Two Irish-language productions to hit Dublin’s stages

The theatre company Guthanna Binne Síoraí announced today that their bilingual show Guthanna Síoraí/Everlasting Voices, will be staged this week in Dublin. The show takes its inspiration from the poetry of three Nobel prize-winning writers: Seamus Heaney, W.B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett. Music, song and dance are used to present their work in both Irish and English.

Guthanna Síoraí’s Artistic Director, Cathal Quinn, said that the piece takes the audience on a journey from the cradle to the grave through the writings of the three. Youth, love and old age are all themes that are teased out and poet Gabriel Rosenstock has translated some of the texts into Irish in order to give the work “a new dimension”.

The show will premiere tomorrow in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, and there will be two shows every day at 1.10pm and 4pm. The production will run until Saturday, 16th August. Info: www.facebook.com/GuthannaBinneSiorai.

Theatre company Fíbín also announced that they will be making their debut appearance this September in the Dublin Theatre Festival with a new play, Réiltín, by Paul Mercier. The work is a coming of age story about a 20 year old Irish woman suffering during the economic meltdown. Caught in dead-end circumstances, this was not how she had imagined her life; she wants to be a singer and decides to perform a gig in the hope that it will lead to new opportunities. Clíona Ní Chiosáin – she of Aifric fame – plays the role of Réiltín with original music by Simon Noble.

Fíbín Managing Director Darach Ó Tuairisg said: "It is a great honour to be part of such a prestigious festival and it shows that culturally important work like Fíbín's has a place on a world stage. Réiltín is one of our most ambitious works yet. We want audiences to feel immersed in this story, told through music, video and performance."

Tickets will be available from tomorrow (Tuesday 12 August): www.dublintheatrefestival.com or 01-677 88 99.