07 Theatre Festival

The Stage announced that the Dublin Theatre Festival has launched the programme for its 50th anniversary season.

Highlights this year include Sankai Juku's Olivier Award-winning production of Hibiki, the 28-strong Young@Heart Company (who range in age from 72 to 93) from Massachusetts, a production of Chekhov’s Ivanov from Budapest's renowned Katona Jozsef Theatre Company and, in their first visit to Dublin in 11 years, Pan Pan will give the first performance in English of their adaptation of the Lars Von Trier film, The Idiots.

Works receiving world or Irish premieres during the 18-day festival include new plays by Sebastian Barry, Marina Carr and Christian O'Reilly, and an updating to contemporary Dublin of The Playboy of the Western World by novelist Roddy Doyle and Nigerian actor and drummer Bisi Adigun. The Gate Theatre will also mount a new production of Brian Friel’s version of Uncle Vanya, one of three Chekhov plays to be featured.

The programme is "designed to deepen and enhance the relationship between Dublin audiences and artists and the international performers visiting the city", according to artistic director Loughlin Deegan. The festival runs from September 27 to October 14.