Theatre for One: This Ireland

Theatre for One: This Ireland

Past Performances

Cork Opera House Plaza [Emmet Place]
Cork Midsummer Festival
Cork

15 - 23 June, 2024 [excl. 17 June]
Free event. See performance times below.

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

Times: Weds 19 – Friday 21 June: 12-2pm | 3-5pm | 6-8pm
Sat 22 & Sun 23 June: 10am-12pm | 12.30-2.30pm | 3.30-5.30pm | 6-8pm
Duration: Each play runs for approximately 5 minutes.
Please Note: This is a completely free event. No tickets required – just join the queue. 

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

★★★★★ ‘exhilarating … it is a privilege to experience such breadth of acting and writing talent‘ – Irish Examiner ★★★★★ ‘Brilliant, totally immersive’ – The Irish Times ★★★★★ ‘An exhilarating sense of aliveness’ – The Guardian

Part confessional, part peep-show booth, and completely visceral, 12 short 5-minute plays will be performed by one actor for one audience member at a time in a purpose-built booth as part of Cork Midsummer Festival 2024. It’s completely free – no tickets required – just join the queue.

Returning following its triumphant Irish premiere at Cork Midsummer Festival 2019, Theatre for One: This Ireland features the six original writers (Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh), working with an electric line-up of new writers (Iseult Deane, Susannah Al Fraihat, Aoibhéann McCann, Joy Nesbitt, Ois O’Donoghue and Aoife Delany Reade), whose short plays were selected from a nationwide public call-out.

One booth, 12 voices and a uniquely intimate experience for every single audience member. 

Conceived and created by the Olivier and Tony Award-winning designer Christine Jones, and constructed by LOT-EK architects, each original 5-minute play is written specifically for this specially-designed, state-of-the-art theatre. 

Each of the six new writers, who were selected from the nationwide public call-out, were paired with one of the six leading playwrights and have received one-to-one mentorship as they worked on their plays.

Theatre for One: This Ireland  | 12 x 5-minute plays

Kate Gilmore in Queen of the Pyramids by Emmet Kirwan
Úna Kavanagh in Bait by Louise Lowe
Kathy Rose O’Brien in Brilliant by Stacey Gregg
Aisling O’Sullivan in The Spur by Mark O’Rowe
Anna Healy in Cygnum Canticum by Marina Carr
Peter Corboy in Cave by Enda Walsh
Grace Collender in Blue Heat by Iseult Deane (mentored by Marina Carr)
Liath Hannon in  Freeze by Ois O’Donoghue (mentored by Louise Lowe)
Aoibhéann McCann in Humanitarian by Aoibhéann McCann (mentored by Stacey Gregg)
Demi Isaac Oviawe in Dear Rosa by Joy Nesbitt (mentored by Enda Walsh)
Sarah Agha in Fruit for Thought by Susannah Al Fraihat (mentored by Emmet Kirwan)
Joan Sheehy in Moonrise by Aoife Delany Reade (mentored by Mark O’Rowe)


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

Cast 2024

Sarah AghaKathy Rose O’BrienGrace CollenderPeter CorboyKate GilmoreLiath HannonAnna HealyDemi Isaac OviaweÚna KavanaghAoibhéann McCannAisling O’SullivanJoan Sheehy

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

★★★★★ 'Brilliant, totally immersive ... The brilliance of these 12 five-minute plays lies in their containment'The Irish Times
'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
★★★★★ '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
Nominated Best EnsembleIrish Times Irish Theatre Awards 2019

PRODUCTION VIDEOS

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