The Miami Showband Story – Sep 17 – 21
The Miami Showband Story is a new stage musical about the iconic act once hailed as ‘the Irish Beatles’. The group’s hay day was in the 60’s and 70’s where they entertained both Catholics and Protestants throughout all of Ireland. However, in 1975 tragedy befell The Miami Showband as they were attacked by loyalist paramilitaries travelling home from a concert. Three members of the group were murdered.
The musical will deal with the killings of 1975. However, surviving band mate and sax player Des Lee told Travel Ireland the show will put a greater emphasis on the joy the Miami Showband brought to audiences of the time. “We didn’t want the play to be leaning heavily on the massacre,” says Lee. “Instead, we wanted it to explore what the Miami Showband was all about – how successful they were and what they meant to their fans. They were heroes of the time. This is a show that will bring smiles, laughter, tears and joy. It’s got everything. I can envisage people hearing ‘Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet’ and dancing in the isles.” Tickets cost from €20.
Asking for It – Oct 9 – 26
A stage adaptation of Louise O’Neill’s devastating novel of the same name, Asking for It shines an unflinching light on the experience of a young woman whose life is changed forever by a horrific act of violence. One night in a small town in Co. Cork, where everyone knows everyone, things spiral terrifyingly out of control. What will happen now? – to Emma? To her family? To the others?
Audience response to Asking for It has been overwhelming. The initial run in Cork broke every box office record at the Everyman. Meanwhile, the following run at the Abbey Theatre also sold out well in advance of the production even opening. Those who missed Asking for It previously will have another chance to experience this timely production when it returns to the Gaiety Theatre next month. Tickets cost from €16.
The Exorcist – Oct 29 – Nov 2
The best-selling novel, the Oscar-winning film, and now the spine-tingling live production – the new stage adaptation of The Exorcist will travel from the West End to Dublin for the week of Halloween.
Inspired by true events, the story centres on young girl Regan and her increasingly strange sickness. When the medical profession fails to provide answers, her desperate mother Chris turns to a local priest for help. But before Father Damien can tackle what’s before him, he must overcome his own shaken beliefs, as this fight is for more than just one girl’s soul. This new stage adaptation features the voice of Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men) as the Demon. Tickets cost from €21.
The Matchmaker – Nov 4 – 9
John B. Keane’s The Matchmaker is returning to the Gaiety stage for the last time. Based on the legendary Irish writer’s novella Letters of a Country Matchmaker, the play follows the efforts of Dicky Mick Dicky O’Connor to make matches for the lonely and lovelorn.
Keane (who died in 2002) was acclaimed for his well-observed depictions of Irish life. The Matchmaker serves as an exploration of rural loneliness, focusing on the generations of people who only began to look for companionship and love late in life, once their duties as minder of aging parents were concluded. Comedian Jon Kenny (d’Unbelievables, Father Ted) stars in the production, alongside actress Mary McEvoy (long running RTE series Glenroe). Tickets cost from €20.
Aladdin – Gaiety Theatre Panto – Nov 24 – Jan 5
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit to the Gaiety Panto. The Gaiety Theatre has hosted the annual Christmas Panto each year since 1873. Today, families come from far and wide to experience the show. For many it has become as much a family Christmas tradition as Santa himself.
Following on from last year’s panto The Snow Queen is the magical and ever popular Aladdin. Telling the story of the titular young thief who with the help of a magic genie tries to woo the beautiful wealthy Princess Jasmine, tickets cost from €19.50.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore – From Jan 27, 2020
Directed by Andrew Flynn, The Lieutenant of Inishmore is set in Ireland in 1993. It revolves around the killing of INLA man Mad Padraic’s cat, which occurs while the owner is out “chip-shop bombing in Northern Ireland”. Loving his pet more than life itself, when Padraig returns he is hell bent on revenge.
The play was written by Oscar Award-winning director and playwright Martin McDonagh, whose work is known and loved by both theatre and film audiences alike (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). Audiences flocked to see The Gaiety Theatre production of The Cripple of Inishmaan last spring. Tickets for The Lieutenant of Inishmore cost from €21.
Tickets for all these shows can be bought in person at the Gaiety Theatre box office and at Ticketmaster outlets, over the phone by calling 08 18 719 388 and online by visiting Ticketmaster.ie
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