An autobiographical cabaret by an Irish trans playwright has won the best-production prize at this year’s Dublin Fringe Festival awards.
Pea Dinneen’s Raising Her Voice was a personal narrative about her life that used 1990s pop songs to tell the story.
She described herself as a “transgender, bipolar alcoholic who can’t drive and who grew up posh and gender-confused”.
The show got five stars from Irish Times reviewer Chris McCormack.
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The comedian Alison Spittle jointly won the best-performers award for her show Big, about life after taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic, with Emily Terndrup, for her role in Offspring, a retelling of the Frankenstein story.
The best-ensemble award went to Octopus Children, by FeliSpeaks (Felicia Olusanya), about a “black Irish midlands culchie” who comes out as gay.
The Fishamble new-writing award went to Hannah Power and Conor Murray for their play Don’t Tell Dad About Diana, which tells the story of two drag artists who were scheduled to play Princess Diana on the night she died, in 1997. The play also won the Bewley’s Cafe Theatre’s little-gem award.
The festival hosted 85 events, with 492 performances, with 56 world premieres, 67 Irish premieres and five Dublin premieres.
The festival’s director, Bee Sparks, said this year’s event “marked an increased commitment to making sure the festival is open to all, with new accessibility schemes across the board”.
Dublin Fringe Festival Awards 2025
Best production
- Winner: Pea Dinneen – Raising Her Voice, Pea Dinneen, Once Off Productions. Read our review
Other shortlisted nominees.
- Aliens, Curious Industries, Dumbworld
- Attention, Jules Head & Georgia Bruce
- Octopus Children, FeliSpeaks, Thisispopbaby
- Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein), Emily Terndrup
- That’s Sooo Povo, D’Girlos Theatre
Best design
Winner: Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein), Emily Terndrup Read our review
- Sound design and composition by Michael John McCarthy
- Lighting design by Matt Burke
- Chief LX by Arden Tierney
- Design consulting by Laura Fajardo Castro
- Creative constructions by Nicole Clifford and Arran Mac Gabhann
Other shortlisted nominees:
+ 353 Presents: The Revenger’s Tragedy, +353 with Kevin Keogh. Read our review
- Composition by Colin Fitzpatrick and Ire Adebari
- Orchestration by Lulu Manning
- Additional arrangement by Evan Kennedy
- Movement direction by Tobi Balogun
- Set design by Pai Rathaya
- Costume design by Sinéad Kelly
- Lighting design by Kevin Murphy
Attention, Jules Head & Georgia Bruce
- Lighting design by Suzie Cummins
- Composition and sound design by Martha Knight Production
- Stage management by Jack Leitch
- Holdings, project design – Clara McSweeney and Mel Galley
Testo, Wet Mess
- Costume design by Jordan Sherman/Lambdog1066
- Sound design by Baby
- Lighting design by Josh Hariette
- Set design by Ruta Irbīte
Best performers
Winners: Alison Spittle in Big (read our review) and Emily Terndrup in Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein)
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Aoife Cassidy, Brambles
- Bláithín Mac Gabhann, Attention
- Darren Yorke, He Dies in the End
- Ela Cichoka, Variations for Two Disabled Bodies
- FeliSpeaks, Octopus Children
- Julia Grogan, You’re So Special
- Norah Lopez Holden, Attention
- Tierra Porter, Octopus Children
Best ensemble
Winner: Octopus Children: FeliSpeaks, Tishé Fatunbi, Tierra Porter, Favour Odusola, Tobi Omoteso, Tommy Salami and Soffiyah Adewoyisi Read our review
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Apocalypse How?: Donna Fella, Annie Queeries and Laylah Beattie
- Attention: Bláithín Mac Gabhann, Norah Lopez Holden, Martha Knight and Suzie Cummins
- Octopus Children: FeliSpeaks, Tishé Fatunbi, Tierra Porter, Favour Odusola, Tobi Omoteso, Tommy Salami and Soffiyah Adewoyin
- Pea Dinneen: Raising Her Voice – Pea Dinneen, Paul Prior, Clare Martin, Tara Sagay, Louis Younge
- What Are We Waiting For?: Mark, Ger, Gav, Brian, Paul & Eddie from the LBS Men’s Shed
Judges’ Choice
Winners:
- Beyond the Stage: Holdings, Clara McSweeney & Mel Galley
- Beyond Borders: Aliens, Curious Industries, Dumbworld
- Socially Engaged Arts: What Are We Waiting For? Colm Keegan and the LDS Men’s Shed
Bewley’s Cafe Theatre little gem
- Winner: Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Hannah Power and Conor Murray
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Anonn: The Other Side by Cian Ó Náraigh
- In a Bad Way by Isolde Fenton
- Libya! by Farah Elle
- Variations for Two Disabled Bodies by Bobbi Byrne and Soso Ní Cheallaigh
Fishamble new writing
- Winner: Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Hannah Power and Conor Murray
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Brambles by Cara Christie
- Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Hannah Power and Conor Murray
- He Dies in the End by Liam McCarthy
- Pea Dinneen: Raising her Voice by Pea Dinneen
First Fortnight award
- Winner: He Dies in the End by Liam McCarthy
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Hungry Grass/Stray Sod by Wandering Stories Theatre
- In a Bad Way by Isolde Fenton
- Libya! by Farah Elle
- You Cry Weird by Tony Cantwell
Spirit of Wit: Moira Brady Averill award
- Winner: John Spillane for 7even
Other shortlisted nominees
- Annie Queeries for Apocalypse How?
- John Spillane for 7even
- Síomha Hennessy for Building Character
- The cast of Clash at the Quays! II: Lokomania
- Wet Mess for Testo
George Fitzmaurice award
- Winner: Gift Horse Theatre for Don’t Copy Me (Copy)
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Agents & Juice for Last Gig Ever!!
- Clara McSweeney and Mel Galley for Holdings
- Dafe Orugbo and Lisa Nally for Am I the A**hole?
- David McGovern for Shredder
Solas Nua New Voices award
- Winner: Good With Faces by Oisín Kearney. Read our review
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Attention by Georgia Bruce, created by Jules Head and Georgia Bruce
- Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Hannah Power and Conor Murray
- Octopus Children by FeliSpeaks
- That’s Sooo Povo by Sophie O’Toole and Trudy Nolan
- The Chalice by Brigid Leahy
CoisCéim Dance Theatre movement award
- Winner: Variations for Two Disabled Bodies by Bobbi Byrne and Soso Ní Cheallaigh
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Crawler by Jessie Thompson
- Itch by Christopher McAuley
- Last Gig Ever!! by Agents & Juice
- Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein) by Emily Terndrup
Making It Happen award
- Winner: Anika Kidd, assistant stage manager for Octopus Children and set designer for Don’t Copy Me (Copy)
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Aimee Crilly, stage manager for Amsterdam
- Mar Parés Baraldés, set designer for Constriction and Am I the A**hole?
- Muirenn Lyons, production liaison and producer for Dublinitgirl_vs_dartlinediva: Rap Battle Royale
- Owen Clarke, lighting designer for Glass Places
- Ruby Collins, stage manager for Brambles
- Shauna-Anne Lynch, lighting technician for Chop and +353 Presents: The Revenger’s Tragedy
Theatre Lovett always ready award
- Winner: David McGovern for Shredder
Other shortlisted nominees:
- Emily Lagacé for Am I the A**hole?
- Emily Bradley for Cult of Aerobics
- Ally Ryan for Nothing Personal
- Sinéad Quinlan for The Cultured Culchie
Next Stage wild card award
- Winner: Trudy Nolan for That’s Sooo Povo by D’Girlos Theatre
Radical spirit award
- Winner: Offspring (A Modern Frankenstein) by Emily Terndrup
