The Gate Theatre has unveiled its 2024 season, including the world premiere of The Pull of the Stars, which Emma Donoghue has adapted from her 2020 novel about a young midwife working in Dublin during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Directed by Louise Lowe, it is due to open on April 10th.
The announcement, made on the day that the Dublin theatre’s Christmas show, Roddy Doyle’s new version of Peter Pan, is due to open after being delayed by technical difficulties, also includes the Irish debut of Circle Mirror Transformation, by the American writer Annie Baker. Originally developed at the Sundance Institute and premiered off-Broadway in 2009, the play follows five people who gather to take part in a drama class in a small-town community centre. It will open on May 29th, 2024, directed by Róisín McBrinn, the Gate’s artistic director.
It will be followed on July 17th by a new production of Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s modern classic about female resilience and the sacrifices we choose, and are forced, to make. It will be directed by Caroline Byrne.
The theatre’s Gatecrashes strand will continue with Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, “a tiny adventure for younger children with complex needs”. Anna Newell’s show, which will be performed in a tent to three children at a time, will be staged at the Gate and at Temple Street School, part of Temple Street children’s hospital, in March.
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The theatre also announced the launch of Gateways, a three-year community-engagement programme under which it will run drama workshops with the local community, as well as “bespoke workshops” for specific groups connected to the themes of its shows. The Gate says that, as part of the programme, it will make 200 preview tickets available for residents of the Dublin 1 and Dublin 7 areas of the north inner city.
Alongside that scheme, the Gate theatre is launching a fundraising drive. It hopes its “tiered philanthropic initiative” will encourange individuals and businesses “to support the Gate and become guardians of the theatre’s rich legacy”.
“We are extremely proud of today’s announcements. Not only does it include inspiring and engaging work for our stage well into 2024, but it also marks a profound sea change in the Gate’s relationship with its local community,” McBrinn and Colm O’Callaghan, the theatre’s executive director, said. “Through Gateways, we will make the Gate a more civic, open and democratic space, opening our doors to artists, schools and community groups, ensuring everyone has access to great theatre.”
