The Dublin Fringe Festival is an annual curated arts festival in Dublin, Ireland. The festival allows artists to develop and present their work by submitting their application which is subsequently reviewed by the programme manager. The festival is open to both Irish and international participants.
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The festival started in 1995 and expanded into a sixteen-day festival, annually held in September and is dedicated to new and emerging artists. The Dublin Fringe offers live entertainment as well as performance opportunities in dance, theatre, live art, visual art, and music.
To attract aspiring (and inspiring) artists, the fringe offers workshops throughout the festival to teach a wide variety of skills such as tassel swirling, hip hop, t'ai chi, and others to aid in exploring what’s new in the arts.
History
Originating in 1995, Bedrock Productions, with some support from the established Dublin Theatre Festival and Arts office of Dublin City Council, created the Dublin Fringe Festival, to promote and showcase the work of small and vibrant theatre companies and theatre makers. In the first year Conor McPherson's This Lime Tree Bower premiered and in 1996 Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs took off from The International Bar.
The following were directors of the festival Jimmy Fay 1995-96, Ali Curran 1997 - 2000, Vallejo Gantner 2001 -2005, Wolfgang Hoffmann 2006-2007, Roise Goan 2008 -2013, Kris Nelson 2014 - present.
Notable successes of past Fringe Festivals include early explosive plays by Conor McPherson, Enda Walsh, Owen McCafferty, Corn Exchange, Loose Canon, Pan Pan Theatre Company, Semper Fi, Anu Productions.
Venues
Each performance takes place in a venue which is deemed most suitable to the show. This can range from a number of cafes and theatres, as well as less traditional venues such as the Liffey Boardwalk or on a Dublin bus.
For a number of years until 2009, The Spiegeltent, was a major part of the festival. It was erected in several sites most often located in Georges Dock. The Dublin Fringe Festival and Spiegeltent have attracted numerous successful shows such as the European phenomenon La Clique.
Sponsors
Past sponsors include Absolut vodka which ran from 2009 to 2012, in a four-year deal.