festival | 2019

REVIEWS

★★★★★ 'bracing, thought-provoking and intimate-as-a-whisper'The Irish Times
★★★★★ 'performances of riveting openness … the six pieces become an urgent antidote to watching the world through the mediation of a small screen. Cumulatively, they create an exhilarating sense of aliveness.'The Guardian
'If live theatre is an intimate artform, this is like theatre distilled to its purest, most intense version and injected directly into the vein.'The Irish Times
Nominated Best EnsembleIrish Times Irish Theatre Awards 2019

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