Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ENTERTAINMENT
ABBEY THEATRE
( 01-878 7222;
www.abbeytheatre.ie
;
Lower Abbey St; all city centre, Abbey)
Ireland's renowned
national theatre, founded by WB Yeats in 1904, has been reinvigorated in recent years by
director Fiach MacConghaill, who has introduced lots of new blood to what was in danger
of becoming a moribund corpse. The current programme has a mix of Irish classics (Synge,
O'Casey etc), established international names (Shepard, Mamet) and new talent (O'Rowe,
Carr et al).
Debate over the theatre's home - an ugly, purpose-built box from 1966 - has been si-
lenced by economic realities, and so the city's theatregoers have had to make do with an
acoustic makeover that has improved the experience of going to a play. Monday perform-
ances are cheaper. Work by up-and-coming writers and more experimental theatre is staged
in the adjoining
Peacock Theatre
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
THEATRE
Abbey)
.
01-878 7222;
all city centre,
GATE THEATRE
( 01-874 4045;
www.gatetheatre.ie
; 1 Cavendish Row)
The city's most elegant theatre, housed in a
late-18th-century building, features a generally unflappable repertory of classic American
and European plays. Orson Welles' first professional performance was here, and James
Mason played here early in his career. Even today it is the only theatre in town where you
might see established international movie stars work on their credibility with a theatre run.
THEATRE
TWISTED PEPPER
NIGHTCLUB
( 01-873 4800;
www.bodytonicmusic.com/thetwistedpepper
; 54 Middle Abbey St; bar 4pm-late, cafe 11am-6pm;
all city centre, Abbey)
Dublin's hippest venue comes in four parts: DJs spin great tunes in
the Basement; the Stage is for live acts; the Mezzanine is a secluded bar area above the
stage; and the Cafe is where you can get an Irish breakfast all day. All run by the Bodytonic
crew, one of the most exciting music and production crowds in town.
COBBLESTONE
PUB
