Festival Director Clíona Dukes introduces the tenth edition of Scene + Heard, the popular festival of new work, presenting 108 brand-new works across theatre, comedy, dance, music, cabaret, circus, spoken word and hybrid forms at Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre this February.
In a cultural moment often driven by certainty, polish and proven success, Scene + Heard remains gloriously committed to the opposite. Now celebrating its tenth edition, the Festival of New Work returns to Smock Alley Theatre this February with a simple but radical proposition: art doesn't need to arrive fully formed to be worth our attention.
Since its founding, Scene + Heard has championed the idea that audiences should be part of the artistic process. Across ten editions, more than 6,000 artists have presented over 1,000 early-stage works to more than 80,000 audience members, who are invited not just to watch, but to respond. Feedback is gathered through ballots, digital forms and post-show conversations, helping artists refine ideas that often go on to become fully realised productions - productions that have since toured the world and garnered prestigious awards. It is theatre as dialogue rather than display, and that ethos feels more vital than ever.
Edition X leans confidently into this identity. Rather than organising the programme by discipline, this year’s festival is shaped around what audiences are hungry for now: laughter with bite, big feelings, restless bodies, political unease and moments of unexpected tenderness. Across 12–28 February, more than 108 brand-new works will unfold across theatre, comedy, dance, music, cabaret, spoken word, opera, drag, circus and hybrid forms yet to be named.
After ten editions, Scene + Heard isn't interested in looking back.
Comedy is a major force this year, but it rarely plays it safe. From the audience-fuelled improvised chaos of John Day Afternoon to the self-interrogating humour of A Biological Redundancy and Married Without Children, laughter frequently gives way to sharper questions. Political and social satire cuts through works like Burning Down the House, Undercovers and Dogwhistle, while Feel Sh**!, Linda Martin Is NOT a Vampire, Harvey Darko and Not All Men use social media, pop culture and dating tropes to expose deeper anxieties.
For those drawn to intimate, emotionally charged storytelling, theatre exploring grief, identity and survival features strongly. Works such as Sure Look, Sure Listen, Lifejacket, The Vanishing of Aisling Tierney and All the Quiet Ends sit alongside more formally experimental pieces like UNGYUN and The Ninefold Spiral, which blend narrative with movement, memory and ritual.
Dance, aerial and physical theatre surge through the programme, with pieces like Station of Echoes – Fluid Tracks, Body Count, Bedrott and Dust using the body as a site of resistance, desire and transformation. Music-driven storytelling also features prominently, from Healing Through Hip-Hop to Moonshine: A Prohibition Musical and the blockbuster Temple Bar – The Musical. Folklore, myth and magic are reimagined in works such as Stars Are Blind, Anseo and Heart Follows Drum.
Beyond performance, the Banquet Hall hosts the visual art exhibition Decent Skins x Twisted Melon, featuring candid images from social events alongside still-life portraiture of figures from the fashion and music worlds within the skinhead scene, extending the festival’s exploration of identity and community into another form.
After ten editions, Scene + Heard isn’t interested in looking back. Edition X is a statement of intent — messy, ambitious and unapologetically unfinished. It reminds us that new work needs space, risk and conversation to grow. And that sometimes, the most exciting place to encounter art is right at the beginning.
Scene + Heard runs 12th - 28th February 2026 - find out more here
