Davey Kelleher, the outgoing Artistic Director of Dublin Youth Theatre (DYT), introduces this year's edition of The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin, coming to The Abbey Theatre on February 1st.
In a few days, I'll be standing in the wings of the Abbey Theatre as a group of actors scramble to memorise lines that didn’t exist twenty-four hours earlier. There will be panic, adrenaline, and a palpable sense of potential disaster. It is a beautiful thing to witness.
The premise of The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin is a logistical fever dream. Six writers, six directors, 30 actors and a small army of technicians, designers, and theatrical enablers have exactly one day to build a universe from scratch. Playwrights write all night, scripts are delivered before dawn, and rehearsals begin while the ink is still wet. "We can’t go on. We go on." Once the curtain falls, these six plays vanish; they exist for that specific audience, in that specific room, for one night only. It is a special kind of hysterical, magical madness.
For an audience, the joy is in the tightrope walk. There is a unique, communal electricity in the room when everyone knows the safety net has been removed. As for what you’ll actually see? The beauty is, you don’t know until it’s happening. It’s a fantastic, unpredictable selection box: you might see a household name trying not to collapse in laughter during an absurd, drink-swirling, cape-twirling monologue; the country’s finest dramatic leads finding themselves in a spontaneous, unrehearsed dance-off; or a state-of-the-nation musical address played on a kazoo. There is violence, romance, and ritual humiliation; there are accidents that look choreographed and choreography that looks accidental. It is raw, unpolished, and hilariously unpredictable. You’re witnessing a collective act of bravery where the mistakes are just as brilliant as the triumphs.
Six writers, six directors, and a small army of technicians, designers, and theatrical enablers have exactly one day to build a universe from scratch.
But beneath the frenzied entertainment, hilarity, and chaos lies a vital purpose. This event is the lifeblood fundraiser for Dublin Youth Theatre, which has been a safe harbour for young people in the city since 1977. As the outgoing Artistic Director, I can attest to the transformative impact of arts provision for young people; DYT is a place where they can figure out who they are before the world tells them who they should be.
In an industry where everyone is struggling to pay rent and cultural spaces are disappearing, the economy of goodwill behind The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin is a testament to the staying power of theatre. Since 2012, over 500 professionals—all veterans of the arts, stage, and screen—have volunteered their time, raising more than €165,000 for the members of DYT. It is a moment when the professional world reaches back to a fourteen-year-old in a workshop and says that their voice, their creativity, and their space matter.
This Brigid’s Day, Sunday, February 1st, marks our thirteenth and final presentation of this event at the Abbey Theatre, and we’re going out with a bang. For the price of a ticket, you’ll be catching lightning in a bottle—and investing that lightning in the next generation. It’s messy, funny, fleeting, and so very important. We hope to see you there.
The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin, Abbey Theatre, Sunday, February 1st — find out more here
