The Dublin Theatre Festival is fast approaching, starting on September 29 and running until October 16. The festival will showcase the finest of what the theatre industry has to offer and to get you in the mood, here’s a short list of three queer shows to look forward to at the festival.

Manifesto Transpofàgico by Renata Carvalho

Renata Carvalho is a Transgender actress, theatre maker and anthropologist from Brazil. For her piece Manifesto Transpofàgico at the Dublin Theatre Festival, she has studied the travesti/Trans corporeality, referring to it as ‘transpology’.

With this piece, she aims to challenge the dehumanising social constructs that permeate the common idea of what it means to be Trans.

In this one-person show, Carvalho tells the story of the struggle she fought against her own body. She also speaks about how her body is what defines her in the eyes of others – it draws comments from others, is sexualised, violated and imprisoned: the body is a fetish, or repulsive. A rebel body.

This show will be on in the Project Arts Centre, on September 30 and October 1 at 7:30 pm.

WINDOW A WORLD by Choy-Ping Clarke-Ng 吳彩萍 (they/she)

Ping is a Hon Kong-Irish theatre maker and set designer. They graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School with a master’s in performance design. Shortly after, they won the Linbury Prize for Stage Design and then the Irish Arts Council Next Generation Award for Theatre in 2022.

According to the description of the piece: “In every window, a world shimmers. From a busy street, you are invited to make an intimate connection. A new live piece between film, installation and theatre, WINDOW A WORLD asks what happens when we listen and look in.”

The show will take place from October 5 – 8, and the attendants must meet at the Dublin Theatre Festival Box office with a smartphone and headphones.

The Boy Who Never Was by Brokentalkers

This queer show is an adaptation of the award-winning Icelandic novel Moonstone by Sjón. Renowned theatre company Brokentalkers will bring their contemporary theatrical approach to this novel.

Set in 1918, The Boy Who Never Was tells the story of a young queer man, Máni Steinn. He is a film fanatic and dreamer who exists on the fringes of an intolerant society at a time of profound global transformation. This story is set against the backdrop of a global pandemic, as well as war in Europe.

Since 2001, Brokentalkers have been making formally ambitious work that defies categorisation, so this show is not to be missed. It will take place from 13 – 15 October in the Samuel Beckett Theatre from 7:30 pm.

Events will be taking place all over Dublin, and you can find all information about each of the queer shows at the Dublin Theatre Festival from the festival programme.

To read more stories about this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival, click here.