The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is a theatrical event held annually in Dublin, Republic of Ireland during the first two weeks of May. The ninth festival will be held from 7–20 May 2012 with 22 productions participating, staging over 200 individual performances and events. Over 70% of the festival's content comes from outside Ireland. The Festival has included productions from countries as diverse as Poland, Germany, Zimbabwe, France, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Venezuela and Canada as well as strong representation from the UK, Ireland and the United States. Festival 2013 will saw the 2,000th performance of a Festival production since 2004.
According to its official website, the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival provides "theatrical and academic fora for the presentation of new and exciting works by gay authors, or works that have a gay character, theme, relevance or other input by a gay artist to promote visibility and recognition of gay people's contribution to the arts nationally and internationally."
The festival was founded in 2004 in order to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Dublin-born Oscar Wilde in his native city, and to encourage and develop concepts of gay theatre. The image of Oscar Wilde was first used as the official festival logo in 2006 and remains so today. This image is combined with that of the green carnation, which is a gay symbol associated with both Oscar Wilde and the theatre.
The festival's patrons are Senator David Norris, writer Emma Donoghue and playwright Terrence McNally.
Famous quotes containing the words gay, theatre and/or festival:
“Fill it up. I take as large draughts of liquor as I did of love. I hate a flincher in either.”
—John Gay (1685–1732)
“As in a theatre the eyes of men,
After a well-graced actor leaves the stage,
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious,
Even so, or with much more contempt, men’s eyes
Did scowl on gentle Richard.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Sabbath. A weekly festival having its origin in the fact that God made the world in six days and was arrested on the seventh.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)