Audience attendance at the upcoming Dublin International Theatre Festival is expected to surpass the 50,000 mark reached last year. With the addition of two new venues, the total number of seats sold could be in excess of 68,000.
This year's programme, which was launched in Dublin yesterday, includes 21 national and international productions, with companies coming from Siberia, Russia, Belgium, the UK, Germany, the US, Hungary, Canada and France.
Irish companies, which will be presenting new work, include Druid, Corn Exchange, FarCry Productions and Rough Magic. The Abbey Theatre will present the Irish premiere of Tom Murphy's Alice Trilogy, while the Gate Theatre will present a new production of Festen based on the acclaimed Dogme film by Thomas Vinterberg.
In addition to the main stage productions, the festival will feature 18 ancillary events, such as workshops, discussions, exhibitions and forums.
Highlights in the programme include an international music tribute at the Point to the legendary poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen, involving artists such as Nick Cave, Lou Reed and Beth Orton.
There will be a focus on the new wave of German contemporary culture, with plays directed by two of Germany's most innovative directors, Michael Thalheimer, directing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Emilia Galotti and Thomas Ostermeier directing Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Ute Lemper, the celebrated recording artist and star of the West End's Chicago, is scheduled to open the festival on Thursday, September 28th.
A production of La Tempête, based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, from Quebec, Canada, will feature actors who interact seamlessly with state-of-the-art hologram technology under the direction of Michel Lemieux.
This is the festival's 49th year and the programme is set to act as a "bridge" to the major celebrations that are scheduled for next year, said Peter Crowley, chair of the festival board. "We are going to try and rally the whole artistic community behind it and really build it up," he said.
According to Crowley, "local and global feelers" have already been put out by the festival board sub-committee to find a replacement for Don Shipley, who steps down as the festival's artistic director this year.
For more information visit www.dublintheatrefestival.com