Outside the POD on Harcourt Street last night, there were fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and unicyclists. Inside, there were comedians, actors and directors galore. It was the presentation of the Dublin Fringe Festival and last night's chaos was only a taster of what is to come when the Fringe performances start on September 29th. This is the third year of the Fringe Festival, and with 105 shows in 23 venues during a three-week period, it is the largest yet. Ms Ali Curran, the new director of the Fringe, said the festival aimed to provide a wide platform for new work.
Home-grown productions include two new pieces from the Corn Exchange Company (award winners at last year's Fringe) entitled A Play on Two Chairs and Big Bad Woolf; a new play from Michelle Read, called Romantic Friction; and The Shopper and the Boy, an exploration of the North's marching tradition by Derry-based company, Sole Purpose Productions.
One of the festival's three launch productions is a one-off performance of CoisCeim Dance Theatre's highly acclaimed show Hit and Run.
Another is Shopping and F***ing, a controversial joint production between Out of Joint and the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play, which has been written by new playwright Mark Ravenhill, is coming to Dublin after two sell-out runs in London's West End. Another British production that may cause a stir is Gulp, a realistic story of sex and sexuality in modern-day Wales by the Made In Wales company. Internationally, the Black Box Theatre Co is coming from Prague with a theatrical adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis, while the Gare St Lazare Players from France will put on a production of Samuel Beckett's Molloy. Other theatre groups are travelling from Holland, Germany, the US and the UK.
The music programme is expanded in this year's Fringe, with singer Honor Heffernan and jazz guitarist Louis Stewart performing the third of the festival's launch shows. Other performers include cabaret singer Agnes Bernelle, and singers Mary Stokes, Leslie Dowdall, Jeanette Byrne and Hazel O'Connor. Comedy has also been expanded in this year's programme with appearances from The Nualas, back from a sell-out run in the Edinburgh Fringe; Owen O'Neill with his show Off My Face and Barry Murphy, who will appear with Kevin Gildea.