Dublin drag royalty Davina Devine is pulling back the sequin-studded curtain with her much-anticipated sold-out Dublin Fringe show Diary of a Dublin Drag Diva. Audiences lucky enough to grab a ticket can expect an hour of humour, heart, and hard-won wisdom from one of Ireland’s most beloved queens.
The one-woman show is the culmination of two decades of resilience, reinvention and rhinestones. It is a celebration of queer culture, survival, and the unstoppable spirit of a true Dublin diva.
The show was the first to sell out in this year’s Dublin Fringe Festival at Bewley’s Café Theatre on Grafton Street. Due to overwhelming demand, an additional date at Smock Alley Theatre was announced, only to also sell out within an hour. “I am thrilled,” Davina says of the reception.
So, what inspired her to tell this story now?
“Well, I have been working in the entertainment industry now for the past 20+ years and I’ve had some wild experiences and lots of lessons have been learnt both personally and professionally, both fun and some serious. All the country and our culture have changed vastly in such a short time, so I feel sharing our lived experiences always helps people connect and come together.”
Without spoiling the show, Davina hints at a treasure trove of never-before-seen material from her colourful past: “Oh god the show is only an hour long so there’s not enough room to fit in the amount of zany things that have happened over the years, but I have a lot of video and photo content that no one has ever seen, so I’m excited to share that content for the first time… Definitely a lot of the shows and press gigs that I did when I was younger pre social media (thank god) were absolutely nuts. You’ll have to come to peek behind that curtain.”
With more than two decades in the game, Davina Devine has witnessed the Dublin drag scene’s transformation firsthand, and she is ready to share it all with Fringe.
“Drag has evolved so much it’s become so mainstream… Drag can sometimes be even seen as a career option now, but the reality is that any career demands a lot of work and determination. It’s not as easy as just lashing on a wig and heels, if only it was.”
But beyond the glamour, Diary of a Dublin Drag Diva is a testament to survival and self-reinvention. Davina Devine’s journey is one of adaptability, persistence, and fierce individuality. “It truly is a story of resilience and reinvention because to last the time I have in this business, you need to constantly be on the move, thinking ahead, and basically survive to keep your head above water and thrive on your own terms. And if I can do it, then you can do it too.”
Sept 9, 6pm (Preview) – Bewley’s Café Theatre
Sept 10, 6pm – Bewley’s Café Theatre
Sept 11, 8pm – Bewley’s Café Theatre
Sept 13-14, 8pm – Bewley’s Café Theatre
Sept 14, 1pm – Bewley’s Café Theatre
Sep 19, 6:15pm – Smock Alley Theatre – Main Space
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