The full line-up for the Dublin Theatre Festival has just been announced featuring a host of Irish and international shows preparing to take over the city. Running from September 27 to October 14, theatre in all its forms will bloom across a variety of venues throughout Dublin.

Tickets are not on general release until August 14, so there’s still plenty of time to take an in depth look at the programme and tick off all the must-sees. As you’re bound to be spoiled for choice by that jam packed line up, allow GCN to take some of the pressure off with our own personal picks.

Hamlet

While there have been a thousand versions of the Shakespearean classic, The Gate Theatre are shaking things up with a gender swapped reimagining of the doomed Dane. Oscar nominee Ruth Negga promises to storm the stage in the title role as the depressed Prince of a murdered King and a murderous Mother. Hamlet is also showing as part of The Gate’s ‘Outsider Season’.

The End Of Eddy

Taking a frank look at sexuality, class and power, Unicorn Theatre – the UK’s leading theatre for young audiences – brings to Dublin this autobiographical tale of a young gay boy born into poverty and prejudice. If the memoir the piece is based on is any guarantee, this promises to be an unflinchingly powerful look at hard lives lived on the margins.

The Misfits

The always exciting Corn Exchange bring their own take on the classic and tragic Monroe/Gable/Miller collaboration The Misfits to the theatre festival. A look at the disappearing cowboy way and the death of the American dream, the elegiac film version was released after the death of Clark Gable and was Marilyn Monroe’s final film before her own early demise. Corn Exchange have previously adapted Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? and a stunning version of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? amongst others, so hopes are high for this one.

Home Theatre

In an absolutely wonderful idea, Blanchardstown’s Draíocht Theatre paired up 30 Dublin 15 ‘hosts’ with 30 leading theatre makers. Inspired by their conversations together in the hosts’ homes, each theatre maker will write a piece of personal theatre which will then be performed in the host’s home. A selection of the shows will then go on to be staged in Draíocht itself. Fingers crossed we’ll get to see them all.

The Patient Gloria

The genius Gina Moxley teams up with the adventurous Pan Pan Theatre to present the hugely intriguing The Patient Gloria. The show is based on the 1965 series of documentaries Three Approaches to Psychotherapy wherein an actual patient allowed herself to be filmed while engaging in therapy but was betrayed when the films were given a cinema and TV release. Taking a timely look at misogyny, this one is bound to be pretty much unmissable.

While the selection here are all strong contenders, there’s still a way to go until festival time, so between the Dublin Theatre Festival and the Dublin Fringe Festival, dive into their programmes and make sure to snap up some tickets.