Theatre Upstairs

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Online: http://www.theatreupstairs.ie
Phone: +353 (0)85 772 7375

"A space that is as much an actor's theatre as a site of new creative opportunities..." - The Irish Times

Theatre Upstairs is an independent theatre in the heart of Dublin City and a nationally renowned company dedicated to housing and producing new writing. Theatre Upstairs is the only theatre in Ireland committed to solely staging the world premieres and Irish premieres of new plays, purpose

built for the creation of contemporary work and devoted to pushing the boundaries of design within an intimate space. "Theatre Upstairs is acquiring a reputation as one of Dublin’s best independent venues for bold new writing…" - Exeunt Magazine

Since its inception, Theatre Upstairs has housed and produced several groundbreaking premieres, which have gone on to both tour nationally and transfer to other theatres, earning its reputation as Dublin’s theatrical seedbed. Theatre Upstairs is a multi-award winning company, having received such accolades in recent years as the Judge’s Special Award at The Irish Times Theatre Awards 2013, for the development and promotion of new Irish talent and two nominations for Best New Play at The Irish Times Theatre Awards (WHAT’S LEFT OF THE FLAG by Jimmy Murphy 2011, PETALS by Gillian Greer 2015). "You can expect to be hearing about Theatre Upstairs for a long time to come…" - Irish Independent

Theatre Upstairs is located above Lanigan's Bar, well known as Dublin's theatrical watering hole and serving up delicious pub grub, creating a welcoming environment where you can transform a theatre visit into an entire night out - drinks, dinner and a show - all under one roof! Theatre Upstairs stages both lunchtime (@ 1pm) and evening (@ 7pm) performances with light lunch included in the ticket price at matinees, consisting of homemade vegetable soup and fresh brown bread and offering dinner and a show deals in the evening.

L***r + Chip ...from the stage to the screen. Written by Lee Coffey. Directed by Karl Shiels. A seminal show in Theatre ...
15/11/2020

L***r + Chip ...from the stage to the screen. Written by Lee Coffey. Directed by Karl Shiels. A seminal show in Theatre Upstairs history, an honour to create. Premieres Nov. 27TH and tickets are FREE thanks to the support of and tics web page. Onwards... 🖤

A gift commissioned by good friends... created by Seán Branigan. Onwards... 🖤
15/07/2020

A gift commissioned by good friends... created by Seán Branigan. Onwards... 🖤

Today is a monumentally special and simultaneously humbling day… to see Stephen Jones’s critically acclaimed and multi-a...
28/11/2019

Today is a monumentally special and simultaneously humbling day… to see Stephen Jones’s critically acclaimed and multi-award winning plays, FROM EDEN and NORTHERN LIGHTS presented at the Abbey Theatre on the Peacock Stage in 2020, having both had their World Premieres at Theatre Upstairs, directed by our own dark knight, Karl Shiels.

It takes a village to produce excellence, with Stephen not only writing but starring in the two superb plays alongside his partner in crime, the incomparable Seána Kerslake; both of whom gave life and love to these beautifully broken characters. Eoghan Carrick, Katie Davenport, Lisa Krugel and Eoin Stapleton all brought their huge talent to the table with stunning designs and Associate Director Amilia Stewart Keating worked in tandem with Karl. And of course, Laura Honan, Ste Murray and Derek Conaghy, with their invaluable work on the original productions.

Thinking of you Karl and remembering the last words ever uttered on the Theatre Upstairs stage - coincidentally within the World Premiere of Northern Lights… It says: Life Is Beautiful.

Onwards… 🖤

Awake & Sing Productions will be hitting the Peacock Stage 10 - 21 November 2020: https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/from-eden-northern-lights/

Thank you Seán Branigan. Onwards... 🖤
28/07/2019

Thank you Seán Branigan. Onwards... 🖤

It’s the end of an era... We are closing our theatrical doors at the best pub in Ireland, Lanigans Pub, Eden Quay, Dubli...
14/03/2019

It’s the end of an era... We are closing our theatrical doors at the best pub in Ireland, Lanigans Pub, Eden Quay, Dublin 1. This chapter of Theatre Upstairs has ended and we move on with more love in our hearts than ever before for the Blount family and everyone at Lanigans & The Clifton Court Hotel. They are our family, always have been and always will be. It’s hard to leave when the love is so real. Shoulder to shoulder...

We’re going out on a serious 2018 high - including our debut at The Abbey Theatre! The final show to tread the TU boards being nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play - making that 4 Best New Play nominations and 7 overall nominations for Theatre Upstairs - a serious feat for the little guys!!! A 2018 National Tour! THREE productions at Project Arts Centre last year! And most especially, each and every one of all the productions we worked on last year were absolutely knockout experiences both personally and professionally... it’s tough to bow out when you’re at the top of your game surrounded by artists and work like that but it’s time for us to be just us for a while.

We close this door with less money than when we started but with more memories and successes than we ever could have hoped for when we started. We started so naive... We learned. We grew. We gained friends. We gained family. There are too many memories to even begin to comprehend. Too many successes and too many sacrifices also. We are genuinely so excited to have some time to finally rest, catch our bearings and focus on our family.

Theatre Upstairs is not just us... it took a village and you all know who you are and we hold you in our hearts and will hold you there forever. It belongs to so many more than us... the audiences who came again & again & again & again, no matter what the play, being curious and coming to support new work. The theatre critics who came to see almost every show ever staged right from the start & until the end. The industry who always showed up to support, suited & booted for our unforgettable openings and to all of the Stewart Parker & The Irish Times Theatre Award judges who came to see genuinely countless shows over the years. We personally worked the box office - we know the grace & support & passion & time & consideration & kudos & energy that all of you brought to Theatre Upstairs. But most of all...

It is unquantifiable to know what Irish Theatre would look like now without this seedbed for rising artists... More artistic seedbeds need to exist in Ireland and they need to be supported. Failure has to be allowed if success is to be achieved and it is not for audiences to tell us what they want to see, it is for us to create something that they can’t even imagine. This was our seedbed, our space of creation, our second home, our whole life at times and we will never forget that actor in that particular role on our stage, meeting that writer for the first time & hearing their play, being blown away by that design, watching that director work fiercely at the helm, knowing that producer was holding it all together and getting to be a part of that team for a brief moment in artistic time to create that world premiere.

Congratulations to us all - we did that. And we did it our way... all our love, Karl & Laura. Onwards...

26/01/2019

Last Day. Ending... the best way to end... SOLD OUT Abbey Theatre. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you... all those who came out to support. All those who gave us a shout out. All the ones who made it happen. Too many to count. Thank you. Onwards... X

24/01/2019

We absolutely love these... thank you to The Abbey Theatre for the beautiful setting. Katie Honan answers our rapid-fire Quick Fire Questions while arriving to perform THE RIDLEYS.

Only three chances left to catch this acclaimed production. MUST END: Saturday 26TH with a Special Offer available for the Saturday Matinee. Call The Abbey Box Office: 01 8787 222 or call into The Abbey.

"Naomi Faughnan's set design is all about perspective; the two characters are incarcerated in a juvenile facility, but a...
23/01/2019

"Naomi Faughnan's set design is all about perspective; the two characters are incarcerated in a juvenile facility, but are mainly trapped inside their own heads." - The Irish Independent

We are thrilled & so grateful to have had the chance to work with our longterm collaborators Naomi Faughnan, Eoin Byrne & Derek Conaghy on the Peacock Stage at The Abbey Theatre. Along with their respective collaborators, Ebun Oladeru (scenic artist), Simon Burke (lighting programmer) and Alan D'Arcy (composer) - a little bit of magic has been created in THE RIDLEYS.

"Handsomely integrated music and sound, by Derek Conaghy & Alan Darcy and as supple as Eoin Byrne’s lighting." - The Irish Times

Thanks for coming on the journey gang... Irish Premiere MUST END Saturday 26TH.

Photography by Ste Murray | Photography & Design.

Huge thanks to The Times and The Sunday Times for the deadly THIS IS WHO I AM interview with actor Rex Ryan and to Ste...
22/01/2019

Huge thanks to The Times and The Sunday Times for the deadly THIS IS WHO I AM interview with actor Rex Ryan and to Ste Murray | Photography & Design for the strikingly beautiful photo that ran in Sunday's paper. Check out the interview here...
What is your earliest memory?
Devouring bacon and butter enhanced cabbage in Rush on a farm. And trapping the falling pieces in a specially constructed bib that allowed me to eat anything that didn’t make it to the mouth.
What was/ is your burning ambition?
To make people feel. To tell a story that reminds a soul we are alive and fighting.
Fee-paying or free school?
Fee. St Michael's College in Dublin 4.
College or straight to work?
College. Inexplicably I idled though a business studies degree before studying acting at the Gaiety School. Into which I finally found something as energy driven and randomly put together as my brain.
Who is your hero?
I have many. Today I will say my mother, Morah, as she sacrificed a life as an artist to birth a small, rotund cabbage & bacon eating potential artist. I'm the second-eldest of five children. She sacrificed.
Are you physically active?
Yes. It’s an essential thing for me. Too much energy. I’d internally combust and explode if I didn’t run in the morning. Kickboxing, swimming and yoga sometimes.
Is ambition more important than ability?
I think it's a healthy marriage. Blind ambition is dangerous. Ability is the "staircase" to dare to have ambition, I suppose.
What material thing do you most desire?
My own theatre in Dublin. We’d do new plays, have an unlimited budget and it would be a place for every colour, creed and character.
Are you wealthy?
Monetarily? Absolutely not. My life is rich. My wife, Miglé Jasiene is a miracle.
How political are you?
Intensely... in a cafe with a friend. I haven’t got the urge to join the mayhem of online political debate yet.
What is or was your biggest extravagance?
I was given a rare crab to eat in a Russian restaurant called Palkin in St Petersberg. It was something like €250.00. They didn’t even ask me if I wanted it. I said nothing as it was only my wife and myself versus about 40 angry Russian bear-like staff staring at us. It was also a wedding celebration in a way, so I couldn’t have looked cheap.
What physical object have you lost, sold or given away that you wish you still had?
One of the most epic stories of our time is the Nintendo fantasy game series Zelda. I had a first edition cartridge of my favourite game in the series, The Ocarina Of Time which I gave to my old friend and he destroyed it in a rage. He had hyperactive disorder so I couldn’t even get too annoyed at him.
What is the greatest challenge facing us right now?
Noise. Lack of nuance. The emergence of those who speak with utter clarity and conviction without the human experience to back it up. These types should be thrown ignored. And certainly not given power. The soul is a complex thing and I think today that is forgotten often.
What have you achieved to date?
I would like to hope I have affected people emotionally, for the better, in shows I’ve done in the theatre. I’m also proud of the family I’ve constructed.
Rex Ryan is currently appearing alongside Katie Honan in THE RIDLEYS, a double-bill of Philip Ridley plays - Tonight With Donny Stixx and Dark Vanilla Jungle - at The Abbey Theatre until Saturday, JAN 26TH.

★★★★ SHOW OF THE WEEK "Katie Honan gives a physically exceptional performance, conjuring up the character of Andrea in m...
20/01/2019

★★★★ SHOW OF THE WEEK "Katie Honan gives a physically exceptional performance, conjuring up the character of Andrea in movements that are balletic in their effectiveness. Her command of the rapid-fire script is extraordinary... Rex Ryan is full of the nervous tics of a young man desperate to be admire and appreciated. Donny's incapable of recognising his own limitations as a performer, something that he's finally forced to confront traumatically." - Michael Moffatt, The Irish Mail On Sunday

Oh yes... it's the Sunday papers time!!!

"Ryan gives an energetic performance as the damaged Donny, whose frustration turns him into a time bomb. Honan brings her character to life with fragile, deadly determination. Naomi Faughnan's claustrophobic set cleverly echoes the pair's skewed perspective." - Fiona Charleton, The Sunday Times

"Karl Shiels directs with his usual high-octane energy, well suited to the theme. Both actors deserve enormous credit for sustained, intense energy in extraordinarily demanding work. The two plays in The Ridleys offer us characters who initially seem to have little to redeem them. But Ridley allows them to tell their stories... he wants his audience to reflect on what they're seeing and learn empathy." - Emer O'Kelly, Sunday Independent

"The intense sound and lighting design from Derek Conaghy and Eoin Byrne, respectively, ensure we feel the full force of the violence when it comes... and Naomi Faughnan's arresting set design. Shiels proves himself an astute director, guiding the performers through their lengthy monologues with physical cues and verbal tics that both distinguish their characters and serve as mnemonic. A hungry beast seems set to break out of Ryan's body at any moment... Honan evokes a deep sadness while also provoking shock as the effects of her trauma fully reveal themselves." Sara Keating, The Sunday Business Post

We're thrilled that this challenging work is being seen & appreciated... we're so proud of these productions and honoured to present these plays on the Peacock Stage at The Abbey Theatre. One more week to go! Onwards...

Absolutely thrilled for the absolutely incredible Stephen Jones who has received his first TileStyle | Irish Times Theat...
19/01/2019

Absolutely thrilled for the absolutely incredible Stephen Jones who has received his first TileStyle | Irish Times Theatre Award nomination for Best New Play for the beautiful NORTHERN LIGHTS at the 2019 awards!!! We were and are so proud to have presented the at Theatre Upstairs in partnership with Awake & Sing Productions. Massive congratulations to Mr. Stephen Jones & the full team who brought this magical play from page to stage - the supreme talent of Seána Kerslake, Amilia Stewart, Lisa Krugel, Eoghan Carrick, Gavin Mooney and our own Karl Shiels & Laura Honan. Thrilling to be shoulder to shoulder with these other stellar new plays, in a knockout year for new plays in Ireland. Onwards... X

FIRST FREEVIEW FACES! Abbey Theatre 🖤 @ Abbey Theatre
15/01/2019

FIRST FREEVIEW FACES! Abbey Theatre 🖤 @ Abbey Theatre

Address

Theatre Upstairs,0 Eden Quay
Dublin
1

Opening Hours

Tuesday 11:30am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 11:30am - 2:30pm
Thursday 11:30am - 2:30pm
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Friday 11:30am - 2:30pm
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Saturday 11:30am - 2:30pm
5:30pm - 8:30pm

Telephone

+353857727375

Website

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