It has been 30 years since Bedrock Productions, with some support from the established Dublin Theatre Festival and Arts office of Dublin City Council, created a revived Dublin Fringe Festival, to promote and showcase the work of small and vibrant theatre companies and theatre makers.
In the first year, Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower premiered, and in 1996, Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs took off from The International Bar. Since then, the festival has grown and flourished.
The festival offers an important platform for emerging artists, and one of the new shows for 2024 that is planning to make a mark, is An Evening With Wee Daniel, created by and featuring Aoife Sweeney O’Connor.
The show tells a story of a journey about figuring out issues around identity and place - but with an unexpected twist.
Growing up in Donegal, Sweeney O’Connor tells a story that celebrates queerness, along with an obsession with wee Daniel.
On stage they wear one of Mr O’Donnell’s former suits, and off stage, Aoife said how they met Daniel O’Donnell and told him all about the show and that he gave his blessing.
The artist describes it as a "rapturous love letter to the rural queer non -binary experience, and to mammies and Daniel!’
Comedy has always been a popular part of the programme and this year attendees can choose to watch comic productions such as A Good Room from Cian Jordan and Allie O’Rourke.
The idea of this show is that the pair are running out of space and time to get this show on. Where can they stage it, they ask, eventually coming up with the idea of Cian’s bedroom. This is an interactive comedy about friendship, space and - most of all - home.
Also joining the comedy line up for this year’s Fringe is comedian David O’Doherty at the Project Arts Centre. Other familiar comedy voices on the line up include Julie Jay and Shane Daniel Byrne.
For music lovers, Irish -Palestinian artist Róisín El Cherif will be performing at the Project Arts Centre delivering a performance that fuses Arabic and Irish musical traditions.
The show is described as unique as it brings together, original music, poetry, and film to tell her story.
Another significant show in the festival programme is contemporary dance show Hyperphysical, which is described as a "high-octane double dance bill".
This piece is presented by the Irish Modern Dance Theatre and features the work of the US choreographer Abby Zbikowski and acclaimed choreographer John Scott with his Irish Modern Dance Theatre company.
The 30th Fringe Festival kicks off today and runs until 22 September - find out more here.
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