Another day, another dawn in Dublin city. The evening’s fog has dissipated under the sun’s warmth, residual puddles are trampled under busy feet en route to work, school, and most importantly, to the Box Office Opening of the first ever Dublin Theatre Festival (DTF); 1 April, 1957. Long enough ago that the Arts Council of Ireland is only slowly beginning its theatre-funding endeavours, but not so long enough ago that Irish people from Dublin and beyond aren’t abuzz with excitement at the prospect of taking in critically-acclaimed theatre on their own doorsteps. The inaugural DTF, originally named “Dublin International Theatre Festival”, features a tantalising line-up of theatre. The programme ranges from well-known Irish plays like Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Seán O’Casey’s Juno and The Paycock and John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, to musical delights from the Irish Festival Singers and Dublin Grand Opera Society, to the highly-anticipated Royal Ballet’s touring repertoire, among which Le Lac Des Cygnes, Ballet Imperial and Les Sylphides are brought to the Theatre Royal.
Predating the days of ticket selection with a few clicks and taps online, hundreds of people queue in the rain outside the Box Office to nab coveted tickets. Sales for the Royal Ballet prove particularly popular, as for many it is their first opportunity to witness the work of the world-renowned company. Dubliners wait for hours to secure tickets to their favourite shows in bustling queues, the likes of which haven’t been seen for theatre productions in the last couple of decades until the Abbey’s recent series of free previews, which have attracted queues meandering around and all the way down Abbey Street.
DTF begins as the brainchild of Brendan Smith, a theatre enthusiast who runs the Olympia Theatre and the Brendan Smith Academy of Acting. In a typical capitalist twist, the Festival arises less out of artistic reasons and more from economic ones. As urban Ireland is pulled further and further away from the agricultural West, its economy is increasingly reliant on the services sector, of which the most profitable is tourism. But the Irish Tourist Board isn’t content. Tourism consistently drops in the “shoulder months” of May, June, September and October. What’s the remedy? Finance projects that will attract tourists! And so, Dublin International Theatre Festival is born. Smith applies for funding from the Tourist Board, who see the potential longevity of an annual festival that will attract theatre-goers from around the world.
The popularity and success of DTF’s maiden foray establishes an exciting new tradition, but one that is by no means lacking in disturbances and controversies. Arrests, enraged playwrights, Knights and Bishops – DTF’s behind-the-scenes scandals rival the on-stage melodrama. In 1957, the English-language premiere of Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo at the Pike Theatre ends with the dubious arrest of theatre owner Alan Simpson on the grounds of “producing for gain an indecent and profane performance.” For the preceding week of its run, the performance receives glowing critical acclaim, even dubbed a “surprisingly wholesome play” by Trinity News. The censorship case is brought to the Supreme Court before it is thrown out after lengthy proceedings. In classic, ‘sweep-it-under-the-rug’ Irish fashion, no official resolution is established – that is, until co-owner Carolyn Swift and Irish writer Gerald Whelan develop an intriguing theory in their book Spiked. The Knights of Columbanus, a society of conservative Catholics allied with Archbishop Charles McQuaid, effectively controlled the Censorship board from 1949 to 1954, banning almost twice as many books as were banned between 1930 and 1945 (you know times are troubling when censorship skyrockets after a war rather than during it). A new censorship board had begun to tentatively ease the Knights out, but fearing backlash from the Church for the State’s interference, the Eamon De Valera government anxiously attempted to prove it would take hard action on censorship – and thus, the case of The Rose Tattoo became uncomfortably thorny.
Ever the crowd pleaser, Archbishop McQuaid stirs the pot again in 1958 when he condemns the planned inclusion of O’Casey’s play The Drums of Father Ned and an adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses by Alan McClelland. McQuaid refuses to give his blessing to the “obscene” and “objectionable” material. Samuel Beckett responds by withdrawing his proposed mime piece in protest and O’Casey bans the performance of his plays in Ireland (until he relents in 1964). Under director Brendan Smith, the Festival is officially and indefinitely “postponed” following the controversies. The Festival is held in 1959 without notable opposition, but does not feature the works of O’Casey, Beckett, or Joyce, three of Ireland’s most influential writers.
Aside from the occasional scandal, DTF grows from strength to strength since its conception in 1957. In 1985, DTF returns after a two-year break with a record-smashing 58 shows. Working harder than ever to attract international tourists to DTF, visitors can (and do) seize the incredible opportunity to avail of a “stay six days and see six plays” offer (I’d like to know where I can find one of those!) from booking offices in Spain, Japan, the US and Germany. In 1990, the Festival opens with a parade through Dublin City, winding from the Gaiety Theatre, through the autumnal Stephen’s Green, and arriving at the Mansion House on Dawson Street. The 31st Festival includes 12 overseas productions tumbling onto the Irish stage from four continents, as well as featuring a record number of Irish shows. As the Festival fosters a reputation for excellent theatre, demand for tickets remains consistently high. The Box Office opening in 2002 sees over €40,000 worth of tickets purchased on the first day of sales, in addition to €70,000 advance postal bookings and a further €70,000 priority ‘Friends of the Festival’ bookings. Popularity leans towards international shows that are unaccustomed to the Irish stage, showing the persisting enthusiasm amongst audiences to experience theatre beyond the realm of familiarity. In 2002, one of the heaviest bookings is for The Mysteries, a history of the world set to music based on traditional African folk songs and using the language diversity of modern South Africa, produced by the Broomhill Opera company of South Africa.
2017 marks the 60th anniversary of Europe’s longest running theatre festival. DTF is an international celebration of outstanding, innovative art that resonates with audiences from across the world while keeping Dublin’s vibrant stories and people at the heart of everything it does. Its mission to “present a programme of exceptional theatrical experiences that will appeal to the diverse communities that make up our city” has succeeded in enlivening the cultural and social life of Ireland’s energetic capital. The Festival has been funded by a multitude of sponsors, from Aer Lingus to Ulster Bank, but ultimately has been a 60-year success because of the passion and engagement of audiences from Ireland and beyond.
This year, the Festival is presenting a programme as rich and eclectic as its audiences have come to expect and excitedly await throughout the summer. The eighteen days feature live performances supplemented by critical talks, artist development programmes, and industry events. Highly anticipated shows include Nora in the Project Arts Centre, The Suppliant Women in the Gaiety Theatre and Ulysses in the Abbey Theatre. In association with The Ark, this year’s line-up also includes a programme for children’s theatre, which is sure to engage and delight its young audiences while fostering a new generation of theatre lovers.
At the close of the first DTF in 1957, one critic asked: “Having used up Yeats, and the cream of O’Casey and Synge, what on earth is Dublin going to serve up next year?”. The Festival has defied doubts and overcome disasters to establish itself as a pinnacle of Irish culture. With programmes that showcase talent from all over the world, Dublin Theatre Festival has put the Irish theatre scene on the map for the last 60 years and promises to continue to do so for many more.
