Dublin Fringe Festival has launched its fresh new programme for 2019 this evening, which includes ‘The North is Next’, a Dublin Fringe Festival, GCN and Outburst Arts Festival collaboration to commission a zine and a live Q&A podcast which will support the urgent drive for queer and reproductive rights in Northern Ireland

Celebrating its 25th birthday, the focus of this year’s festival is on power and pleasure.

When the powerful and the pleasurable combine this September, it will make for the most memorable Dublin Fringe Festival ever. Come take part all across Dublin city this September 7 – 22.

It’s the launch of @dublinfringe this eve and the 2019 imagery is so fantastically gorgeous! ??we’re excited to get stuck into their exciting programme! #dublinfringe pic.twitter.com/F9jHZMyeXX

— Gay Community News (@GCNmag) July 17, 2019

The festival will run for 16 days and nights, staging an impressive 36 venues, 77 productions, 545 performances, with 54 world premieres. There will be shows in theatres and arts spaces all across town but this year particularly lookout for the shows where the setting tells part of the story, like in a restaurant, a gothic chapel, on the DART, in a dressing room in Croke Park, in a hairdressers, the National Stadium, on an ice rink, in The Four Courts and in a former VIP nightclub.

Fringe has an unwavering commitment to new voices and brand new work. This edition will offer an introduction to the radical makers whose work demands to be seen. Fringe calls for everyone to stay intrepid and get involved – you will reap the rewards with revelation, beauty and intimate encounters that linger long after the curtain falls.

Ruth McGowan, Festival Director, says: “Our 2019 festival focus is on power and pleasure, with an electric programme full of new ideas and adventurous spirit. I can’t wait for this bold assembly of artists to light up the city this September, delivering impactful and urgent performances on powerful stages, from the Four Courts to Dublin Castle and offering joyful escapism with big nights out and one-of-a-kind experiences that will send you home starry-eyed.”

This year’s Fringe is as enthusiastic as ever, and the festival is making sure the right people get to see the right shows as artists gather to tell their stories in their own way. Fringe has assembled a sensational collection of mischief-makers and craic czars to share art experiences that get you closer to the hottest new talent and the most exciting nights out.

The festival programme has been broken down into nine defined chapters to help audiences find their ideal Fringe experience.

To view Dublin Fringe Festival’s 2019 programme, visit fringefest.com