Dublin Shakespeare Society

19/08/2026

Maynooth University (Department of Adult and Community Education)
INTRODUCTION
The Certificate in Directing for Theatre is a Level 7 course. It is a practical course taught by Irish professional directors. It focuses on methods, tips and techniques, application of theory, and practice. This course is aimed at the following potential students:
• Mature students (21 years and over) who wish to train for the theatre industry in Ireland and who would like to be prepared for further study in the field of directing;
• Those who wish to explore the field to discover if they wish to make a career in it. In this sense the Certificate serves as a skills-based training course for new directors;
• Those in the amateur, youth theatre and community theatre sectors who wish to formalise their experience into specific training, acquire accreditation and gain additional skills by doing so; • Those who are emerging directors in fringe and professional theatre and who wish to gain specific skills and to acquire accreditation;
• Teachers and education workers who would like to train in directing in order to stage productions with students.
COURSE AIMS
• To introduce students to fundamental skills of directing for theatre
• To develop emerging directors’ confidence in their ability to stage a production
CONTENT
• Introduction to Stanislavski
• Introduction to Viewpoints
• Actioning and working with text
• Devising new material for performance
• Introduction to Physical Composition
• Introduction to Movement Theory
• Site-Specific and Site-Responsive Theatre
• Making theatre with young people
• Introduction to Directing Theatre-of-the-Oppressed
• Physical Comedy
• Directing Shakespeare – an introduction
• Introducing verbatim theatre and other styles of theatre-making
• Rehearsal techniques
APPLY: [email protected]
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Participants must be 21 years or over and have the academic capacity to complete a course at university level. Assistance is available free on campus with academic writing, library use, and assignment support. They must also have the capacity to direct a performance during the course of the year and, therefore, access to at least one performer is necessary.
Students apply by:
1. Filling out and submitting an application form that can be emailed to you by Kay Loughlin (see below).
2. Submitting a CV or short biography that describes your theatre experience to date. If you do not have any experience please state this.
Send completed application with CV and written work to [email protected] with the subject line Application for Cert in Directing for Theatre.
The deadline to send in applications for the 2023 – 2024 course is Friday 26th August 2022 at 5.00pm.
REGISTRATION
This course requires a minimum number of students to have applied to do it before it can proceed. Once it begins, students then have to register as Maynooth University students and pay the course fee. Questions to do with application and registration are dealt with by the Department of Adult and Community Education. Contact:
(1) Kay Loughlin, Executive Assistant of Continuing Education on [email protected] or by phone on 01 7086062, or
(2) Derek Barter, Academic Coordinator of Continuing Education at [email protected] or by phone on 01 7083948
Registered students have access to Maynooth University library and the range of services available to Maynooth University students, and to national student discounts where available.
TUTORS
The course is coordinated by Peter Hussey (Artistic Director of Crooked House). Additional regular tutors in previous years have been Annie Ryan (Artistic Director of The Corn Exchange), Jo Mangan (Artistic Director of Performance Corporation), John O’ Brien (freelance director and company manager), Bairbre Ni Chaoimh (founder of Calypso Theatre Company and freelance director), Tom Swift (writer and AD of Performance Corporation) and Louise Lowe (Artistic Director of Anu Productions). Classes have also been taught in the past by Jimmy Fay, Annabelle Comyn, Jason Byrne and Mary Duffin.
ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
1. Students keep a Learning Journal in which they record and critically reflect on their learning, brought about by this course. They write an essay based on this Journal and submit the essay. For those who prefer other media, the ‘essay’ may also be submitted as a short film or audio documentary.
2. Directing Project – each student will be expected to direct a piece of theatre that is more than 30 minutes long. There is no upper time limit. This is filmed by the student and the film submitted. This can be privately produced (no public attendance) and it can be a performance for one performer. Or it can be a public show
(possibly necessitating hiring a venue, acquiring rights to perform, marketing and insuring the show etc). It may be devised, scripted, collated or movement-based. However, it may not be a dance performance or opera (although it may have elements of these in it). Please note: the responsibility for doing this assignment is the students own. The university does not provide performers, or venues, or scheduling etc.
3. Directors’ Log – this is a written (or recorded) documentation of your process of staging the play, and it should also contain your reflection on the experience.
It is important to note that Department of Adult and Community Education Regulations prohibit a student from being awarded a grade/mark or a certificate if they:
- do not attend at least 85% of the course
- do not submit all assignments
- do not pass each assignment.
All assignments are due to be submitted to Maynooth on or by Friday 2nd June 2023 at 5.00pm.
ASSISTANCE
It is not possible for the course to provide assistance with casting, venue hire, or staging productions required as part of the assignments. We will provide advice, information and in-class support as part of the teaching and learning of the programme. Students should make provision to stage, and film their work themselves (in the way one would research and write an essay oneself). This means students should be able to find a performer or performers for their directing project. It helps if the student is a member of a drama group, has access to actors, or can work with a youth theatre. However, not being in this position is by no means a major barrier to participation: if the student wishes, the project does not need to be staged for the public, but can be mounted privately, using friends and collaborators, and filmed.
The filming quality does not need to be professional. The assessor simply needs to see the full range of the stage/performing area, clearly hear the dialogue, and see the performers’ expressions and actions.
Assistance is available on campus for essay writing and assignment support:
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/centre-teaching-and-learning/writing-centre and registered students obtain student cards and access to the university’s library: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/library
COURSE DURATION
100 hours part-time over one year, on two Saturdays per month, from September to May, excluding holidays in December. Class begins at 10.00am and runs to 5.00pm (with a break of 1 hour for lunch at 1.00pm, and coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon).
FEE €1,250. This course is a Level 7 course (BA Degree level). Fees are set by the university.
VENUE Room 133, (The Drama Room) in the School of Education (pictured below), North Campus, Maynooth University, County Kildare. https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/

DATES 2023 – 2024
October 2023: 7th and 21st November 2023: 4th and 18th
CONTACT
December 2023: 2nd and 16th
January 2024: 13th and 27th
February 2024: 10th and 24th
March 2024: 9th and 23rd April 2024: 13th and 27th May 2024: 10th

1. For information to do with application form, registration, fees, library registration and all university-related queries, please contact Kay Loughlin [email protected] or Dr Derek Barter [email protected]
2. For information to do with the course content, tutors, assignments and rationale etc, please contact Peter Hussey, the Course Coordinator at [email protected]
WEBSITES
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/adult-and-community-education
www.crookedhouse.ie
www.cornexchange.ie
http://www.theperformancecorporation.com/
http://www.anuproductions.ie/2016/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL494AA606A3F8B076 – National Theatre UK directing videos
TESTIMONIALS
“The Directing for Theatre course is very wide-ranging and covers a wide variety of directing styles. Each time I come from a class I feel I have gained a huge amount of new techniques. I came to this course as someone who works in the amateur drama world purely for the love of it. Up to now, I have relied entirely on 40 + years of experience and instinct when either directing or acting in a production. This year I took the decision to look at getting some qualifications in the field. One of the most important things I have learned on this course is that we have at all times to protect our actors, especially emotionally. With the help and guidance of Peter Hussey and my classmates, I feel I will be able to negotiate this very difficult territory.’
Miriam O’Brien, student 2017-2018
“Brilliantly designed and practical course offering specific expert learning and shared experience of the role of directors in theatre-making. Highly recommend it and very enjoyable. So much so that many of the graduates who are mature students are keen for a follow on enhanced programme of learning with modules to Level 8 from Maynooth and delivered part-time also please. Do this course if you'd like to further your studies as a professional theatre-maker and skilled director.” Mary Elizabeth Sheehan, student 2017 - 2018
“This is a fantastic course. Very practical and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much from Peter and great team of guest lecturers.”
Mary Blake, student 2017 – 2018
“I really enjoyed this course, would highly recommend.”
Alison Martin, student 2015-2016
“Really enjoyed the course. Highly recommend it.”
Joe Bergin, Student 2017 – 2018
“Best training I ever had.”
Fiona de Faoite, Student 2009 - 2010

13/08/2026

Judder Theatre
Founded in 2019, Judder Theatre was born to shake audiences awake. Like our name suggests, we create theatre that jolts the senses—explosive, immersive, visceral and unapologetically bold. We believe theatre should be felt as much as it is watched, breaking down barriers between performer and audience to create unforgettable live experiences.
Built from the ground up without public funding, Judder Theatre has forged its own path through passion, determination and a relentless commitment to making exciting Irish theatre accessible to everyone. From our beginnings in the intimate upstairs spaces of Doyle's Pub and Chaplins Bar, where we discovered our voice, to productions at Bewley's Café Theatre and most recently the iconic Smock Alley Theatre, every step has been driven by fearless storytelling and artistic ambition.
Now, Judder Theatre presents Philip Ridley's cult masterpiece, The Pitchfork Disney in the atmospheric setting of The Teachers' Club Hall, 36 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1—a striking site-specific venue transformed into an unsettling world where the boundaries between audience and performance dissolve.
This production also marks the launch of Techno Theatre—a bold new theatrical movement where pulsating electronic beats collide with raw, uncompromising performance. Combining immersive staging, sensory design and electrifying soundscapes, Techno Theatre is an invitation to experience live performance in an entirely new way.
This is more than a play.
This is Judder Theatre.
Prepare to feel the jolt.
As audiences increasingly seek immersive, experience-led entertainment, Judder Theatre believes theatre must evolve to remain relevant.
For centuries, theatre has reinvented itself. From Shakespeare's Globe to immersive productions, from intimate black box venues to spectacular West End shows, every generation has reshaped what live performance can be.
Now, one Irish theatre company believes it's time for the next evolution.
Judder Theatre has launched Techno Theatre - a new approach to live performance that combines powerful storytelling with cinematic sound, electronic music culture, immersive design and visceral performance to create an experience that extends beyond the traditional relationship between audience and stage.
The company believes audience expectations have fundamentally changed. In a world where people are choosing festivals, immersive exhibitions, escape rooms, interactive experiences and multi-sensory entertainment, theatre is no longer competing solely with other productions - it's competing for people's time, attention and desire to experience something unforgettable.
Founder Shaun Elebert believes that while the appetite for live experiences has never been stronger, audiences increasingly want to feel part of them rather than simply observe them.
"People aren't falling out of love with live entertainment. If anything, they're seeking it out more than ever. But they want experiences that completely immerse them, emotionally and physically."
"Theatre has survived for hundreds of years because it has never stood still. Every major movement challenged what came before it, and that's exactly what we're trying to do with Techno Theatre."
"This isn't about abandoning traditional theatre or suggesting it's no longer relevant. It's about recognising that audiences have changed and asking what theatre can become if it evolves alongside them."
Judder Theatre believes the future of live performance lies in creating productions that engage every sense, where atmosphere, sound, movement and visual storytelling work together to create an experience that feels immediate, contemporary and emotionally unforgettable.
Launching the movement is Philip Ridley's cult psychological thriller, The Pitchfork Disney. Widely regarded as one of the defining works of contemporary British theatre, the play explores fear, trauma and imagination through a dark, unsettling world that Judder believes provides the ideal foundation for introducing audiences to Techno Theatre.
The production stars Vincent Patrick, Lacy Moore (Game of Thrones, The Fall, Emmerdale), Adam Redmond and Gavan Duffy (Vikings), bringing together established screen and stage talent to launch what the company hopes will become a defining new movement in Irish theatre.
As entertainment continues to evolve, Judder Theatre isn't asking audiences to leave traditional theatre behind.
It's asking a different question. What if the future of theatre isn't about watching a performance... but experiencing one?
https://takeyourseats.ticketsolve.com/tic.../shows/873689201 See less

08/07/2026

The amateur actors who give up weeks of their lives every year to seek All-Ireland glory

Introducing Rockin’ the Suburbs, a new series on gigs and cultural experiences that you rarely see covered by Irish media.

16/06/2026

EMAIL: [email protected]

A fully interactive, creative, and enjoyable masterclass for participants of all experience levels.

This workshop centres on a series of collaborative exercises and practical tasks designed to explore and illuminate key aspects of theatre directing. Through active, performance-based work, participants will discover how to move beyond intellectual analysis and into the lived reality of the world they are directing and performing.

The session offers an introduction to some of the core practices and approaches taught on the Maynooth University Certificate in Directing for Theatre programme.

Drawing on selected Shakespearean texts, we will demonstrate and investigate a number of the fundamental concepts and techniques encountered by directors in the rehearsal room.

Places are limited. To ensure your place quickly and put a deposit of €12 down.

21/05/2026

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime - Book now
https://www.dublinshakespearesociety.ie/book-tickets/

17/05/2026

Reminder! Auditions for Project Macbeth are Tuesday, 19th and Thursday, 22nd of May at the Teachers’ Club at 8pm.

14/05/2026

George directing ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’.

My decision to embrace an immersive approach, I believe, adds momentum to the storytelling itself and creates a memorable experience for audiences — reminding us of theatre’s unique potential to fully draw people into a world. I think one word sums it up perfectly: “Deadly.”

May 26th-30th.
Tickets on Eventbrite selling fast now:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/lord-arthur-saviles-crime-tickets-1988962001889?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

11/05/2026

Auditions Tues & Thurs 19th & 21st May at the Teachers' Club. Contact Valerie - [email protected] for more information