The 14th International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival ended last night with our Gala and Awards Night.  More news to follow on our winners and nominees!

Festival 2017 was the most successful for a number of years and we were happy to report higher average turnout at shows as well as multiple sold-out performances over the past 2 weeks.

We are also delighted with the results from our raffle – you contributed more than ever before and this will make a huge difference as we work towards 2018.

Why does this matter?

As a 100% not-for-profit, voluntary organisation, every cent earned during the Festival:

• Supports our artists from Ireland and abroad and makes it possible to present diverse voices in theatre, including new writing and emerging talent.
• Is invested in the local economy to maintain Dublin’s mantle as a major international centre of LGBT theatre – including arts venues, LGBT and tourism organisations.
• Builds a foundation for next year so that we can bring more unique works to Dublin
• Helps us to, literally, fly the flag for the LGBT community in Dublin and abroad, to proudly celebrate our identities.
• To engage more people in the arts – as participants, volunteers and audience.  Every year it is fantastic to see new friendships, artistic collaborations and relationships grow at the Festival.

A big thank you…

There are many people we would like to thank as without their amazing support this event simply could not happen:

• You the audience.  Without your support there would be no Festival.  We hope you were inspired and entertained.  In particular we would like to thank:
  • Our visitors from overseas.  From North America, to Europe, to Australia, your support of the Festival and of our artists makes a larger difference than you can realise.
  • The LGBT community groups who organised group bookings and supported our shows.  Our participants really appreciated your support.
• Our participants.  Every year they make enormous sacrifices and bring incredible creativity, vision and performances to Dublin.  This year we were particularly delighted to present the largest ever selection of works by and about young people.  We can see that the future of LGBT theatre is very promising indeed.
• Our volunteers.  Everyone involved in the Festival from the Board and Executive who worked throughout the year to build the event, our tech team, our Front of House volunteers.  It was a pleasure to work with familiar faces and to welcome new talent on board in 2017.
• Our sponsors.  Thank you to the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, Fáilte Ireland and RTÉ Supporting the Arts for their invaluable support.
  • A big thank you to the LGBT businesses who supported us with ads in our programme, online reviews and coverage of the Festival and more.
  • In particular we would like to thank Hotel Westport for their generous donation of an weekend in their hotel in beautiful Westport.
• Our venues.  Thank you to our venues for their assistance and support again this year.
  • We would also like to thank our Festival Club venues who made our participants and volunteers very welcome – Oscar’s Bar Christchurch, Street66, The George and Pantibar.
  • A huge thank you to SpireVision Studios, O’Connell Street for hosting our Box Office.  Our main Box Office was busier than ever and having such a fantastic location and generous hosts really contributed to that.

There are so many others that we would like to thank – including those who generously gave time, resources, equipment and expertise to the Festival throughout the year.