We are pleased to announce there will be a Dublin Theatre Festival in 2020, on a smaller scale than usual. Due to the ongoing impact of the global pandemic, the festival that we had been busy planning for up until a few months ago is no longer possible. So, we have been reimagining the programme, in dialogue with artists and partner organisations. Responding to their feedback and encouraged by our friends and supporters we are working to make live theatre happen this autumn.

Ours is a message of hope. Dublin Theatre Festival has a responsibility, as a strategic organisation, to be one of the leaders in rebuilding Irish theatre. We believe that the values of imagination, civility and solidarity that we cherish in theatre will also be essential in renewing Irish society. We are determined to emerge from this time, changed and stronger, continuing to be a key platform to show Irish theatre to the world and to bring the best of international work to Dublin.

This is a precarious time for the arts in Ireland and the performing arts have been affected particularly badly by the pandemic. The crisis has amplified the fragility of a sector that does so much to enrich our lives and to carry Ireland’s reputation around the world. The thing we love to do, to gather together and experience live performance, has been impossible since stages went dark three months ago. So many events have been cancelled and so much work has been wiped out. Theatre is fighting for its future.

Recently, the country has begun to take the first steps in a return to work. Theatres were the first to close and they may be the last to reopen. There are significant challenges to restoring a sector that so many artists and collaborators have worked to create over decades, with love and dedication.

There is much work to do to prepare for this year’s festival and we expect to announce details of our programme in August. We will continue to monitor and work within Government guidelines to ensure the safety of our colleagues and our audiences.

We thank our principal funders, the Arts Council, for their steadfast support along with Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland, our Board, and our loyal Friends. And to our friends and colleagues in theatre, and our audiences, we look forward to being together with you again.