Unfortunately due to Covid-19, last year’s 17th edition of the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (IDGTF) had to be cancelled. This year, for their 18th birthday, IDGTF is back for their coming of age. 13 plays will be available to stream on June 7th – all for free.

IDGTF are continuing their ongoing partnership with Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride, who funded the recording of new plays and who financially supported the artists featured in this year’s festival. Also sponsoring the festival is the Arts Council of Ireland. 

The founder and artistic director of the festival, Brian Merriman, has said: “I am in admiration of the productions in our online festival who have adapted their plays to fit the digital format.” The programme for the festival can be viewed online here. 

The International Dublin Gay Theatre festival will showcase moving expressions of wonderful queer stories from Ireland and abroad. With so many incredible artists involved, the festival is set to showcase the glorious diversity and importance of local and international queer art. 

Including; Calamity Jane sends a Message to her Daughter by Carolyn Cage, a tribute to masculine women living in times when lesbian or transgendered identities were not understood; A Reminder by Brian Merriman, that considers the messages of the current pandemic as a reminder to the response to AIDS, largely ignored in the 1980’s; and Tess by Saoirse Siné, a solo piece about a young woman coming to terms with her sexuality (or lack thereof).

As well as the virtual festival, a new book IDGTF: 18 and Coming of Age the Director’s Cut, is being released. Coming out in June, the book will contain 13 plays to celebrate the special 18th birthday of IDGTF. It will be available to buy from www.gaytheatre.ie or in the Pride shop on Duke Street.

From Monday June 7th you can stream all of the plays on The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival website, as well as on the Dublin Pride vimeo page and their website.