Theatre | Latest Theatrical News & Reviews

Get Creative: On becoming an actor - performing onstage

Ever dreamed of one day treading the boards, but don't know where to start?

Chris O'Dowd to make Gate Theatre debut in new McPherson play

Actor Chris O'Dowd will make his debut at Dublin's Gate Theatre this July, in the Irish premiere of Conor McPherson's new play The Brightening Air.

Theatre • 18 hrs

Is Fair Deal a big deal? Una McKevitt's new play reviewed

Foul is fair and fair is foul in Una McKevitt's macabre comedy Fair Deal at the Peacock Theatre.

Theatre • 20 Feb

Something For The Weekend: Caitriona Ennis's cultural picks

Actor Caitríona Ennis returns to the Abbey Theatre stage later this month in the centenary production of Sean O'Casey's classic The Plough and the Stars.

Something For The Weekend • 19 Feb

AI-enabled take on Krapp's Last Tape to launch Beckett Biennale

The inaugural Samuel Beckett Biennale will open this March with an AI-enabled production of the playwright's celebrated work Krapp's Last Tape at the Whale Theatre in Greystones, Co. Dublin.

Theatre • 17 Feb

Scéal faoi iasc, sceallóga agus díoltas ag teacht ar an stáitse

Translator HK Ní Shioradáin introduces Muicín, the first Irish language play from LemonSoap Productions, written by Ultan Pringle (and translated by HK), coming to Dublin's Project Arts Centre later this month.

Theatre • 16 Feb

Why Arthur Miller's The Crucible feels more timely than ever

It's 1692 and the puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts is gripped by mass hysteria. Arthur Miller's Tony award-winning classic The Crucible begins with a sick child, and ends up with 200 people accused of witchcraft and a community ripped apart.

RTÉ Arena • 29 Jan

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 11: (L to R) Siobhán McSweeney, Eanna Hardwicke and Nicola Coughlan attend the press night after party for "The Playboy Of The Western World" at The National Theatre on December 11, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett

Reviewed: Hardwicke, Coughlan and McSweeney shine in Playboy

As the curtain dropped and the applause subsided at the interval of The Playboy of the Western World, currently playing at London's National Theatre, I overheard an English accent in the row behind me giving their midpoint review...

Theatre • 04 Feb

Fair Deal: Writer Una McKevitt's dark comedy comes to The Peacock

Playwright Una McKevitt introduces Fair Deal, her 'fast-moving dark comedy with a little horror thrown in' opening at the Peacock Stage at the Abbey Theatre this February.

Theatre • 13 Feb

Why Scene + Heard matters - the festival where new work begins

'After ten editions, Scene + Heard isn't interested in looking back.'

Theatre • 09 Feb

A night to remember - The 24 Hour Plays Dublin go out with a bang

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.

Theatre • 28 Jan

Why did a riot happen at the Abbey Theatre in February 1926?

The negative audience reaction to Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars was very much rooted in the political anxieties of 1926

Abbey Theatre • 12 Feb

A crash course on Krump - dance as 'a creative force for good'

Matt Sczerzek talks dance, community and the street dancing style that changed his life...

Dance • 29 Jan

Get Creative: On becoming an actor - doing auditions

Ever dreamed of one day treading the boards but don't know where to start?

Get Creative • 27 Jan

Puttin' on my Top Hat - why Irving Berlin is top of my playlist

It is coming up to that time of year when social media feeds are dominated by personal playlists...

Theatre • 29 Dec 25

The Art of Gentle Punk: Little John Nee's manifesto for our times

The Art of Gentle Punk is a new live performance, recently performed to sold out houses at the Mick Lally Theatre in Galway.

Theatre • 28 Jan

First Fortnight: Spoiler Alert - He Dies In The End

'Matty's dead, but it's not as bad as it sounds...' This year's First Fortnight Festival includes Liam McCarthy's acclaimed play He Dies in the End,

First Fortnight • 16 Dec 25

Family strife - why Mark O'Rowe's Reunion strikes a nerve

A stormy island off the coast of Ireland plays host to a family gathering in Mark O'Rowe's contemporary drama, Reunion...

Opinion and Analysis • 17 Dec 25

Reviewed: Dublin Gothic at the Abbey is a 'rollicking romp'

'Two hours is a short time and an eternity: to use two hours of public time is a fine art.' Barbara Bergin's new play at the Abbey brings theatre director Peter Brook's words to mind.

Reviews • 26 Dec 25

Plough and The Stars turns 100 as Abbey announces 2026 season

The Abbey Theatre has unveiled its first season announcement for 2026...

Theatre • 04 Dec 25

Jimmy Fay on the art of theatre criticism, and what we've lost

The following is an edited version of a speech given by Jimmy Fay, Executive Producer of the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, at Mission Critical: A forum for international conversation about the future of theatre criticism

Opinion and Analysis • 18 Dec 25

Oh no he didn't!* The formula for panto success revealed

Karl Broderick is the writer and co-producer of the Stadium Panto: Cinderella with Sammy and Buffy at the National Stadium, Dublin, which this year sees the return of a Irish panto legend...

Theatre • 20 Dec 25

Something for the Weekend: Mazzy Ronaldson's cultural picks

Something For The Weekend • 03 Dec 25

10 recommended Xmas shows for all the family

There is no better time of the year for families than Christmas...

Listicles • 21 Dec 25

Dublin Gothic brings a century of Irish life to the Abbey stage

Playwright Barbara Bergin introduces her new work Dublin Gothic, an epic tale spanning 100 years of life in the capital and featuring a cast of 20 actors, coming to the Abbey Theatre this November.

Theatre • 26 Nov 25