Author Archive IDGTF

Table Quiz 2022 – March 31

Reserve a table now for our fundraising table quiz!

Where: Street 66, 33-34 Parliament Street, Dublin 2

When: Thursday March 31st @ 8pm

Tables of 4 for €40.  Reserve a table at quiz@gaytheatre.ie

Hosted by Conor Clear.

Prizes galore!

We are working hard to bring the stories of LGBTQ+ people back to the stage in Dublin and to support dozens of local and international artists post-Covid.  Without any government funding we are depending on the support of the community – the LGBTQ+, arts and business communities.  As a not-for-profit voluntary organisation, every cent we receive goes back into the community.

Help us by spreading the word about our Table Quiz, coming along on the night or even donating extra prizes via quiz@gaytheatre.ie

Festival 2022 Programme is coming

We’re back! We are putting the final touches to our exciting 2022 programme

There will be drama, comedy, short plays and more from Ireland and around the world as well as a programme of free events.

The Festival will take place in venues across Dublin City Centre running from Bank Holiday Monday May 2nd to Sunday May 15th 2022, when we will close with our annual Gala Awards Night.

Join us as we bring live LGBTQ+ theatre back to the stages of Dublin!

The programme will be announced at the end of March, so keep watching for more details on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or sign up to our email newsletters.

Arts Council Refuses to Support Our Return to Live Theatre in 2022

Awash with government funding to support the arts during Covid, the Arts Council of Ireland has slashed our funding to zero.

The Arts Council states: ‘Within the changed cultural climate of the present day, where festivals and theatres across the country are now including high quality ‘LGBTQIA+ focused theatre’ in their programme, the IGDTF [sic] mission and recent festival iteration to ‘celebrate LGBT identity through theatre in a dialogue with mainstream society’ appears less compelling in the competitive context of FIS funding. It could also be argued that the organisation’s aim ‘to foster diversity and equality’ is hampered by its corralling of the work of LGBTQ artists within the narrower frame of the ‘gay theatre’ brand’.

IDGTF states: So, there you have it! This is what we have been putting up with along with Covid! Heteronormative society says a community celebrating LGBTQ+ identity through theatre, curated and presented by LGBTQ+ people is no longer necessary as ‘straight’ events now do what we do. Equally, celebrating LGBTQ+ people and their stories in a safe and welcoming environment somehow ‘hampers diversity and equality’…  Had this discriminatory nonsense been written in the last century, you could put it down to the prejudice and ignorance of earlier times, but clearly, there is an absence of understanding of diversity, equality and positive action. The right of minority groups to define and celebrate their own identity is essential to diverse theatre and a pluralist society. The don’t get that.

We asked the Council to evidence this ‘analysis’ that everyone else does gay theatre now, under the Freedom of Information Act. We have been told that no studies or comparisons exist to substantiate their bizarre claim.  They haven’t undertaken an equality audit or assessed access to theatre by LGBTQ+ artists at all.

In the meantime, grant applicants like us are asked for tomes of evidence of everything they say and do… We provided strong evidence of our recent activities – books, bursaries and online plays that supported artists at this time of crisis.  We provided detailed future plans and powerful testimonies from our artists and partners.  This was acknowledged and then dismissed by the Council in favour of their own non-evidenced opinion.

It is likely our Festival is the only, still viable, arts event that has had support refused, at a time when Government has provided an extra 50 million euros to support recovery in the sector.

You can make your own views known to the members of the Arts Council and your local representatives if you wish.

The evidence we have accumulated to combat two years of cuts and now abolition, has persuaded the Ombudsman to open a case for investigation into this personalised travesty. We await the outcome of that investigation.

Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly welcomed the Council’s additional funding, stating:

“People working within the arts have shown remarkable resilience, imagination and compassion during the pandemic. The return to presentation of work for the public is happening steadily and carefully and it is vital that we protect the sector as it emerges. With this increased investment, high quality work can be made and can reach the public safely. It will also help us ensure that people from all backgrounds in every part of the country will have the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts.”

We look forward to a time when the actions of the Arts Council match, rather than directly contradict, their noble words.

Great Christmas Gifts on Sale Now

2022 Submissions Deadline December 1

We are currently seeking submissions for our 19th Festival, taking place from May 2-15 2022.

If you have a production and are interested in taking part, please see our submissions’ page here.

’18 & Coming of Age’ – our new book is on sale now!

Our new book is on sale now! 18 and Coming of Age: The Director’s Cut features an anthology of works by our 2021 bursary recipients as well as the story of how the Festival reached its milestone birthday, by Festival Founder and Artistic Director Brian Merriman.

On sale via the Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride Shop and secure online purchase via Ticketsolve (price €20, including national & international postage).