Fright nights and theatre thrills – what’s on in Dublin this week

The Dublin Theatre Festival continues to spread its joy, while the spooky signs of Halloween are starting to emerge from the shadows. Here’s our top picks for the week ahead.

Southside

The Opium Sessions, Opium Dublin

Presented by Black Dog Music Ltd, this series of gigs at the popular Wexford Street venue features some of our most acclaimed musical talent. The fabulous Mary Coughlan kicks off proceedings on Thursday, with punk ensemble, Paranoid Visions, taking to the stage on Friday. Guitar favourites, Sack and The Pale, set up shop on Saturday, while A Lazarus Soul delivers a special acoustic set on Sunday. The gigs will operate at limited capacity and patrons are required to provide proof of vaccination at the door.

From October 7 – 10. Tickets: €16.50 per gig. For more, visit https://opium.ie/events/

Conversations After Sex, Project Arts Centre

Writer Mark O’Halloran reunites with director Tom Creed and the awesome folks at THISISPOPBABY for their first theatrical collaboration since 2011’s award-winning Trade. Kate Stanley Brennan, Fionn Ó Loingsigh and Niamh McCann share the stage in a story that does exactly what it says in the title. Through “a series of unexpected and unguarded conversations after anonymous sexual encounters”, it concerns a woman looking to make a deep and meaningful connection in a lonely city. Tickets are currently sold out, but keep an eye on Twitter where the @thisispopbaby team is hard at work trying to accommodate those looking for spare pod seats.

Running until October 17 (streaming October 16, then available on demand). Tickets: €20 – €30. For more, visit https://dublintheatrefestival.ie

The Nightmare Realm, RDS

One of Ireland’s scariest Halloween attractions returns to the RDS this week for the first time since 2019. They’ve added three brand new walk-through haunts: Church of the Damned (featuring terrifying creatures and a freaky-as-hell ‘Red Woman’); The Butcher Boys (they have the “taste for blood”, apparently); and Panic Attack (a “twisted blend of all your scariest horror movies, nightmares and worst fears brought to life”). We can’t wait to be scared out of our wits.

Running from October 9 – 31. Tickets: €22 – €32. For booking info, times and more, visit www.thenightmarerealm.ie

Northside

iGirl, Abbey Theatre

The phenomenal Olwen Fouéré takes centre stage for Caitríona McLaughlin’s first production as Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre. Working with a sensational script courtesy of the brilliant Marina Carr, iGirl explores our eternal search for “meaning in history, myth and the stories human beings have told themselves since the beginning of time”. Things might get epic.

From October 9 – 30. Tickets: €25 – €30. For show times, booking info and more, visit www.abbeytheatre.ie

Andrea Gabrieli’s Oedipus Rex, All Hallows Chapel, Drumcondra

The wonderful Chamber Choir Ireland presents Gabrieli’s Oedipus Rex, “originally composed for the 1585 revival of Sophocles’ Ancient Greek masterpiece”. Artistic Director Paul Hillier is our conductor, with the Chamber Choir singers taking on the role of the Greek Chorus to tell the story of Oedipus, King of Thebes, as he sets about trying to find the chap who killed the predecessor to his throne. Chamber Choir Ireland’s once-off presentation of this rarely heard work, combining Ancient Greek storytelling with exquisite, Italian Renaissance music, is guaranteed to be something special.

Sunday, October 10, 3pm (doors open at 2.15pm). Tickets: €5 – €20. For booking info and more, visit www.chamberchoirireland.com

The First Child, O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College

This new opera by Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh is the third and final instalment in their “suburban horror” trilogy (following The Last Hotel and The Second Violinist). The First Child brings together a remarkable team of singers, dancers and actors (Caia Leseure, Eric Jurenas, Emmett O’Hanlon and Niamh O’Sullivan included) for an astonishing operatic performance that imagines a “terrifying story of lost innocence – a baby on a beach – and the sea”. Presented by Landmark Productions and Irish National Opera Ireland, The First Child is selling fast, so we’d advise you to book a ticket as soon as possible.

Running until October 9. Tickets: €25 – €40. For booking info, dates and show times, visit https://dublintheatrefestival.ie